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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Navy settles beach vending squabble
PHUKET: A ‘misunderstanding’ about vendors on Kata Beach garnered a visit from Navy personnel and Damrongtham Center Chief Prapan Kanprasang on Thursday. About 40 officials, assembled by the Royal Thai Navy’s Phuket-based Third Area Command and Phuket Provincial civil defense volunteers, were on hand after the Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office) received a complaint about old vendors prohibiting new vendors and…
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Asian Weightlifting Championships start tomorrow
PHUKET: Due to the devastating earthquake in Nepal, the 26th Senior Women’s and 45th Senior Men’s Asian Weightlifting Championships are now taking place in Phuket starting tomorrow. Between September 6 and 11, almost 400 athletes from 38 countries will be flexing their muscles as they battle against gravity at Saphan Hin’s 4,000-seat Indoor Sports Complex. The event’s opening ceremony, chaired…
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Phuket Yacht Show dates confirmed
PHUKET: Dates for the first edition of the Phuket Yacht Show, now known as the Thailand Yacht Show, have finally been confirmed by organizers Singapore Yacht Events Pte Ltd (SYE) following a partnership agreement signed recently with the Marine Department of Thailand’s Ministry of Transport. The event is destined to become the focal point of the luxury charter yacht business…
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Vegetarian Festival dates announced
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong has announced the dates for this year’s Vegetarian Festival with the new addition of a parade in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The nine-day festival is slated to take place from October 13 to 21. “The parade to honor HM the King will take place on Wednesday, October 14 at Chai Field. There will also…
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New food fair comes to Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket will play host for the first ever ‘Amazing Tastes of Thailand’ food fair from September 19 to 20, confirmed Anoma Wongyai, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket. Selected food from across the nation, as well as popular Phuket dishes, will be available for visitors to enjoy on Thalang Road in Phuket Town. “There will also…
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Bargains galore at Boat Arcade Garage Sale this weekend
PHUKET: Bargain hunters can rummage through a treasure trove of used and second-hand items at the first East Meets West Weekend Garage Sale to be held at the new Boat Arcade community mall this weekend from 10:00am to 4:00pm. About 100 stalls will be popping up to offer everything from household items and furniture to boat parts, books, toys and,…
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Frenchman busted for passing counterfeit euros
PHUKET: A French national was arrested while attempting to exchange a counterfeit 100 euro banknote on Soi Bangla yesterday. Rene Louis Regrault, 59, was apprehended by Tourist Police after the bill he went to exchange at the Shino Money Exchange counter was flagged by an employee. “After confirming that the banknote was fake, we accompanied Mr Regrault back to his…
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Khao Sok diving ban maybe lifted
PHUKET: In a knee-jerk reaction, national park officers enforced a ban on all diving in the Chio Lan Reservoir, the center piece to the extraordinary Khao Sok National Park, following the death of two experienced cave divers in a diving accident on technical rebreathers last year (story here). However, the ban might not last, Khao Sok National Park Chief Chaichana…
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Phuket academic institute’s booze ban gets wider
PHUKET: The booze belt around academic institutes (story here) in Phuket is set to get significantly wider after it was announced yesterday that the ban would be applied to all businesses within a kilometer of Phuket Rajabhat University. The university is the province’s pilot project for the national ‘Campus Safety Zone’ campaign, which will see security measures ramped up around…
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Ministry of Interior blocks beach restaurant demolition
PHUKET: The Ministry of Interior yesterday blocked the demolition of a Phuket restaurant that is allegedly on public, beachfront land. “The restaurant had previously been demolished. However, the owners just moved the business to nearby land,” said Lt Sompop Kamkana of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command. “They are living on public land without a land title and the…
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Experts divided over Phuket “shark bite’ culprit
PHUKET: Experts are split, with many on the fence, about what species of marine animal is the culprit in the recent non-fatal ‘attack’ on an Australian tourist in shallow Phuket waters (story here). At the forefront of suspected species is the bull shark. However, black tipped reef sharks, giant barracuda, trigger fish and even puffer fish have been tabled as…
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Understanding the PhuketWan “not guilty’ verdict
PHUKET: All charges filed by the Royal Thai Navy against Big Island Media, Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian were dismissed yesterday. However, the Navy’s right to file those charges was upheld. Judge Chaipawat Chayaanantapat addressed a courtroom packed with international journalists, but was noticeably devoid of members of the navy and the prosecuting team. According to the court hearing, the…
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Pregnant Aussie’s tendons severed in “shark attack’
PHUKET: The pregnant Queenslander who was attacked in the shallow waters of Phuket, by what experts believe was most likely a shark, will remain in the care of doctors for several more days. Bangkok Hospital Phuket doctors have explained to Jane Neame, 6-months pregnant, that she needs to remain under observation to ensure there are no infections following her surgery.…
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Australian “most likely’ attacked by shark, says expert
PHUKET: An Australian tourist in Phuket sustained a non-life threatening injury from an unidentified marine animal, believed by experts to be a shark, while swimming at Karon Beach this morning. Jane Neame, 37, shouted for help about 200 meters from shore after she felt like she had been bitten twice, explained Karon Municipality Tourist Rescue Center Chief Supachai Janpen. “When…
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A Decade Ago: Parched ground trembles and Big Buddha construction starts
PHUKET: Ground was broken a decade ago for the iconic Big Buddha image, which has already become a reassuring and dominating fixture on the skyline of southern Phuket. “The world’s biggest meditating Buddha [Pang Manravichai] should be finished in the next three years,” Suporn Vanichakul, who remains the head of the project committee, told the Gazette in 2005. Ten years…
