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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Racha Yai resort to face land encroachment charges
PHUKET: The mayor of Rawai is prepared to press encroachment charges against a hotel on Koh Racha Yai for building a bridge on public land. Officials were notified of the offending structure, owned by Rayaburi Resort, when government workers arrived at the site to dredge the Patak Canal, a project which began on March 7 (story here). The bridge crossed…
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Man found dead in small Phuket canal
PHUKET: Police have yet to rule out murder as a possible cause of death for a man whose body was found in a small Phuket canal this morning, just meters from where he was drinking with recently made friends last night. Officers arrived at the scene, near a shack behind Wat Baan Don in Srisoonthorn, at about 8:15am. “The man’s…
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Whale shark’s fins stolen by villagers postmortem, say experts
PHUKET: Experts do not believe that the young whale shark found dead yesterday near Koh Pu (story here), off the coast of Krabi, was a victim of the widely denounced shark-finning industry. “We received a report from the village headman about local fishermen having spotted the whale shark and dragging it to shore,” said Dr Rachawadee Jantra of the Phuket…
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Critical underpass intersection to remain closed until end of year
PHUKET: Traffic lanes at the Samkong Intersection, site of the Tesco Lotus underpass, between Kathu and Samkong will remain closed until the end of this year, confirmed the Phuket Highways Office director today. The Phuket City Police announced in December that the lanes of traffic flowing between Kathu and Samkong would be closed until March 1 in order to carry…
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Phuket landfill fire posed no health risks, says environment official
PHUKET: Smoke from the fire that broke out at Phuket’s overloaded landfill site Tuesday night did not pose health risks to the island’s residents, confirmed Dr Pornsri Suthanaruk, director of the Phuket Environment Office Region 15. “It was windy on Tuesday, and the wind blew all of the smoke toward the ocean,” he told the Phuket Gazette yesterday. Two rai…
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Ball Hockey: Phuket Pucks suffer in first taste of Mekong Cup
PHUKET: Phuket’s first foray into the annual Mekong Cup ball hockey tournament, held in Karon last Saturday, ended with an ousting in the round-robin stage, but the competition for Southeast Asia’s most coveted ball hockey trophy has been hailed a success. Though this was the fourth straight year that the Mekong Cup was staged at the Centara Karon Resort Phuket,…
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Phuket Cycling Fest peddles back into view (video)
PHUKET: The Phuket Cycling Fest returns for its second edition on March 28-29 with a weekend of cycling fun, including a 46km tour of the south of the island. The event is being held to promote tourism by bike in Phuket, with the primary goal of tourists and cycling enthusiasts seeing new areas and places to cycle, while promoting the…
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Phuket lifeguards vie for Vietnam contest selection
PHUKET: Members of the Phuket Lifeguard Club, best known for their life-saving role patrolling the island’s beaches, are in training for an international life-saving skills competition in Vietnam at the end of April. Last year, Phuket lifeguards won gold in the three-man board rescue relay and placed second overall at the annual event, called the Da Nang International Lifeguard Competition…
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Jet-ski Pro Tour comes to Phuket
PHUKET: The opening round of the G-Shock Pro Tour 2015, the premier jet-ski competition in Thailand, will be held off the Sarasin Bridge at the northern tip of Phuket on March 28-29. Joining the competition will be Chaowalit Kuajaroon, Pro Sport 800 Superstock 2004 world champion and the Thailand Pro-Am Runabout 0-1200 Open champion 2005, Phang Nga Governor Prayoon Rattanasenee…
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Netted: Phuket task force seizes pirate Southern Ocean trawler
PHUKET: A joint task force in Phuket has seized one of six known illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) vessels wanted for fishing for toothfish in the Southern Ocean after it falsely reported and offloaded its cargo. The ship, which recently had its name changed from Kunlun to Taishan, had already fled from the navies of New Zealand and Australia, as well…
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Fishing net suspected of killing whale shark near Phuket
PHUKET: A fishing net may have caused the death of a 500-kilogram whale shark whose carcass was found near Koh Pu, off the coast of Krabi, this morning. A veterinary team from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) arrived on scene after receiving a report that local fisherman had found the five-meter-long fish and dragged it to shore. On examining…
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Helmet-less motorcyclist killed in Phuket crash
PHUKET: A Myanmar national driving without a helmet was killed in a motorbike accident on Chao Fa West Road last night. The victim was named by police as Than Htay Aung, 24. “He was driving his motorbike with a friend riding pillion at about 11:30pm when he lost control on a bend in the road and crashed into a traffic-light…
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Phuket lifeguard contract in dire straits – again
PHUKET: The island’s beaches again may be without lifeguards starting next week, as the government contract for the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) to provide its essential life-saving services expires on March 26. The Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) has offered the annual 22-million-baht concession for private operators to provide lifeguard services through the coming year to public bidding twice –…
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Phuket police warn of lid robberies by Mercedes-Benz hopefuls
PHUKET: Police have issued a security warning to convenience store staffers after dozens of Ichitan drink lids – which are part of a promotion to win a free Mercedes-Benz – were stolen from a SuperCheap in Rawai. The warning follows a Facebook post by an employee named Joy Hudrudchai that complained about lids of Ichitan and Yen Yen drinks being…
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Police hunt mysterious Brit burglar Charlie Machin
PHUKET: Police are trying to track down a foreign thief, believed to be a British expat, who is wanted for robbing a Swedish man’s home of about 200,000 baht in valuables in Kata. Known so far only by his alias “Charlie Machin”, the suspect is known to frequent bars in Bang Tao and Rawai. “At this stage, all we know…
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Phuket flight denied landing as smog shrouds Chiang Mai
