Phuket News
Discover the latest news and updates from Thailand’s most famous and beautiful island, The Thaiger’s hometown, having previously operated as the Phuket Gazette.
Our team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Phuket, covering everything from local politics and business to lifestyle and tourism. Learn about the island’s stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and thriving expat community, as well as keeping updated on events, and attractions.
The Thaiger is your ultimate guide to staying connected with Phuket’s ever-evolving landscape. To keep up with the most reliable news source on the island, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
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Sponsored This Christmas, give the gift of health: essential options for expats in Thailand
The holiday season is here, bringing warmth, joy, and a chance to reflect on the year gone by. As an expat in Thailand, this Christmas is a great time to invest in something that truly matters: health. Whether for you...
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Russian Woman shot and robbed in Rawai
A 52 year-old Russian woman, Elena Ksarenko, was shot and robbed in her villa in Rawai. Police are on the lookout for the two thieves they believe are involved in the crime. Police found her bed and floor covered in blood at the scene. On the floor, police found .38 bullets and bloody footsteps around the bedroom. The shower’s glass…
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3,000 items snared in Patong counterfeit crackdown
A 33 year old Burmese man, Dam Bha Du and a 34 year old Vietnamese, Lam, have been arrested with a total of 3,000 counterfeit items from Patong. Following a report that a large number of counterfeit goods were being sold in Soi Kebsup on Taweewong Rd, a taskforce led by Phuket’s Governor, the ECD Police force and the Commander-in-Chief…
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Phuket Fisheries Department to survey crocodile location on Bang Tao
Thalang Fisheries Officers commented on the incident when two locals spotted a crocodile in the Bang Tao beach area, off the Movenpick Resort. He said the reptile are likely to have come from the neighbouring provinces as Phuket was never a natural breeding ground for crocodiles. Another similar reptile was spotted last year. “There was a report from a local…
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Fixing Phuket’s coral. Restoration projects around Phuket
For the past few years the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources – Phuket Office has been working on the construction and installation of artificial reefs around the island. Two main areas have been selected, Koh Racha Yai (Bay3) and Koh Mai Thon. The project consists of placing construction blocks on the seabed in order to provide ‘pads’ on which…
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Three metre crocodile spotted off Bang Tao beach
So this is how it happened… Phuket expat ‘Mike’, along with his wife, were walking their dogs along Bang Tao beach last Friday. They say they normally start their walk around 2 kilometres south of the small island adjacent to the beach near Layan. On this particular morning they decided to walk in the opposite direction to the south instead…
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Robber caught with a long list of items worth 400,000 Baht
This morning (August 29), a Ratchaburi man, Pinit ‘Nit’ Tuihun was arrested by Phuket police after robbing several houses in Thalang and the Phuket Town area. He was also found in possession of drugs. 52 items, worth about 400,000 Baht, stolen from houses across Phuket, were found inside Pinit’s house in Srisunthorn subdistrict, in Thalang, including 8 televisions, 5 notebook…
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Immediate attention to Phuket’s worst flood areas
Patong’s Mayor has announced, what she hopes are, solutions to the recurrent floods and set a budget to solve the problems in the long term. As Patong is one of the areas that always suffers from the flood on the island, the Mayor, Chalermluck Kebsup, said that she has surveyed several spots in Patong and can now specify the actual…
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Thailand’s Best Beaches 2017. How many are in Phuket?
The results are in for Thailand’s annual ‘beach star rating’ study by the Pollution Control Department. 13 beaches around Thailand have been awarded five-star ratings. Not a single one of them is in Phuket, not even close. According to the Pollution Control Department, this year’s beach evaluation was based on four important criteria. The Department studied water quality that included…
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Donations for 1,500 unprivileged locals during Por Tor festival
Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation has donated food to 1,500 underprivileged people for the Por Tor Festival. Yesterday (August 26), the foundation, with the help of Phuket’s Governor arranged a donation in front of the foundation building. The ceremony started with a worship to ancestral spirits, a rice donation for the lunch project for students then followed by donations for underprivileged people…
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Sunday drenching for Phuket
Consistent and heavy rains are drenching Phuket this morning as emergency services are stretched to assist drivers and motorcyclists who were stuck in flooded roads. Along Viset Road, Rawai, quite a few patches of the road were impassable with rain failing to run off into the roadside drains. Some short spurts around 7am turned into heavier rain as the morning…
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Would you pay One Million Baht for a number plate?
