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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Another thieving airline employee arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: An AirAsia baggage handler was arrested on Friday afternoon for stealing jewelry worth 80,000 baht from a passenger’s luggage at Phuket International Airport the day before. Thasayu Boonsop, 26, confessed to theft following a complaint lodged at Sakoo Police Station by Amika Maha, a passenger on AirAsia flight FD3015 from Bangkok to Phuket on Thursday night. “Ms Amika checked…
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American tourist injured in Krabi climbing accident
PHUKET: An American tourist is in hospital in Phuket after she fell while attempting to scale a six-meter-high cliff in Krabi yesterday morning. Samara Landers, 38, broke her leg and sustained several bruises to her body. Saman Vajidee of Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park received a report of the incident at about 10:30am. “We found…
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Aussie tourist dead after visit to his Phuket hotel room
PHUKET: The body of an Australian tourist was found in a Phuket hotel room at about 4pm yesterday. The deceased was believed to have died of a sudden cardiac arrest. Peter John Bright, 55, was staying at the ‘Hello Yaya Residence’ hotel on Phra Baramee Road. He had been there since February 23 and was due to check out yesterday.…
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Malaysian tourist found dead in Phuket hotel room
PHUKET: Police are investigating the death of a Malaysian tourist whose body was found in a Patong hotel room yesterday afternoon. Officials believe over-consumption of alcohol may have been a contributing factor in his death. “Lee Tzu Yuen, 38, was staying at the ‘White Patong’ guesthouse in Soi San Sabai. We found him naked and lying face up on the…
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Russian tourist ‘found’ in Phuket after 10 hours at sea
PHUKET: A Russian tourist, hell-bent on snorkeling despite warnings, was rescued and brought to shore this morning after being lost at sea for at least ten hours off Koh Racha Noi. “Four Russian tourists, named by police as Artem Tarasenko, 45; Sergey Larichev, 40; Valeruu Iakunin, 40; and Dmitrii Somov, 48, rented a speed boat with Thai captain Rittiron Saleeka,…
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Phuket woman wanted for swindling millions
PHUKET: Two women filed a complaint against another earlier this week for allegedly scamming them out of millions of baht and lying about business investments. Pitchayatida Piyodecha and Thaworn Srikanjana filed complaints of fraud at Wichit Police Station against the suspect, named only as ‘Anny’ by police. “Ms Pitchayatida says she was introduced to Ms Anny through a mutual acquaintance.…
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Bomb scare grounds Phuket-bound flight from Sweden
STOCKHOLM: Swedish officials are investigating a bomb threat against a Phuket-bound Thai Airways flight at Stockholm Arlanda Airport last night. The flight was grounded and all 300 passengers safely evacuated, reports Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. The threat was specifically directed toward flight TG963, which was due to take off at 8:45pm, said Sven-Erik Olsson of the Stockholm Police. A relative of…
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Phuket Gazette office closed tomorrow
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette would like to inform our readers and advertisers that our office in Koh Kaew will be closed tomorrow as the result of yet another power outage, from 9am-4pm. Deadlines for our classified advertisements remain unaffected. We apologize to all for the inconvenience.
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Army reverses decision on Phuket sun loungers
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Army has declared that sun loungers are now allowed in the 10 percent zone at Patong Beach. The decision was handed down yesterday afternoon by army and beach management committee officials, who decided to reverse the Royal Thai Navy’s ruling declaring them illegal in December last year (story here). The same outcome is expected for other…
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Road-raging Phuket teen biker to pay up
PHUKET: An ‘angry teen’ seen kicking, screaming and pointing at a Honda Jazz on a video earlier this week in Kamala was charged and ordered to compensate the car owner. Phuket Gazette reporters contacted Capt Prasert Thongprom of Kamala Police yesterday to follow up on the ugly incident that took place on Saturday (story here). The parents of the teen…
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Phuket Police hunt for love-struck stabber
PHUKET: Police are on the lookout for five men allegedly involved in stabbing and killing a Myanmar man at a Patong laundromat yesterday morning. The incident is believed to have been prompted by a ‘love triangle’. Lt Sirinat Cherdchutrakulthong of Patong Police received reports of the incident at about 3:45am. “Blood was splattered on the floor of ‘Dry Cleaning World’,…
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Phuket bus, six-wheeler in rainy head-on collision
PHUKET: The driver of a tour bus in Phuket was injured after the front of his vehicle was ripped off in a head-on collision with a six-wheeler this afternoon. Capt Ekkarat Chatpai of Wichit Police received the report at about 2:30pm and arrived at the rain-drenched Muang Thong junction with Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers. The bus was being driven by…
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British man dies on Phuket snorkeling trip
PHUKET: A British man died on a chartered yacht anchored near Koh Racha yesterday afternoon. Lt Chanat Hongsithchaiyakul of Chalong Police received a distress call from the yacht asking for rescue teams at about 1:30pm. “We found the victim, Graham Weds, unconscious on the floor. He had a wound on his head and was not breathing,” said Lt Chanat. Rescue…
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Video: Angry teens terrorize family after a ‘beep’
PHUKET: A video featuring teen bikers terrorizing a family of three in Kamala went viral yesterday afternoon. The Facebook clip shows two teen-aged kids on a motorbike driving dangerously close to a Honda Jazz, ordering its driver to stop. The one riding pillion was silent, while the other looked visibly angry, kept on pointing at the car and then kicked…
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Phuket 96-year-old found hanged at home
PHUKET: An elderly local was found hanging by a nylon rope in his house in Thalang last night. The victim, 96-year-old Pracha Kruepanich, had been discharged from Vachira Phuket Hospital six days ago and was believed to have been stressed by health issues. “We found Mr Pracha’s body hanging by a rope tied to a metal hook at the back…
