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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Police launch murder investigation at Phuket pier
PHUKET: Police have launched a murder investigation after an unidentified man was found dead with a deep cut on his neck near Rassada Pier on Tuesday morning. Police and rescue workers went to the scene, on the road behind the office of the Phuket Fishing Market Organization, and found the shirtless body covered in a blanket and a towel. “The…
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Police crack drug-dealing network, seize war weapon
PHUKET: Police have cracked open a drug and weapons network after arresting two methamphetamine dealers in possession of a weapon of war and other guns in Phuket on Monday. Thammanoon Kaewsirnuon, 31, and Khlongsiri Rorngsakul, 24, were caught at their rental house in Thalang on Monday, after police were tipped off by a man named by officers only as ‘Pop’,…
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World Bungy Jump closes doors, tower demolished
PHUKET: World Bungy Jump in Patong closed its doors for good and demolished its bungy-jump tower on Monday after a tourist suffered fatal injuries during a jump last month. “The owner, Vinat Chanthornwiboonkul, decided on his own to close the business. We don’t want to put anyone at risk at our bungy jump, and we are very sorry about the…
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Colombians arrested for Phuket car robbery
PHUKET: Police have arrested two Colombian suspects for the professional-style robbery of a car in the parking lot of Tesco Lotus Thalang on Sunday (story here). Daniel Guerrero Ariza, 28, and Jean Ortega Duarte, 21, were arrested on Monday when they went to return a car they had rented from a shop in Ao Nang, Krabi. Both men have denied…
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Recreational fisherman found dead off Koh Yao Noi
PHUKET: The remains of a recreational fisherman who went missing on Saturday were found in the waters near Koh Yao Noi early this morning. The wife of Manop Poolpirom, 37, was able to identify her husband’s remains despite their condition after having been exposed to the open ocean and tropical sun. “Mrs Pim told us that her husband often went…
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Hong Kong tourist caught reporting false robbery in Chalong
PHUKET: A Hong Kong tourist has been arrested in Chalong for making a false police report on Sunday morning. At about 1:30am Chalong Police called the Tourist Police hotline to assist them with a robbery complaint. When Phuket Tourist Police arrived they found 22-year-old Wong Wai Ki Warwick Taboctabo – who told police he is from Hong Kong, but holds…
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Girl shocked by exposed wire in Phuket
PHUKET: A 10-year-old girl survived an electric shock after she accidentally stepped on an exposed wire on Khao Rang yesterday. Nisreen Klongsamuth was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital after the accident, but was released today after doctors confirmed she was in good health. “She is safe. She does not have inflammatory cardiomyopathy [inflammation of the heart muscle] following the incident.…
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Phuket officials netted in gambling raid
PHUKET: A couple of local officials were among those arrested during the raid of an illegal gambling den near Khao Naka in Phuket on Sunday night. Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) council member Sommai Kritsan and the village headman for Chalong Moo 1, Pradit Ongsantipap, were among the 26 arrested during the joint-police operation. “We received a tip-off that there…
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Research team to reveal beach-management solution next month
PHUKET: The beach-management research team at Prince of Songkhla University (PSU) Phuket campus will present its findings about current beach rules and ideas for the future to Governor Nisit Jansomwong next month. Governor Nisit told the Phuket Gazette last week (story here) that he had designated the research team to evaluate the results of the three-month trial period for the…
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Myanmar national found dead in workers’ camp
PHUKET: A Myanmar national found dead in a workers’ camp is thought to have died by electrocution, reported Chalong Police. Police and Ruamjai Foundation rescue workers were called to the scene in Soi Luang Phu Supha off Chao Fa West Road at about 5:30pm, where they found the body of Myint Myint Win, 31, lying on a wet floor near…
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Foreigners suspected in Tesco carpark robbery
PHUKET: Police are looking for at least three men, thought to be foreigners, who robbed a car in broad daylight at Tesco Lotus Thalang. “When we arrived, Pasuk Ohara, 43, was standing with her son and his friend near the car. The right side back window had been removed,” said Lt Wichote Meepop of Thalang Police. “Mrs Pasuk told us…
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Motorists escape serious injury in chain-reaction crash
PHUKET: Three motorists narrowly escaped serious injury in Phuket when a motorbike driver fell off her bike and caused a chain-reaction accident on Thepkrasattri Road yesterday. Thalang Police arrived at the scene to find major traffic tailbacks in the southbound lane, a totalled Toyota sedan wrapped around a utility pole, a badly damaged pick-up truck and motorbike in the middle…
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Snake head stuck in Phuket hole
PHUKET: It took Phuket rescue workers about 15 minutes to remove a three-meter python from a drain cover hole near Khao Khad View Point this weekend. “When we arrived it was clear that the snake had gotten its head stuck in the hole,” said Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation worker Silaluck Na Thalang. “I’m glad we got a call from passing motorists,…
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Governor checks Phuket Airport’s MERS control efforts
PHUKET: Island officials gave Phuket International Airport’s MERS prevention efforts a check-up on Friday to ensure the airport was able to identify passengers from South Korea and the Middle East who may be carrying the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (Mers-CoV). No passengers from these risk countries have been suspected of carrying MERS, said Phuket Provincial Health Organization (PPHO) Chief Kajohnsak…
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One killed, two seriously injured in Phuket motorcycle crash
PHUKET: One Phuket resident was killed and three others injured early this morning, when three men on a motorbike ran a red light in Thalang and collided with another man on a motorcycle. Police arrived at the Khao Lan junction on Thepkrasattri Road, just south of Tesco Thalang, at about 1:30am and found the body of Suriya Chaikul, 34. “On…
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Phuket villagers switch off EGAT’s power-line plan
