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 A healthy tomorrow starts today: Celebrate the great American Smokeout day
The Great American Smokeout, held this year on November 17, is a nationwide event that encourages smokers to take their first steps towards a smoke-free life. If you’re an expat in Thailand, this day could be a timely reminder to...
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Phuket teen dies in crash with parked truck
PHUKET: One teenager died and another was seriously injured when their motorbike crashed into a parked pick-up truck in Thalang early this morning. Natchanon Boonjan, 17, died at the scene while his 17-year-old passenger, Preechaporn Sae Eung, was rushed to Thalang Hospital with severe head injuries. “We received the report at about 3:30am,” confirmed Lt Col Sanit Nukong of the…
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Thailand returns rescued orangutans to Indonesia
BANGKOK: A group of smuggled orangutans were returned from Thailand to Indonesia yesterday following years of diplomatic wrangling over who will care for them after the majority were discovered abandoned on a roadside. Previous Thai governments sought compensation from Indonesia for the cost of housing and treating the 14 apes, but the junta government in Bangkok recently waived those demands…
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Navy denies taking Phuket beach bribes
PHUKET: The Navy denied yesterday that officers had taken bribes to secure jobs for Phuket beach vendors. “We received a complaint that someone was using our name to extort money from the island’s beach vendors,” said Sayan Prasongsamrej, commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command. “We will track down whoever is falsely presenting themselves as a member of…
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Phuket airport taxi driver fired for selling tour packages
PHUKET: The airport taxi driver who was under investigation after a social media post from a passenger went viral last week has been fired, confirmed Phuket Land and Transport (PLTO) Chief Policy Adviser Jaturong Kaewkasi. Montira Sakorn’s Facebook post alleged that the taxi she hired from the airport to Patong failed to bring her and her boyfriend to their destination.…
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East Meets West Garage Sale pulls into port at Boat Arcade
PHUKET: Treasure hunters should start clearing their calendars for this Saturday as the 2nd East Meets West Garage Sale lands at the new Boat Arcade edutainment and family center in the Phuket Boat Lagoon. The 70-plus stalls featured at the venue will be providing treasure troves of high-quality second hand items, plus a selection of top fashion brands. The last…
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Hundreds to gather for charity bike ride for slain officer
PHUKET: Hundreds of Phuket’s bikers will join together for a charity bike ride to raise funds for the family of the Tah Chat Chai police officer who was killed by a drunk driver on Monday (story here). Captain Suthat Songmuang was preparing for his role as part of the security team for the visit of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn…
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PEA announces more long term blackouts
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced yet another disheartening wave of blackouts to carry out maintenance work on high-voltage power lines from November 17-27, confirmed PEA staff member Veera Rairub. “We are sorry for any inconvenience. However, this is our ‘monthly checkup and maintenance period’ and these power outages are necessary in order to continue to provide…
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Highway police bust four people at checkpoint with 13 bags of kratom
KRABI: Phang Nga Highway Police arrested four people, including one minor, at a Krabi checkpoint yesterday for the possession of 130 kilograms of kratom. Kitti Kongderm, 33; Chalee Kongderm, 30; Nuchanat Chorfai, 27 and a 17-year-old minor referred to by police only as ‘Daeng’, were driving two separate cars, carrying a total of 13 bags of fresh kratom leaves. “During…
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Anni Flynn set to take on world of flowboarding
PHUKET: Phuket’s own surf superstar, Annissa Flynn, is about to take on the world. Already a well-respected pro on Asia’s surf scene, for the past two year’s Anni has been working her way up the rankings for the new water-bound sport, flowboarding, where the surf runs uphill. The flowboarding phenomenon is spreading across Asia, with artificial surf machines popping up…
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Phuket receives big budget for CCTV cameras
PHUKET: The Department of Tourism has approved a 117-million-baht budget for Phuket to set up 120 new CCTV cameras throughout the island. Under the campaign ‘Phuket, a peaceful city’, the installation of the cameras aims to boost island security, as well as to assure the safety of locals and tourists, confirmed Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada. The budget has been utilized…
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Nai Harn museum re-designed to save pine grove
PHUKET: The Nai Harn Movie Museum will be re-designed to ensure that none of the pine trees along the beach front will be cut down. The change in plans to the 40-million-baht facility comes after locals tied pieces of saffron fabric around the trees, threatening to have hundreds protest. “We planned to cut down the trees because the roots can…
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Cop-slaying drunk driver hit with civil case
PHUKET: A civil case was brought against the drunk minivan driver who killed an on-duty police officer on Monday. Sen Sgt Maj Suthat Songmuang, father of two, was promoted to Captain postmortem before he was buried yesterday. Region 8 Police gave 100,000 baht to his family. However, a civil lawsuit for further compensation was filed against the driver, 25-year-old Pichitpol…
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Officials table banning destructive diving practice
PHUKET: Authorities are looking to ban destructive dive practices that have been developed on Phi Phi Island to cater to mass tourism. Officials are specifically looking to ban a practice they are calling ‘Try Diving’. “In this case, ‘Try Diving’ is where people with no dive experience at all are brought to a shallow reef to walk around and see…
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Wastewater flow on Karon Beach not hotels’ fault, says official
PHUKET: The foul black water that flowed across Karon Beach on Thursday was not connected to any hotel in the area improperly discharging untreated wastewater, confirmed officials. However, it was untreated wastewater. “The problem, which was caused by officers fixing some pipes, was blown out of proportion by people sharing photos and spreading rumors on social media sites,” Wanchai Saetan,…
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HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn welcomed to the island
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn arrived on the island to chair the formal opening of two of Vachira Phuket Hospital’s new buildings yesterday. The ceremony highlighted both the Chalermprakiat 59 Pansa and the Baan Khun Poom buildings. The Khun Poom building was constructed under the request of Princess Sirindhorn in memory of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s grandson, Bhumi Jensen,…