PHUKET: A flight from Phuket was forced to abort landing at Chiang Mai International Airport today after smog reduced visibility over the northern city to 800 meters, reported The Nation. Air Asia Flight FD3161 departed Phuket on time at 10:35am, but was unable to make its scheduled landing at Chiang Mai at 12:30pm for safety reasons. Bangkok Airways Flight PG241…
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Phuket taxi slams into power pole
PHUKET: A taxi driver who crashed into a power pole after dropping his passengers off at Phuket International Airport earlier today has been charged with reckless driving. Pongsatorn Suwanurak, 27, told police that he fell asleep at the wheel while he was returning to Phuket Town at about 10:15am. Rescue workers arrived at the scene, on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang,…
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Phuket masseuse suicide sparks manhunt for brutal boyfriend
PHUKET: Police are looking for a man wanted for beating his masseuse girlfriend who was found dead by apparent suicide in Phuket Town yesterday morning. Friends discovered the body of Taweepat Boontawee, 33, at her apartment at a four-story complex on Phun Pol Road Soi 7. She was found hanged by a bathrobe sash tied to a light fitting. “The…
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Experienced diver’s death at Similans baffles park officials
PHUKET: Officials have yet to learn what was the catalyst for the death of an experienced diver who fell unconscious during a mass-diving volunteer project at the Similan Islands on Saturday. Suthat Suktuk, a 45-year-old businessman from Songkhla province, went into shock while diving beyond recreational depths to 47 meters at a site south of Koh Miang, also called Koh…
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German expat on top after robbed over iPhone sex swap
PHUKET: Two women have been charged for robbing a German expat after he allegedly reneged on a deal to buy one of them an iPhone and clothes in exchange for sex. Rattriya Sirijumpa, 25, and Nongluck Homhuan, 26, were arrested at Tina Salon in Thalang on Saturday, after police spotted the German’s stolen car in front of Ms Rattriya’s salon.…
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Krabi coal plant Environmental Impact Assessment rejected
PHUKET: THE Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report on the Klong Rua coal seaport and coal-fired power plant project in Krabi was rejected last week amid pressure from the Protect Krabi Network. The panel of experts reviewing the report said that it was misleading and incomplete. However, members of the Protect Krabi Network were not pleased with the result, as their…
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Millions of Krabi crabs to host eco-tourists
PHUKET: Krabi officials are moving to create a new eco-tourism destination out of a Krabi tidal plane that millions of tiny orange-clawed crabs call home. Locals were amazed to see a horde of crabs suddenly appear and migrate across the sands of Ao Tang Len at low tide, prompting them to notify Ao Luek district officials last week. “The stretch…
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Bay Regatta a sailing success – results
PHUKET: The 18th Bay Regatta set sail on the morning of March 5, after an opening night party and buffet the evening before at the Chandara Resort & Spa at Ao Po. The 29 racing yachts, carrying over 200 competitors, flew the flags of 11 nations. Affectionately known as the ‘Fun Regatta’ to all participants, countries represented included Thailand, the…
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Opinion: Phuket – ATM skimmers’ paradise island
PHUKET: Despite efforts nationwide to upgrade automatic teller machine (ATM) card technology to make it more secure, the arrests of three groups of international ATM-card skimmers in Phuket in a week demonstrates that ATM fraud is rampant on the island. ATM users – which includes just about everyone with a bank account – should continue to exercise a great deal…
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Chilean consulate opens in Phuket
PHUKET: Chile opened up a consular office in Phuket yesterday to serve Chilean citizens in southern Thailand. Chilean Ambassador to Thailand Javier Andrés Becker-Marshall announced the opening of the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Chile at the Phuket Merlin Hotel – where the new office is located. The consular office will be headed up by Chilean Honorary Consul Nantana…
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Phuket beach vendors crash land inspection
PHUKET: A group of about 30 beach vendors interjected themselves into an inspection of Kamala Beach yesterday to submit a complaint letter to the Deputy Permanent Secretary of Justice, who was visiting Phuket for a property development investigation. Deputy Permanent Secretary of Justice Dussadee Arayawuth came to the island to inspect four of 20 land plots believed to have been…
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F1 season predictions: Mercedes, Mercedes, Mercedes
PHUKET: The headline is the prediction for the car that will win at Melbourne, the team that will win the Constructor’s Championship and the team that will provide the World Champion this season. It’s the beginning of the new Formula 1 season. Melbourne is the first race. And there has been enough hype to fill an Agatha Christie bibliography: The…
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Justice team investigates alleged illegal Chanotes, buildings
PHUKET: The Deputy Permanent Secretary of Justice today inspected four of 20 land plots believed to have been obtained through illegal land-title deeds or illegally developed. The plots examined today are on Koh Raet, along Surin Beach and in Kamala, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Justice for the Ministry of Justice Dussadee Arayawuth explained. Col Dussadee was the head investigator for…
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Raid busts Phuket karaoke owners for alien employees
PHUKET: Anti-human trafficking raids of Phuket’s nightlife venues last night netted two employers for hiring illegal migrant workers from Myanmar. Saengthian Luepanya, 24, owner of the Happy Sea Man karaoke, was arrested for employing Myanmar nationals Lwin Thuza Myint, 26, and Thi Dar, 42, Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Khunnadet Nanongkhai told the Phuket Gazette. Later that night, police discovered…
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Illegal wedding photographer arrested on Bang Tao Beach
PHUKET: A wedding photographer was arrested for working illegally on Bang Tao Beach on Wednesday. Chinese national Ma Chuan, 26, was arrested while taking a series of wedding photos, explained Lt Col Tienchai Chompoo of the Phuket Immigration Office. “Illegal Chinese photographers are not a new thing in Phuket. We regularly receive reports of Chinese tourists entering Phuket to take…
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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