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Police arrest Chalong killer
PHUKET: Police have arrested the gunman who shot and killed a man in the Chalong Pier parking lot on Friday. Kanawat Thingwai, 21, and his two accomplices, 18-year-old Ekkasit Kongsomot and a 17-year-old minor named by police only as ‘Don’, were arrested yesterday at a house in Rawai, Provincial Police Commander Patchara Boonyasit said this morning. The three men drove…
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Phuket police hunt illegal fishermen
PHUKET: Police are searching for the owner, or owners, of illegal fishing equipment found at Bang Yai Canal in Phuket Town yesterday. Phuket Marine Police Chief Panya Chaichana led his team in collecting 24 illegal fishing nets, also known as ‘ai ngo‘ from the site. Ai ngo is one of four types of fishing gear made illegal by the National…
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Police arrest ladyboy packing fake shooter
PHUKET: A ladyboy and her teenage associate were arrested yesterday for robbing two convenience stores with fake firearms last week. Kan Polrob, 19, and a 17-year-old minor, who was not named by officers, were stopped at a police checkpoint in Rassada. “They were wearing full-face helmets, jackets and appeared nervous when they were stopped,” said Lt Col Somsak Thongkliang of…
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Governor vows to resolve underpass problems
PHUKET: Protesters this morning handed Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong a formal letter of complaint about the dangerous road conditions along the Samkong intersection underpass construction site. More than 50 signatures were garnered by about 20 peaceful protesters at the much-delayed project site yesterday. “The protest started because people had been posting photos of potholes and accidents at the construction site,”…
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Monkey Beach gibbon tout arrested
PHUKET: Quick action by officers after receiving a tip-off from a Phuket Gazette reader saw a gibbon tout photographed working on the sands of Monkey Beach put behind bars last week (story here). Anan Nadee, 20, was arrested along with Bancha Songkhai, 24, in front of the Andaman Resort on Phi Phi Don while using ther illegally owned gibbons as…
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Chinese currency devaluation could shake Phuket
PHUKET: Leaders of Phuket’s tourism and property industries are uncertain what the impact of the yuan’s tumble this month will be, as tremors continue to be felt throughout the world. A 138% surge in Chinese visitors during the first half of 2015 helped pave the way for the Thai tourism industry to bank more than 697 billion baht in total…
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Phuket’s air quality returns to safe levels
PHUKET: The haze over Phuket caused by fires in Indonesia has dissipated and the air quality has returned to normal, confirmed Pornsri Suthanarak, director of the Regional Environmental Office. “The wildfire that began on August 22, started to affect Phuket nearly a week later [story here], causing a haze comprising more than 120 micrograms of particles per cubic meter, which…
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Steer clear: Locals plan on-site protest of underpass delays
PHUKET: A group of concerned Phuket citizens will protest the road conditions and construction delays associated with the Samkong Underpass tomorrow morning, Sunday August 30. According to the Facebook page Seang Prachachon Kon Phuket (Voice of the Phuketian), about 50 protesters will arrive at the junction at about 11am. The protest is scheduled to last until 1.30pm. Drivers are urged…
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Phi Phi gibbon touts arrested
PHUKET: An animal tout who was photographed earlier this month showcasing her dressed up gibbon to tourists on Phi Phi Island (story here) has been arrested. Nattaporn Sithisak, 22, along with Saman Prabphet, 52, both from Krabi, were arrested in a joint effort raid by officers from the Thung Talay Non Hunting Zone and the Natural Resources and Environment Crime…
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Video Report: Police get fright as 20kg python turns himself in
PHUKET: A 20-kilogram python gave police officers a fright at the Phuket City Police Station canteen on Wednesday morning. “This time we got a call from a police officer, not a local resident as usual, to catch a python at the police station,” said Sakun Naepnean, a Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker. “The officer told us that he was going to…
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One dead, one injured after Chalong Pier shooting
PHUKET: A shooting in the parking lot of Chalong Pier left one man dead and another in critical condition last night. Illyas Malee, 28, was pronounced dead from a bullet wound to his neck on arrival at Vachira Phuket Hospital, while Humdee Jeklek, 18, was treated for wounds to his shoulder and leg. “At the scene, we found a blood…
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Island to get 200 new police officers
PHUKET: The never-ending call for additional police officers for Phuket will be answered when a slew of new graduates join the island’s police force this November. “We will have 200 more officers added to our roster following their graduation from the Provincial Police Training Center, Region 8, in Surat Thani,” confirmed Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Peerayuth Karajedee yesterday. The…
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Gibbon tout aping about on Monkey Beach
PHUKET: Gibbon and iguana touts were spotted showcasing their animals on Monkey Beach in Phi Phi National Park again on Wednesday. Police and national park officers were alerted to the presence of the touts at the popular day-trip destination last month when the Phuket Gazette forwarded photographs submitted by a reader . “We will immediately look into what’s happening on…
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Phuket beach rules still at sea
PHUKET: Contrary to earlier reports, no final decision has yet been made by Governor Nisit Jansomwong on how to manage Phuket’s controversial beach chair situation. At a meeting on Thursday, Pun Thongchumnum, head of the research team from Prince of Songkhla University’s Phuket Campus, informed the governor of the results of the team’s investigation. The team suggested the government continue…
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Scorned woman throws acid on friend
PHUKET: A Myanmar woman remains in hospital today with serious acid burns to 90 per cent of her body, including her eyes and ears, after she was attacked by a friend on Wednesday. Ka Ta, 24, was attacked by fellow Myanmar national Ta Zin Moe, 24. “Witnesses told us that Ms Ta Zin Moe had been waiting outside Ms Ka…
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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