Phuket’s Land Transport Office released 301 new car license plate numbers for auction expecting a 22 million Baht windfall. The Director-General of the LTO, Sanit Promwong, chaired the event alongside the Phuket Governor and local authorities. A large crowd attended the auction and the highest bid was a whopping 1 million Baht for the plate number กล9999 (Gor Gai Lor…
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Emergency simulation at Phuket International Airport
Last night (August 25), Phuket International Airport conducted an Emergency Plan Exercise: PEMEX – a yearly full course safety measure rehearsal. Phuket Vice Governor, Sanit Srivihok, chaired the activity. The aim of the exercise was to facilitate the coordination and communication between different bodies, such as government officials, airport and airline staff and business operators in the event of an…
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Back in Bangkok after Phuket court case dropped
Jonathan Head is back in Bangkok following his two day visit to Phuket. His case came to an abrupt conclusion when the man suing him, Phuket lawyer Pratuan Thanarak withdrew the charges. He was suing Mr Head over a story that appeared on the BBC in 2015 where the lawyer claimed he was defamed. Jonathan Head investigated foreigners being scammed…
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Defamation case against BBC’s Jonathan Head has been dropped
The Phuket lawyer, Pratuan Thanarak, who brought defamation charges against BBC broadcaster Jonathan Head, has dropped his criminal defamation suit. Head investigated foreigners being scammed of their retirement homes in Phuket in a 2015 BBC report. Jonathan faced up to five years in jail over the charges. His report detailed how two foreign retirees had their properties ‘stolen’ from them by…
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Sneaky snake slips into Krabi house
Another python has been found in the bedroom of a Krabi house. Early today (August 24), 72 year old Subin Kongban found a 15 kilogram python crawling in the house after eating his chicken at the back of the house. “I was going to the toilet and found it crawling in the house, almost by my bed, so I called…
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Phuket’s main soi dog shelter in Thalang gets a make-over
Phuket authorities, led by Phuket Vice Governor, Siwaporn Chuasawat, visited the Phuket Stray Dog Shelter today (August 23) in the Suan Pa Bang Kanun man-made forest in Thalang for a big clean-up event. A one million Baht budget was approved to give the shelter a much-needed make-over. Currently, there are 460 stray dogs living in the 4-rai shelter with only…
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Saphan Hin green upgrades and Old Phuket Town cabling goes underground
Phuket’s Mayor plans to make Saphan Hin Park the ‘lungs of Phuket’ and to put all the electric cables for the whole Phuket Old Town area underground. “Saphan Hin Park is a seaside public park that now needs renovation as it has been decayed because of the content exposure to salt water and the sea air damaging the stone retaining…
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‘Run 2 Gether Phuket Town’ heads to Old Phuket Town on October 1
The Phuket Disabled People’s Association, together with the Phuket Municipality, is holding a new event, “Run 2 Gether Phuket Town” on October 1. 600 runners are expected to join the charity event. “Run 2 Gether Phuket Town” aims to gather both disabled and able-bodied runners to run together to promote the importance of exercise. So far, more than 200 disabled…
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Bus and truck curfew in place for Patong Hill
Following the sucession of accidents involving buses and trucks in recent months, Traffic Police have placed official restrictions on access to Patong over the notorious Patong Hill for during certain hours of the day. Buses carrying 21 passengers or more, 10-wheel trucks, as well as trailers, won’t be allowed on Patong hill (Phra Baramee Road) from 6 am to 9 am…
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Ratsada drug purge continues
A 21 year old man from Ratsada sub-district, Wanchana Saelim, was arrested yesterday (August 19) with 589 amphetamine pills plus 50 grams of meth amphetamine. The arrest follows a report from an undercover officer in the Ratsada area who had followed Khun Wanchana for a while and discovered he was trafficking drugs to the locals on a regular basis; the…
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Chinese tourists get in trouble in strong Nai Thon surf
Lifeguards saved two Chinese swimmers at Nai Thon beach yesterday after they’d decided swimming in a red flag zone was a good idea. As the shore along Nai Thon has sudden drops off, the red flags were placed along the beach yesterday with quite heavy surf and strong onshore winds. Somporn Wareekul, Head of Nai Thon beach lifeguards, says there…
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Three metre python caught snacking on chickens
A 3 metre python weighing around 20 kilos has been caught in the act swallowing two small chickens near a salvage yard of Mr. Poonsap Sae Ngang at 8am. A Kusoldharm rescue team tried to catch it using a rope lasso but the snake headed for a nearby tree. After a few attempts the team finally got the snake with nobody…
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New domestic terminal arrival & departure changes from tomorrow.
