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 expat’s Row2Rio begins push to equator
PHUKET: The two men and two women undertaking the Row2Rio challenge have launched into the third section of the trip – the longest leg of the journey with the most unknown factors that could end up making or breaking this unprecedented adventure. “It’s a 950 nautical mile push to the equator. This stage will dictate whether we can get this…
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YouTube video helps nab 30kg king cobra
KOH LANTA: A Koh Lanta local was able to catch a five-meter-long king cobra that made its way into his neighbor’s garden, using a stick-and-rope technique that he learned on YouTube. Worawut Longasan, 56, volunteered to nab the snake, which was hiding under a wooden bench. It only took him a few minutes to bag the nearly 30 kilogram cobra…
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Governor orders tsunami evacuation brochures
PHUKET: Tsunami evacuation brochures will be drawn up and printed following a request by Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket Office has been put in charge of the project, which will see the pamphlets handed out to locals and tourists via local authorities, tour operators, and hotel and business operators. “This project was thought up…
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Witnesses to superyacht crew death stay silent
PHUKET: Mystery still surrounds the death of a Bulgarian crew member who died after both his legs sustained massive injuries on board the superyacht Ocean Victory. Witnesses to the incident have remained silent and not responded to requests to be questioned by Kuraburi Police. “I have sent out letters to all relevant people who were on the yacht on the…
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Frenchman, 23, stabbed to death in Phuket
PHUKET: A 23-year-old Frenchman was stabbed to death in Phuket early this morning. His Moroccan friend, also 23, was injured in the violent altercation in front of the Orchid Resortel on Soi Sansabai in Patong. The Frenchman’s name is being withheld by the Phuket Gazette pending confirmation that next of kin have been informed. “Said Missoury told us that they…
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Krabi City officials drowning in dead fish
KRABI: Krabi officials are scrambling to find a solution to the tens of thousands of dead fish found in a pond in Krabi City over the weekend. The pond, which houses numerous types of fish for fishing competitions, started emanating a bad smell as the fish started to die off on Sunday. “We tested the water for poisonous substances, but…
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Phuket Airport boosts security after Brussels blasts
PHUKET: A bomb disposal squad is on standby and extra military personnel are on guard at checkpoints in and around Phuket International Airport. “We have raised the security status to ‘level three plus’ and have implemented extra safety measures throughout the airport and surrounding area,” said Phuket Airport Director Monrudee Gettuphan. Checkpoints at the airport’s entrance went up at 8pm…
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Bus banned for smoking is alreay back in business
PHUKET: A Phuket bus that was banned from the roads for belching out black smoke and failing an exhaust emission test on Monday was back in business the next day. “The amount of black smoke in the bus’s emissions has been reduced from 99.8 per cent to 12 per cent,” confirmed Jaturong Kaewkasi, chief policy adviser at the Phuket Land…
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Flat tyre, carelessness blamed for filthy Phuket pier
PHUKET: Officials are blaming a garbage truck with a flat tyre and boat operators’ carelessness for the piles of rubbish and spilled oil spotted on Chalong Pier yesterday. Photos sent to the Phuket Gazette by a reader – showing dozens of garbage bags, bottles and puddles of oil along the pier – were forwarded to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization…
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Krabi raid nets a kilo of crystal meth
PHUKET: A Region 8 Police task force smashed a six-man drug trafficking ring in Krabi over the weekend, seizing more than 40,000 methamphetamine pills (ya ba) and more than a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine (ya ice), as well as cash and assets with a combined value of more than 4 million baht. Police were able to close in on the…
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PLTO bans bus bellowing pollution in Phuket
PHUKET: Officials banned a pollution-belching Phuket bus from service after it failed its emissions test yesterday. The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) was alerted to the bus’s condition through a complaint made by a concerned citizen who sent in a photo of the vehicle’s plate number. “The black carbon emissions expelled from diesel exhaust cannot exceed 45 per cent. However,…
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Phuket ‘smart city’ set to receive Korean expertise, B430mn-budget
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak yesterday announced a budget of 430 million baht to further the ‘smart city’ project in Phuket. The announcement was made at a conference yesterday where the Deputy PM invited entrepreneurs from the South Korean city of Busan to invest in Thailand. Deputy PM Somkid chaired a signing ceremony between Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada and…
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Calling all HOGs for record Harley convoy in Phuket
PHUKET: Hundreds of Harley-Davidson bikers from across the country are roaring in to Phuket on April 10 to set the record for the longest Harley-Davidson convoy in Thailand. Phuket’s HOGs (Harley Owner’s Group members) are calling on all Thailand chapters to join the attempt to set the record for the longest Harley parade with about 500 bikes and riders. The…
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Phuket etiquette course in wake of Chinese tourist prawn gorging [video]
PHUKET: Following Chinese tourists’ chaotic stampede and subsequent gluttonous gorging of piles of prawns at a buffet in Thailand, Phuket will be holding an etiquette course for guides working with Chinese tour companies. The internet was ablaze with vehement criticism of Chinese tourists this weekend after Chinese media company Shanghaiist published a 33 second video clip showing tourists in a…
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A Decade Ago: Beach chairs and a B40mn blaze
PHUKET: Fears that beach vendors’ unrelenting attempts to retake the beaches will eventually wear down Phuket officials’ willingness to enforce the 10 per cent zone and virgin beach regulations are well founded. Ten years ago, in the March 18-24 edition of the Phuket Gazette, we documented rental operators reneging on a deal – struck after the tsunami – between their…
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Fisherman killed in knife fight near Phuket port
