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 police officer found shot in head
PHUKET: Police are investigating the death of a fellow officer who was found in his home with a gunshot wound to the head and a 9mm handgun still in his hand. “When we arrived at the scene yesterday, we had to break down the door, as it was locked from the inside,” explained Lt Peerasit Nhupayan of the Cherng Talay…
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World number 45 golfer swings by Laguna Phuket Golf Club
PHUKET: Prominent golfer, current Asian Tour Order-of-Merit leader and world number 45 golf player Anirban Lahiri recently visited Phuket, where he conducted a golf clinic and played nine holes with three young and promising island-based golfers at Laguna Phuket Golf Club. On the way to the US Open in Seattle, Mr Lahiri stayed at Laguna Phuket’s Banyan Tree Resort and…
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Chinese to “hack’ Phuket tourism industry
PHUKET: The Provincial Communist Party chief for Phuket’s sister province in China arrived in Phuket this week with hopes of ‘hacking into’ the secret to the island’s strong tourism sector. “Hainan officials are here on a fact finding mission to better understand exactly why Phuket hosts so many tourists from so many countries, while Sanya of Hainan is only playing…
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Drive at your own risk
PHUKET: Confronted with a never-ending array of road-construction projects from multi-million-baht underpasses to reparation of enormous potholes, drivers travelling on Phuket’s roads – some of the most dangerous in the world – do so at their own risk, confirmed officials this week. The issue of road construction safety measures was thrown into sharp focus after a Phuket lawyer flipped his…
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B500k stolen from temple during Buddhist holiday
PHUKET: About 500,000 baht designated for temple repairs was stolen from an abbot’s residence during the Buddhist holiday of Asarnha Bucha yesterday. This is not the first time that Phra Khru Pothipanyakorn of Wat Suwan Khiri Wong had a large sum of money taken from his living quarters. About two years ago, 200,000 baht was stolen without a trace, Lt…
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12-year-old girl killed in hit-and-run
PHUKET: An 18-wheeled truck hit and dragged a 12-year-old girl to death after she fell off the back of her mother’s motorbike this morning. Vassana Kaewkumpa, 40, screamed for the truck driver to stop as it continued down the southbound lane of Thepkrasattri Road just past the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint, explained police. “Ms Vassana found the body of her…
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Boy drowns off Koh Sireh
PHUKET: A 13-year-old boy drowned off Koh Sireh yesterday after his friends were unable to save him and did not report the incident to adults or authorities for nearly three and a half hours. Payu Pairiron, a student at Baan Koh Sireh School, drowned at about 1.30pm after becoming too tired to swim back to the floating walkway. “We started…
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New taxi queues announced for Phuket
PHUKET: More than a year after the National Council for Peace and Order made a sweeping effort to remove illegal taxi stands from Phuket, the provincial government has announced a plan to establish legal taxi ranks at ten locations throughout the island. “The move to establish the taxi stops at some schools, hospitals and police stations on the island goes…
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Police bust bar for hookahs, selling to minors
PHUKET: Raids on nightlife venues in Phuket continued last night, with police seizing 40 hookahs used for smoking shisha and catching eight underage drinkers. “We received a tip-off about a specific venue serving alcohol to minors, as well as providing shisha, a flavored tobacco product that is illegal to import into Thailand,” explained Aroon Sing-in of the Phuket Provincial Office,…
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Laid-off tailors file formal complaint against Patong exporter
PHUKET: Ten tailors who were recently laid off by a suit exporting company in Patong filed a complaint against their former employer at the Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office) on Tuesday. “We have worked for the John Tailor Ltd company for about three years now. We signed a contract when we started working for them. Our pay was determined by how…
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Cabinet nod for upscaling Phuket port
PHUKET: Phuket’s goal of becoming the regional maritime hub has shifted into high gear after the Cabinet agreed to expand the island’s deep sea port to accommodate larger cruise ships. The National News Bureau of Thailand reported yesterday that the Cabinet has given the green light to improve Phuket’s Deep Sea Port, and is considering the construction of a similar…
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BISP student takes 3rd at golf Teen World Championship
PHUKET: British International School Phuket (BISP) student Mark Luangnitikul came in third place at the golf Teen World Championship 2015 held on Pinehurst course in North Carolina, in the United States of America. More than 500 players from 34 countries competed on courses that have crowned some of golf’s greatest champions. “We are very proud of Mark for taking third…
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Provincial officers raid Phuket nightlife venues
PHUKET: A raid by provincial officers on the island’s popular nightlife spots found one Phuket Town bar to be operating as a nightclub without permission last night. Parkpoom Intarasuwan, Phuket provincial chief administrative officer (Palad), led a team of military personnel, police, district officers, excise officers, and other relevant officials to check 10 nightlife venues in the Phuket Town area,…
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A Decade Ago: West coast marina marked for Phuket
PHUKET: With a 2-billion-baht investment, there would be 150 condo units, 45 villas, and a marina with a berth for 30 boats – not a terribly exciting point for a page one story… so was news slow coming into July 23, 2005? No. The twist, and there was a twist, to the project that eventually represented the potential for the…
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Phuket honors the Crown Prince’s 63rd birthday
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong led public officials in an alms-offering ceremony with 63 monks this morning in honor of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s 63rd birthday. The blessing ceremony, which took place at Sanam Chai in Phuket Town, was the first of a few events to take place on the Crown Prince’s birthday today. Governor Nisit was joined by Phuket…
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Russian faces charges in fiance’s death
