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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Phuket marine chief replaced – again
PHUKET: Phuket Marine Office chief Surachai Burapanontachai is to be transferred at the end of July to the Marine Department headquarters in Bangkok. Mr Surachai will be taking up the position as the department’s acting secretary. Mr Surachai is scheduled leave his post here next week after handing over his duties to his replacement, former Samut Prakarn Marine Office chief…
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Naka Noi land dispute settled, as Land Department Gen revokes ownership
The Land Department has concluded a Naka Noi land ownership dispute by revoking land ownership documents held by Six Mountain Company Co Ltd. Land Department Director-General Apinun Suetanuwong told the Phuket Gazette that he would side with the standing committee presiding over the dispute on July 14. That committee found that the NorSor3Kor of 24 rai held by the company…
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Karon hit with historic floods
PHUKET: Karon experienced the worst flooding in decades after a heavy downpour this morning, the municipality’s deputy mayor Ittiporn Sangkaew told the Phuket Gazette today. Shops and houses opposite hillside construction sites along Patak Road were inundated with mud and water up to one meter deep. “This is the worst flooding we’ve seen in decades,” said the deputy mayor. The…
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Krabi lawyer charged for speaking out against referendum
KRABI: A Krabi lawyer surrendered himself to the police on Saturday after he became a ‘wanted’ man for breaching the Public Referendum Act via a Facebook post. Chuwong Maneekul, 51, expressed his opposition to the referendum and its authors on his Facebook page about two weeks ago. “I posted the status to express my feelings without any hidden agendas, but…
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Migrant workers arrested during registration
PHUKET: Officers from the Phuket Provincial Office (PPO) and the Royal Thai Navy arrested 80 migrant laborers during two raids in Thalang on Sunday. The raids came after the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) encouraged illegal laborers to register throughout the month of July, with PPEO officials stating that the government is showing leniency with employers and illegal workers (story…
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Thieves plague Srisoonthorn
PHUKET: Thalang police are looking for a suspect or suspects who allegedly stole the batteries from a parked six-wheel truck in Srisoonthorn yesterday. Lt Suporn Muangkhai of Thalang police said officers were notified of the theft by the truck driver around 7:30am. Forty-seven year old Pipop Sasan from central Thailand said his vehicle was parked near the Democrat Party’s Phuket…
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Three-day public holiday begins for Buddhist lent
PHUKET: Government offices, along with many private businesses, will be closed over the next three days, as Buddhists across the country mark Asanha Bucha Day and the Khao Phansa Holiday. Alcohol sales are also prohibited during the official public holidays on Tuesday and Wednesday. Asanha Bucha, which falls on Tuesday, commemorates the Lord Buddha’s first teaching of Dhamma (Truth) to…
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Body of missing Royal Thai Army officer found
PHANG NGA: A Royal Thai Navy search and rescue team yesterday recovered the body of a Royal Thai Army officer, who reportedly slid off a rock at Khao Na Yak in Phang Nga and went missing on Friday. Pongsathorn Pakdee, 22, was fishing with his friends when the incident took place, after which Janya Plaimuang, his aunt, reported the incident…
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Dolphins washing ashore, injured or dead
PHUKET: A dead dolphin was discovered off a Patong Beach and another is recovering at a Royal Thai Navy facility on Koh Lanta. Both were discovered by scuba divers on Saturday. Phuket Marine Biological Center veterinarian Patcharaporn Gaewmong told the Phuket Gazette that she believes recent discoveries of sick, injured or dead cetaceans are likely the result of monsoon season…
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Last call for illegal migrant workers to register
PHUKET: Immigration officials are calling on employers of illegal migrant workers to register their employees before a grace period ends this month. “At least 20,000 foreign laborers, predominantly Myanmar nationals, have registered at Phuket’s ‘one-stop center’ since it began accepting applications on April 1, so they can be properly registered and issued with work permits,” said Phuket Provincial Employment Office…