PHUKET: A 19-year-old Myanmar national was killed in a knife fight on a fishing boat pulling into a Phuket port yesterday afternoon. The altercation between two Myanmar crew members on the fishing vessel Kiang Chai 11 resulted in the death of Yae Tui. The surviving crew member, Van Chana, 34, was sent to Vachira Phuket Hospital to be treated for…
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Manhunt launched for Mai Khao murderer
PHUKET: Police have launched a manhunt after the lacerated body of a 25-year-old man was found lying in a pool of blood in front of a shack at a rubber plantation in Mai Khao yesterday morning. The body of Myanmar worker, known only as Mr Sor, was discovered in the plantation near Phuket International Airport at about 10:50am on Sunday…
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Moscow-bound flight grounded at Phuket airport after passenger voices fears
PHUKET: A flight from Phuket to Moscow was evacuated yesterday after a passenger said he felt threatened. The captain of Russia’s Nordwind Airlines called the airport office to request an emergency inspection after Alexander Nozof, 25, said he felt threatened for reasons that were unspecified. Monrudee Gettuphan, director of Phuket International Airport, denied rumors that the plane had been hijacked.…
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Checkpoint police nab 21 taxi drivers, most for poor dress sense
PHUKET: Police have arrested a total of 21 taxi drives at a checkpoint in Patong in the past two days, 19 of whom were fined for being inappropriately dressed. Patong traffic policeman Ekkarat Plaiduang and Tourist Police Chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit led the checkpoint in front of the Patong Police Station in order to crack down on fixed-price taxi services and…
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Fans requested at high-ranking Krabi official’s funeral
KRABI: The family of a high-ranking officer in Krabi has requested that fans be brought to the late lieutenant colonel’s funeral in lieu of wreaths. The funeral of Lt Col Kliang Maneechote, 50, of the Krabi Provincial Police was held at a temple in Krabi Town after he passed away on March 13 after suffering a stroke. Col Kliang’s wife,…
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Tougher rules introduced to curb cheating taxi drivers
PHUKET: Phuket taxi drivers are facing tough new regulations and harsher punishments in a renewed effort to prevent them from overcharging and cheating customers. The new regulations are aimed predominantly at taxi drivers based at Phuket International Airport, where cabbies are frequently accused of refusing to turn on their meters, overcharging and making unwanted diversions, said Jaturong Kaewkasi, chief policy…
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Demolition day announced for buildings on Phuket beaches
PHUKET: Local authorities have today announced a final deadline for businesses encroaching on public land at Surin, Lay Pang and Layan beaches, informing business owners that they have to demolish all illegal buildings by next month. “We have decided, once and for all, to demolish the premises of private businesses encroaching on public land at all three ot these Phuket…
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Phuket van man disappears owing B10mn to his drivers
PHUKET: A contingent of minivan drivers gathered at Thalang Police Station yesterday morning to demand help tracking down their employer, who has disappeared owing more than 10 million baht (approx US$ 285,000) to about 115 Phuket-based drivers. “We are here because we did not get paid by our employer, Puripatara Weerawatara, the owner of World Express Co Ltd,” said Thammarat…
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Vessel accused of dumping waste off Krabi
KRABI: A large vessel commissioned by the Krabi government to dredge near the Krabi Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) pier received some bad publicity this week after a Facebook user accused it of dumping waste into the Andaman. The photos posted by the Facebook user, showing black ‘wastewater’ surrounding the vessel, quickly went viral. However, the Krabi Marine Office was quick…
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Deputy PM dives into Phi Phi’s wastewater woes
PHUKET: Phi Phi officials are looking to secure a multi-million-baht budget to plug the free flow of untreated wastewater into the sea. Deputy Prime Minister Adm Narong Pipatanasai visited the island yesterday to review a number of projects that the local administration plan to implement to stem the daily tide of 1,800 cubic meters of wastewater spewing into the marine…
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Man killed in Phuket defending shoes
PHUKET: A man was killed after allegedly attempting to defend his shoes from a thief in Phuket this morning. “Neighbors told us that Niwat Linooi, 24, caught someone trying to take his shoes from in front of his home and allegedly punched the thief,” said Lt Col Suchart Meelampong of the Phuket City Police. The man then supposedly called out…
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Fortuner driver cleared of hit-and-run charges
PHUKET: Police cleared a suspected hit-and-run driver of any involvement in the accident that killed one and injured two in Wichit on Monday morning (story here). Witnesses told officers that a Toyota Fortuner of an unknown color was heading toward Phuket Town when it struck Narakorn Onthong, 30, and Pa Yasamut, 54, before crossing lanes and fatally injuring 17-year-old Sittichai…
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DSI being unfair in land probe, says Phuket company owner
PHUKET: The owner of Six Mountains Co Ltd yesterday called on the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to look into his adversary land ownership documents in Koh Nakha Moo 5 in Thalang district. Chanwit Kijlertsiriwattana claimed that his company was being singled out by the DSI in its investigation over the Hiranpruk family’s allegations that his firm had used illegitimate…
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Krabi kratom thief found dead near tree
KRABI: Police have not ruled out foul play in the death of an unidentified man who was found dead in Krabi yesterday. Police found the shirtless body of the man lying on the ground, clutching kratom leaves in his hand, near an empty bungalow in Khlong Thom. “We believe the man received a fatal electric shock, as about two meters…
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Kratom dealers busted in Krabi raid
KRABI: Krabi Police apprehended five kratom dealers along with 10 customers during a raid in Muang district Monday afternoon. “We conducted a raid after receiving complaints from neighbors who suspected that they were selling drugs to teenagers in the area. We believe they have been doing this for a long time,” said Muang District Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Sophon Suvannakarat.…
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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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