PHUKET: A Russian man who has recovered from a coma resulting from a road accident in Kata on July 4 faces charges of reckless driving causing the death of his fiance. Sergey Koltsov, 24, and Marina Smirnova, 19, were driving their rented motorbike on Taina Road in Kata when they crashed into a Karon Police patrol car. “According to eyewitnesses,…
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Seriously injured Chinese tourists remain in hospital after bus crash
PHUKET: Four Chinese tourists who were seriously injured when their tour bus flipped on Phuket’s bypass road yesterday are still in hospital recovering from their injuries. The accident occurred at about noon, opposite the Premium Outlet on the southbound side of the road (story here). The bus was transporting 16 Chinese tourists, along with a tour guide, a guide assistant…
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Phuket to observe two-day alcohol ban
PHUKET: The sale of alcohol will be prohibited nationwide on Thursday and Friday in honor of Buddhist holiday Asarnha Bucha and the beginning of Buddhist Lent. The ban will begin at midnight on Thursday and will last until midnight on Saturday, Capt Prudsatorn Yoothon of the Phuket Tourist Police told Phuket Gazette this morning. “We have been doing our rounds…
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Chinese tour bus flips on bypass road
PHUKET: A tour bus carrying Chinese tourists flipped over and crashed onto its side on the bypass road, opposite Premium Outlet Phuket, at about noon today. The bus, which was carrying 17 tourists and two tour guides, was heading northbound when the accident occurred. The crash trapped one Chinese tour guide and one tourist inside the bus, but rescue workers…
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Alleged love triangle leads man to slash cousin’s neck
PHUKET: Police have yet to press charges against two cousins who got into a fight last night in Nai Yang, leaving one with a slashed neck and the other with a bruised face. Police first learned of the incident when Halem Dami, 26, ran up to an area police box looking for help. “At about 8pm last night, Halem Dami,…
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New prison construction to begin next month
PHUKET: Construction of the long-awaited Phuket Provincial Prison is set to break ground next month, the prison chief confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. The new prison will relieve some of the pressure on the current facility, which has a capacity of 800 prisoners but currently detains more than 3,000. “The new facility will be a top-of-the-line design and have…
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Alcohol relief: National ban details cleared up for businesses
PHUKET: A collective sigh of relief could be heard from Phuket officials as clarification of a national alcohol-sales ban officially arrived this week. The ban, passed by the Cabinet and signed into law by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, forbids the sale of alcohol within 300 meters of an ‘educational institution’. However, what qualifies as an educational institution was originally…
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Governor leads Big Cleaning Day event
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong led about 300 people in a ‘Big Cleaning Day’ event along Thepkrasattri Road on Thursday morning in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 83rd birthday on August 12. Participants picked up trash along 2 kilometers of Thepkrasattri Road heading southbound toward Big C Thepkrasattri branch. “These sorts of activities are a way to inform people on the…
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PM Prayut pauses hotly-debated Krabi power plant project
PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the hotly-debated coal-fired power plant project in Krabi to be put on hold until a joint committee can ensure that all steps of the pre-construction process have been legally carried out. The prime minister’s order ended a 14-day protest yesterday in Bangkok. About 100 Krabi residents and environmental activists had gathered to…
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Phuket windshield smasher may have been ‘lovelorn’
PHUKET: Police believe a man’s unrequited affection for a woman may have led him to break the windshield of her car in Phuket last night. Matira Nantimaruj, 32, told Thalang Police that she discovered the damage to her Toyota Yaris when she went downstairs from her third floor apartment to investigate a loud noise. “Upon receiving the call at about…
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Media, PR pros hammer out new strategies
PHUKET: The Thai Public Relations Department (PRD) called media from the southern provinces to a seminar in Krabi last week in an effort to strategize ways to keep pace with international media and help foreigners understand the goings-on in Thailand. “We held the meeting so we could exchange thoughts and make sure local media and public relations professionals are on…
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Officials investigate rank pig farms in Chalong
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Suthee Thongyam inspected a group of pig farms in Chalong yesterday after villagers had filed a complaint about foul smells and the pollution of a local canal. “About 100 locals filed a complaint with me about the farms, so I took the case to the Damrongtham Center,” said Kokchai Sae-iew, Moo 9 village headman. “There are…
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Section of Kathu-Koh Kaew shortcut road closed
PHUKET: Access to Soi Koh Kaew 33 from Thepkrasattri Road, behind the Isuzu showroom in Koh Kaew, has been closed off as repairs are made to a roadside retaining wall. Construction is expected to be complete within 60 days. “During construction the road will be closed. There will only be one lane for exiting to Thepkrasattri Road. We can not…
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Twelve hurt after truck flips in Thalang
PHUKET: A dozen people were injured today when a pick-up truck hauling migrant workers and a trailer with a backhoe flipped in northern Phuket. “At the scene we found a pick-up truck flipped over on the side of the road. Nearby, there was a trailer and a backhoe also flipped,” said Lt Kraisorn Boonprasob of Thalang Police. “There were 12…
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Kiwi wakes up from coma after accident on Patong Hill
PHUKET: New Zealander Paul ‘PJ’ Lupi, who was seriously injured in an accident on Patong Hill on July 6, has woken up from a coma and is recovering from his injuries, his brother told the Phuket Gazette today. The 28-year-old has been moved from the intensive care unit (ICU) to a ward in Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok. “He woke…
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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