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Blaze guts alleyway of shops in Patong [video]
PHUKET: A blaze gutted shops in a narrow alley off Bangla Road in Patong last night. The fire broke out about midnight near Thaweesawong Road (beach road), damaging several shops including a tailor’s and a minimart. Firefighters and six fire trucks took more than an hour to extinguish the inferno, which is estimated to have caused several million baht worth…
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Indonesian busted at Samui airport with 3kg of cocaine in suitcase
KOH SAMUI: An Indonesian man has been detained by police after picking up a suitcase stuffed with 3 kilograms of cocaine at Samui International Airport on Thursday (July 14). The suspect, named by police as Djemmy Petrus Mokodompit, 48, had arrived on Koh Samui a week earlier, on July 8, on a Bangkok Airways flight from Singapore. The unaccompanied suitcase…
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Government takes back more land, angers locals
PHUKET: Locals are furious after government officers demolished plantations and houses in Thalang on Thursday. “This is incredibly unfair,” said Sorasid Saksuay, a representative of the 200-member community, talking to the press yesterday. “We’ve been living here since before 1998.” A Suan Pa Bang Kanun census in 1998 registered community members and property claims. The area, spread out over some…
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Fake monks charged for begging in Patong
PHUKET: Two monks with fake ordination certificates and a bank book were arrested by Patong Police yesterday. According to reports from locals, Tanai Jai-uea, 52 and Bundit Sairat, 42, have been regular food beggars at the Sai Nam Yen intersection on Rat Uthit 200 Pee Road in Patong for two years. “They were not doing alms rounds like other monks…
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Deadly man-of-war spotted off Phuket beaches
PHUKET: Deadly Portuguese Man-of-War have been spotted floating off several of Phuket’s popular beaches this week. Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut Chuayuan told the Phuket Gazette today that the venomous siphonophore are a common occurrence off Phuket shores during the monsoon season and warned swimmers to be extra vigilant to ensure they do not risk getting stung by them. The…
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Condo conundrum
PHUKET: Your ownership of a condominium or your ability to rent it out has nothing to do with whether or not you have a work permit, Phuket Employment Office Chief Pitool Dumsakorn has told the Phuket Gazette. Legal ambiguities over real estate regulations distressed foreign owners last week, when Phuket Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat announced a crackdown on condominium complexes…
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19-year-old arrested for more than 20 robberies
PHUKET: Police arrested a teenager yesterday who confessed to committing more than 20 robberies in Phuket since February. Channarong Petchmanee, 19, was charged with illegal possession of a firearm in public, gang theft and evading arrest using a vehicle, as per the arrest warrant issued on April 1. Among other incidents, Mr Channarong confessed to using a firearm to steal…
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Marina developers to fight encroachment charges
KRABI: The developers of the Port Takola Yacht Marina in Krabi have been charged with land encroachment after Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) officers raided the site on June 29. The DMCR officials said that during the raid more than 100 officers inspected the marina property to determine whether or not it was encroaching on government land. After…
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Tourists thanked by Ao Nang officials for beach cleaning
KRABI: Public officials in Krabi began picking up trash that had washed ashore along a two kilometer stretch of Ao Nang beach yesterday. The officers were joined by private companies, as well as tourists, who pitched in to clear the beach after the heavy rains and strong surf washed trash up along the Ao Nang shoreline. Krabi officials said they…
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Dolphin dies despite locals’ efforts
PHUKET: A lost and weakened dolphin found at Rawai beach last night has died, despite rescuers attempts save the mammal. Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos told the Phuket Gazette that he received a report around 5pm from locals that they had found a dolphin in trouble off Rawai beach. “We immediately called the Phuket Marine Biological Center’s (PMBC) Endangered Species Unit,”…
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Junkies and vandals flock to Samui park