Heading to the airport? To the domestic terminal? Changes for traffic flow kicks in from tomorrow (Saturday). Check our story here so that you don’t get caught out. Some changes for traffic flow at Phuket International Airport
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A tale of two drug hauls. Drugs found in Ratsada and Tha Chat Chai.
Police arrested 32 year Teerapong “Jane” Wonganansup with 522 pills of amphetamine, 42.47 grams of crystal meth, a 9 mm. semi-automatic pistol, a .22 semi-automatic pistol, 130 bullets and a digital scale. After a report from an undercover officer, police made a visit to Teerapong’s house in Soi Paniang, Ratsada. They initially found 50 pills of amphetamine and 2 grams…
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“It was a Barracuda”. Phuket Provincial Fisheries investigate the mystery bite of Japanese man.
Phuket’s Governor, with the help of a local specialist, says that the mystery fish attacking 36 year old Japanese man, Keira Kosigoe, while surfing 15 metres offshore in Kamala, wasn’t a shark but a barracuda. Following the incident yesterday (August 16), Governor Norapat Plodthong says that after asking the specialist from Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office to investigate the wound, the…
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Police arrest two men with a kilo of meth-amphetamine
Border Patrol Police are searching for a third man, named only as “Gong”, implicated by one of the two suspects, after the arrest of 23 year old Teerasak “Dome” Somwang and 33 year old Non Rittichai, a Nakohn Si Thammarat resident, with one kilogram of crystal meth valued at 2 million Baht. The arrests follow an investigation by an undercover…
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Japanese man gets bitten by ‘something’ at Kamala
A 25-30 year old Japanese man was calling for help yesterday (Wednesday) after getting attacked by a mystery marine creature at Kamala Beach which left him with some severe, deep wounds. Kamala police and locals in the area have surmised that the wounds seem to have resulted from sharp teeth, perhaps even a shark. The man suffered a deep wound…
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THAIGER TODAY @ Ao Sane Beach. Wednesday, August 16
We headed down to Ao Sane Beach today to check out the controversial villa | Red-light cameras are working TOO well | Security officers will be protecting Supreme Court Judges leading up to the Yingluck verdict.
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Krabi snatch and run thief arrested in Phuket
Phuket police have managed to arrest 35 year old Panuwit Pakamas, a Krabi resident, after he snatched a bag with 10,000 Baht in cash and other valuables from a Chinese tourist and fled the scene. Pol. Lt. Col. Naruebadin Banglisen explained that 40 year old Ms. Yi Weihong reported to the police on August 12 that a Thai man on…
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Some changes for traffic flow at Phuket International Airport
Phuket International Airport is about to readjust the traffic flow in front of the domestic terminal as well as the pick-up point for arrivals. The readjustment aims to separate the arrivals and the departures of the domestic terminal and will start from August 19. The arrivals pick-up point will be moved to the elevated platform that has been recently renovated…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
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