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British expat burglar arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: An elusive British serial burglar, who has been on the run from police for at least two years, was arrested yesterday in connection with another series of burglaries in Phuket. Charlie Machin, 54, was apprehended at his rental house in Soi Na Koh, Cherng Talay, with 67 items stolen from at least three homes. He was previously wanted for…
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Phi Phi national park chief resigns
PHUKET: The Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park chief asked to be transferred to a different department yesterday. He cited “failing health and work stress” as the reasons behind his decision, in a letter addressed to the director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). “I have been having health problems and…
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BBC journalist faces jail in Phuket defamation case
PHUKET: A British journalist with the BBC faces up to five years in a Phuket prison after a lawyer brought a criminal defamation case against him over a fraud investigation. The prosecution was sparked by a September 2015 report by Jonathan Head, the BBC’s Southeast Asia correspondent, looking at how two foreign retirees were scammed out of their properties in…
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Phuket Gov announces “successful crackdown’ on unlicenced hotels
PHUKET: More than a thousand unlicensed hotels have applied to be registered as hotels after a two-month ultimatum was issued at the end of November last year, the Phuket Governor confirmed yesterday. Starting from November 29, unlicensed hotels in Phuket were given until the end of January to become legally registered or to “face consequences” (story here). At the time,…
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Unidentified man dies in Phuket bike crash
PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a motorbike crash victim who was found dead in Rassada last night. They believe he died from injuries caused by crashing into an electric pole. “The accident occurred at Soi Mali Kaew, where there are several sharp curves in the road. We found the body of a man with blood on his head and…
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Detour signs placed after Phuket bridge collapse
PHUKET: A bridge on the road that circles around the Nai Harn lake near Phuket’s popular Nai Harn Beach collapsed earlier this week. It is now undergoing repairs and officials have advised drivers to pay heed to the diversion signs that they have placed at the site. The signs are in both English and Thai. The reconstruction project is expected…
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Fish-feeding Russian tourist jailed in Phuket
PHUKET: A Russian tourist spent two nights in jail for feeding fish at Koh Racha before paying 100,000 baht bail to be released from a holding cell at Phuket Provincial Court yesterday. Her passport has been held by the court and she is not permitted to leave the country until after her case is tried there. Her initial hearing is…
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German jumps off Phuket highrise and crashes through cafe roof
PHUKET: A German tourist survived a jump off a 9th floor hotel roof in Phuket yesterday and smashed through the roof of a cafe below. “We found Bernhard Schartl, 53, lying on the ground of a local noodle house on Soi Sansabai in Patong at about 5:30pm. There was a large hole in the ceiling right above him, which he…
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Speeding British biker kills Phuket local
PHUKET: A Thai man was killed after a British national on a big bike crashed into him in Thalang last night. Chawalit Sritha, 69, was riding a Honda Wave and collided with 32-year-old Adam Howard’s Yamaha big bike. “Mr Chawalit was critically injured and taken to Thalang Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Mr Howard was treated for minor…
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Snarled wires cause electric fire in Phuket
PHUKET: A transformer exploded after a jumble of electric wires sparked last night in Kata, causing thick, black clouds of smoke and hours of blackout in the area. The incident occurred near the heavily trafficked Kata Beach Resort junction. Crowds of tourists and locals gathered at the scene, watching the sparks and flames in shock. Residents nearby used fire extinguishers…
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Portuguese expat injured as wall collapses in Phuket
PHUKET: A Portuguese expat was injured after a wall collapsed in his house in Rawai last night. Rescue workers received a report of the incident at about 7:30pm and arrived at the scene to find the 3.5-meter-high wall broken into pieces on the floor. “We also found Abel Eduado, 56, sitting nearby with a bloody four-inch wound on his right…
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Phuket tourists injured as taxi driver falls asleep at the wheel
PHUKET: A taxi driver was injured after he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a concrete pillar in Thalang early this morning. Two Chinese tourists sitting in the taxi sustained minor injuries due to the impact with the pillar of a pedestrian crossing bridge in the area. “The collision occurred on the northbound Thepkrasattri Road near Muang Thalang…
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Russian arrested, may face prison term for feeding fish
KOH RACHA: A Russian tourist was arrested, with bail set at 100,000 baht, for feeding fish in Koh Racha yesterday afternoon. “The incident occurred at Plab Pla beach on Koh Racha Yai. During a regular patrol, officers found Olga Smirnova, 53, feeding bread to the fish,” said Suchat Rattanaruengsri, Region 6 head of the Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Division.…
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Police hunting for gunmen in Krabi van driver’s murder
KRABI: Police are hunting for at least two gunmen who killed a van driver in Krabi yesterday. “The victim’s van was found in a palm plantation on Petch Kasem road in Ao Luek Tai sub-district. On the driver’s seat, we found Chalee Petchpuang, 48, covered in blood, with bullet wounds to his neck and forehead,” said Capt Manas Inthornprom of…
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Photos of foot waving foreigner criticized in Phuket
PHUKET: A foreigner who stuck his foot out the window of a passenger van has received a lot of criticism on social media after pictures of the incident were posted online. The pictures were taken two weeks ago by a Facebook user, who wishes to remain anonymous, driving behind the van on Thepkrasattri Road near the Bang Koo junction in…
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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