KOH SAMUI: Photos circulating on line of dirty and unsafe toilets at Pru Chaweng Park in Koh Samui have sparked enough public outrage that officials are considering moving the facilities. Images of used needles, condoms and faeces went viral on July 5, after a user posted them on Facebook. The ten-toilet public restroom is located in a public park and…
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Rescue operation underway to save injured dolphin
KRABI: The Royal Thai Navy was working to save the life of an injured dolphin found stranded on a beach on Lanta Noi Island in Krabi yesterday. Locals found the fatigued cetacean with a damaged left fin on Lang Sod Beach and called the Navy for help. Lieutenant commander Peerapat Pattanasopon of the Third Naval Area Command rescue unit said…
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Scarce hauls concern local fishermen, conservation officials
PHUKET: As fishermen across Phuket and Krabi returned to shore after the July 1 reopening of the season, their meager catches furrowed foreheads and drew exasperated sighs. Fish stocks are dwindling, and many of western Thailand’s captains and deck hands are worried as a fog of uncertainty obscures the future of their industry – and livelihoods. “Every year it keeps…
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Teenaged tourist critically injured by speedboat propeller
PHUKET: A speedboat crew member was charged for reckless driving and causing injury after a Chinese tourist was severely injured when he got caught in the boat’s propeller on Wednesday. Li Yuheng, 18, was aboard the Poseidon 959 along with 33 other tourists. The boat was headed from Phuket to Phi Phi and was moored at Pileh Bay for tourists…
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Woman killed in Phuket Town shooting
PHUKET: Police are searching for suspects who allegedly shot a woman in the head yesterday morning in Phuket Town. Phuket City Police responded to a reported attack on a souvenir shop on Phang Nga Road a little after 4am. The Phuket Gazette has confirmed that the woman is a hilltribe, non-Thai citizen from Chiang Mai, named Wenlang Sae-Lee. The 22…
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Heavy rains damage roads, flood farm land and houses in Krabi Town
KRABI: Heavy rains have deteriorated roads, farms and homes in Krabi. Overnight storms on Wednesday caused flooding in the areas downhill from Phanom Bencha mountain, just north of Krabi Town. Officials warned residents that flooding may increase if the province receives additional rainfall over the weekend. Talengsak Puwayannapong from the Krabi Office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation…
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1,000 free WiFi hotspots planned for Phuket
PHUKET: One thousand free WiFi hotspots are to be made available in Phuket in time for the tourist high season at the end of this year. “The hotspots will be made available in Phuket Town and Patong by December, at the latest, as part of Phuket’s development as a ‘smart city’, said the provincial head of the Software Industry Promotion…
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Motorcycle rider killed in collision with U-turning pick-up
PHUKET: A motorcycle rider was killed instantly last night when the bike she was riding slammed into a pick-up truck that was making a U-turn in front of the Supercheap store near the Heroines’ Monument on the road to Pa Khlok. The accident occurred just after midnight, killing Myanmar national Jee Ngui, 26, and seriously injuring a man who could…
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Police capture mobile phone thief, alleged rapist
PHUKET: A suspected mobile phone thief was arrested last night after police tracked him down when he used the stolen phone. Wiwat Wiroondok, 20, was arrested at his rented accommodation in Kamala at about 10pm. He had a Samsung phone, a watch and several other items believed to have been stolen. “A woman named ‘Kan’ reported to police that about…
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Emergency response crews drill for CMEX 16
PHUKET: Rappelling from helicopters and swiftly moving across the deck of a tour boat captured by terrorists, Royal Thai Navy specialists were able to neutralize the gunmen and free their hostages. After all the hostages were accounted for, terrorists and soldiers alike lit up cigarettes and chatted casually. The hostage crisis was just one situation practiced by government responders and…
![Blaze guts alleyway of shops in Patong [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_2016718101340960_oNMheadLJdNuflDPxhIfbdGnCNSJPJmEWzlAZOMi_jpeg.jpeg)
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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