PHUKET: The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has changed its plan to run a 500-kilovolt power-line through Thalang after local villagers filed a complaint about the project last month. EGAT decided to use one of the suggestions put forth by the protestors in their first complaint (story here) and install the new 500KV line along the same path as…
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Phuket gets B29mn for CCTV
PHUKET: A budget of 29 million baht has been allocated for Phuket to boost the number of government-run CCTV on the island by 202 cameras, it was announced last weekend. The cameras are in addition to the 307 recently installed Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) CCTV cameras, but not part of the 238mn-baht upgrade of cameras on the island that is…
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Police insist on safe driving in monsoon weather
PHUKET: The head of Phuket traffic police has urged motorists to proceed with caution in their daily journeys during the heavy rains this weekend. “People should be very cautious during this rainy weather, especially motorcycle drivers and passengers. The roads will be slippery, so people should drive with care and make sure they are wearing helmets,” Phuket Provincial Police Deputy…
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Phuket police not worried about checkpoint warnings on social media
PHUKET: Phuket police are not worried about social media users posting warnings for motorists about standard checkpoints on the island, but will consider pressing charges if a post helps street-racing youths avoid authorities. The news follows a report by The Nation this week that police in Bangkok are considering taking legal action against those who post locations of checkpoints online…
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Inaugural Laguna Phuket Junior Golf Tournament tees off this weekend
PHUKET: The newly upgraded Laguna Phuket Golf Club will host the very first Laguna Phuket Junior Golf Tournament on Sunday. Working in partnership with British International School, Phuket (BISP), the event is aimed at growing the game of golf with tomorrow’s future champions. “Both Laguna Phuket Golf Club and BISP are committed to growing the game of golf in Phuket.…
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Thousands of mangroves planted for Queen Sirikit
PHUKET: Despite the rainy weather, thousands of mangrove trees were planted in Phuket this week in celebration of HM Queen Sirikit’s 80th birthday on August 12. The planting extravaganza was organized by the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command to honor Thailand’s beloved Queen Sirikit as well as to encourage people to rehabilitate and protect the environment. More than 350…
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Rawai Mayor looks to ban pets in work camps
PHUKET: Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos revealed plans yesterday to prohibit those living in worker camps from owning pets as part of a new strategy to control dogs in the southern part of the island. “We have no issues with people raising pets. However, when workers leave the camps the dogs are usually left behind, which has turned into a serious…
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Dengue fever spreads in Krabi, Phuket safe
PHUKET: More than 400 people have been diagnosed with dengue fever in Krabi since January as the mosquito-borne disease spreads in the coastal province east of Phuket. “There has been one fatal case in Krabi so far,” confirmed Phuket Provinical Health Office (PPHO) Chief Kajohnsak Kaewjarus. “However, everything is under control in Phuket.” Krabi is currently ranked among the top…
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Fake quake to strike Phuket next week
PHUKET: An imaginary earthquake will strike Phuket next week so that emergency-response personnel, island officials and locals can take part in a full-scale drill in preparation of the real thing. The exercises and subsequent discussions will take place from June 24 to 26 in Thalang, said Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak yesterday. “There will first be a simulation on June 24…
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Phuket hit-and-runner surrenders
PHUKET: A Phuket hit-and-runner turned himself in to Chalong Police after leaving an unconscious teen motorbiker in his wake last night. Pick-up truck driver Thepsak Jinotan, 42, left Bussakorn Sengsuvann,16, unconscious with a broken leg and other injuries after they crashed on Chao Fa East Road in Chalong at about 7:30pm yesterday. Ms Bussakorn was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital…
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Light the house for Jimmy
PHUKET: Friends of American expat Jimmy Pearson are staging a fundraising party at Dickie’s Lighthouse in Chalong on June 24 to help support Mr Pearson’s recovery from a recent stroke. Mr Pearson, originally from Santa Barbara, California, suffered the stroke on June 10. Though he is recovering well, he now faces many months of physiotherapy to regain the use of…
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More pumps bound for underpass construction site
PHUKET: Flooding caused by routine seasonal rain at the construction site of Phuket’s second underpass this week forced officials to hold an emergency meeting at the Phuket Highways Office (PHO) on Tuesday. “We are planning to install more pumps at the Samkong Intersection site,” confirmed Samak Luedwonghad, director of the PHO. Two of the four pumps used to help clear…
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Officials threaten to close tour company for animal abuse
PHUKET: Officials are threatening to shut down a tour company if it is found allowing tourists to abuse marine animals – again. The news follows tour guide Akung Saewang being caught with a group of tourists who were holding a reef fish trapped in a plastic bag (story here). Mr Akung’s tour guide licence had been suspended pending a meeting…
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Opinion: Phuket poised for superyacht glory
Andy Treadwell was the founder and CEO of Informa Plc’s Sports & Leisure Group (ISLG) and has been working with a number of the world’s most prestigious yachting and sporting industry events from 2007 until 2012. He is now based in Singapore, busy developing a portfolio of events specializing in the leisure marine sector, focusing on unlocking the huge potential…
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Consumer protection board battles Phuket condo developer
PHUKET: Nine Property (Patong) company was given two weeks yesterday to address compensation to pre-build purchasers in the Ace 1 condominium project in Phuket. More than 30 Thai and foreign customers have sought compensation after making down payments of about 400,000 baht on the project, which was scheduled to be completed in April this year, explained Ampol Wongsiri, Secretary General…
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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