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Participants lining up for next year’s Raceweek
PHUKET: Participants and sponsors are already signing up for next year’s Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, booking their rooms well in advance at host resorts Cape Panwa Hotel and Kantary Bay Phuket. Returning in 2016 are sponsors Sailescapes, who last year entered a boat and provided charter opportunities for local and international sailors. Joining them are mixed-used developers Absolute World…
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Sea Shepherd hunts Interpol-wanted poacher that escaped Phuket
PHUKET: The hunt is back on for the internationally black-listed illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing vessel that slipped through the fingers of Phuket officials earlier this year, confirmed Captain Siddharth Chakravarty of the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin. “The summer fishing season for toothfish starts now, so we have launched this campaign before the Kunlun can do further damage,” Capt…
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Gibbon touts return to Monkey Beach
PHUKET: Illegal-gibbon touts returned to Monkey Beach in Phi Phi with the start of the high season, confirmed a Phuket Gazette reader. Photographic evidence of two men walking the beach and offering to take pictures of tourists holding the gibbons was promptly passed on to officials. “They are apparently back for high season, because they can earn so much money,”…
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13 arrested in cockfighting raid
PHUKET: Thalang police officers arrested 13 men involved in a cockfight ring during a raid in Pa Khlok on Sunday. About 20 officers raided the cockfighting site, hidden in a rubber plantation. “We seized two roosters and 300 baht in cash at the scene,” said Thalang Police Superintendent Chanuchan Cholsuwat. “The suspects ranged in age from 18 years old to…
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Warming up for Laguna Tri-Fest
PHUKET: Challenge Laguna Phuket’s Tri-Fest event will see hundreds of international athletes come to the island for the legendary Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT), to be held on November 22, and the Challenge Laguna Phuket on November 29. The event was presented to organizers, sponsors and media last month at a conference chaired by Santi Pawai, director of the Ministry of…
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Earthquake shakes Phuket
PHUKET: An earthquake measuring 6.2 in magnitude rattled the island just before midnight last night. The Thai Meteorological Department reported the quake as striking at 11:47pm with its epicenter about 427 kilometers southwest of Phuket, near the Nicobar Islands in India. The Regional Environmental Office has yet to receive any damage reports. — Chutharat Plerin
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Raids net six Phuket drug dealers
PHUKET: Police arrested six Phuket suspects this week for allegedly peddling drugs for a kingpin operating in a prison in Central Thailand. “In two days of raids, we were able to make all six arrests and seize a total of 246 grams of ya ice [crystal methamphetamine] and 114 ya ba [methamphetamine] pills. Additionally, we seized one firearm,” Lt Col…
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Weather hampers search efforts for missing Phuket fisherman
PHUKET: Heavy weather off Phuket today hampered search efforts for a crew member who went missing from a large fishing boat on Thursday. The Royal Thai Navy began their search Thursday evening, after they received a report that Suirya Buasri, 50, had gone missing from Nor Thappornnamchok about 15 nautical miles off Phuket. “We conducted searches by boat and helicopter…
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10% zone takes hold on Patong Beach – no loungers allowed
PHUKET: Patong Beach has become the first beach on the island to have the official 10 per cent zone implemented, confirmed Phuket Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat yesterday. “There have been a number of reports circulating in the English-language media about Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada saying at a meeting earlier this week that tourists could put loungers and umbrellas anywhere on the…
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Aussies to be injected with Phuket virus
PHUKET: A Phuket strain of the influenza virus is being mixed into an Australian quadrivalent flu vaccine for 2016 following a record number of cases reported this year by the Australian Journal of Pharmacy (AJP). The Brisbane and Phuket strains of the virus contributed to the 25,000 spike in reported cases, explained Health Minister Sussan Ley. To combat the increase…
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Phuket police on prevention alert prior to Pai rape
PHUKET: Phuket police reassured the community that efforts to enforce closing times of nightlife venues here were already in full swing prior to the directive issued by the Royal Thai Police in the wake of a British woman being raped. Royal Thai Police ordered officers this week to renew efforts in ensuring that all entertainment venues are closed on time,…
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Debris to blame for underpass flooding
PHUKET: The Darasamuth underpass suffered its first serious flood last night, when the automatic pumping system failed to activate during a heavy downpour. The underpass, which officially opened just over six months ago (story here), became a lake after an accumulation of garbage blocked the automatic switch that turns on the pumps. “We have three water pumps that work using…
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Still no trace of Nai Harn garbage dumpers
PHUKET: It has been nearly five months since the Rawai Municipality received video evidence of a garbage truck dumping waste and construction materials near the award-winning Nai Harn Beach, yet the municipality has thus far failed to identify the illegal dumpers. “I sent the license-plate number of the truck to the Phuket Land and Transport Office [PLTO] months ago, but…
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Special Report: Controversial Dolphinarium puts on first Phuket shows
PHUKET: A number of local schools and orphanages were invited to join the soft opening of Phuket’s highly-contested dolphinarium on the weekend of October 31. Though the manager of the the Dolphins Bay Phuket facility declined to detail exactly how many invitations went out, the five dolphins, two seals and their trainers debuted to a packed 900-seat house. “We actually…
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Phuket mini-van crash kills one; Chinese tourist in coma
PHUKET: An out of control mini-van crashed head-on with a car in Phuket early this morning, killing one person, leaving a Chinese tourist in a coma and injuring five others. “Witnesses explained that the van was heading north on Thepkrasattri Road, near Soi Wat Phra Thong, when the driver lost control of the vehicle on the wet road, crossed the…
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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