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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Three human traffickers evade arrest, 50 Rohingya netted
PHUKET: Police are hunting three human traffickers who evaded arrest as they attempted to smuggle more than 50 Rohingya, including six children, through Thailand to Malaysia early this morning. The drivers loaded the refugees into three pick-up trucks in a rubber-tree plantation in Takuapa, north of Phuket, before attempting to evade police checkpoints on the main road. “We received a…
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Tourism, martial law: Looking back at Phuket in 2014
With 2014 behind us, it is time to reflect on 12 months – that is 365 days, or 8,765 hours – of news that transformed Phuket and deeply affected how the island is perceived by the outside world. Here, the Phuket Gazette‘s Somchai Huasaikul looks through our archives at the game-changing moments of 2014. PHUKET: The year that was 2014…
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Phuket Teens surrender for gang slaying of rival on New Year’s Eve
PHUKET: Two of the six suspects of a drive-by shooting near the Governor’s House in Phuket Town on New Year’s Eve surrendered to police last night, escorted by their parents. Police are still hunting the remaining four suspects. The six are wanted for the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Sakorn Nitipoj on Wednesday night. The attack began in front of the…
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Israeli tourist injured in Patong jet-ski accident, police call for care
PHUKET: In response to an Israeli man suffering injuries in a jet-ski accident at Patong Beach earlier this week, police have urged tourists to be more careful while riding the machines. However, no action will be taken to avoid a similar accident from occurring again at Patong, Phuket’s busiest tourist beach. Two Israeli brothers reportedly hired separate jet-skis at Patong…
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Traffic policeman added to Phuket’s New Year casualty list
PHUKET: A traffic policeman has been added to Phuket’s New Year casualty list during the nationwide Seven Days of Sanger safety campaign, which began at midnight on Tuesday. Cpl Thanan Paisornarong, 27, was run down while attempting to stop a motorcycle at a checkpoint in Phuket Town at 2:50pm yesterday. He was taken to the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization Hospital…
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Baby boy of Phuket’s first gibbon twins found dead
PHUKET: One of the first set of gibbon twins to be born at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GRP) in Phuket has died. Staffers at the center hope to return the surviving twin to her mother on Monday. “These are our first gibbon twins since the center was established in 1992. The twins are the son and daughter of mother Mee…
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Chinese duo caught in Phuket skim scam
PHUKET: Police arrested two Chinese men and a Thai employee at a Phuket tour office for processing an estimated 700,00 baht in fake transactions charged to accounts of people whose ATM cards had been skimmed. Officers arrested Thongtam Bamrajken, 23, and Chinese nationals Tang Yongjie, 39, and He Haibin, 24, at the Ping Boom tour office in Wichit on Tuesday.…
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Police nab armed thugs for Patong gang shootout
PHUKET: Police tracked down and arrested two men at a bus station in Phang Nga yesterday after one of the suspects shot a rival gang member in the face in a shootout on the streets of Patong just hours earlier. Staff at Patong Hospital notified the police of the shooting at 5am after Boonprom Chupeng, 18, was rushed to the…
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After Phuket New Year celebrations, man dodges Seven Days fatality list
PHUKET: A man walked away from a dramatic accident at Heroines Monument early this morning, leaving Phuket’s death toll during this year’s Seven Days of Danger safety campaign for the New Year at just one fatality. Police promptly arrived at the iconic roundabout in central Phuket at about 3:30am after Jamnian Sinthong, 55, called to report that a white Toyota…
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Woman dies from injuries after Russian tour bus crash
PHUKET: The driver of a car that crashed head-on into a tour bus carrying 37 Russian tourists on Tuesday has died from her injuries. Tantima Thaworn, 37, was pronounced dead at 11:35am yesterday, staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town confirmed. However, the hospital staff declined to give further details. Ms Tantima is the sole fatality from the accident,…
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NFL playoffs in Wild Card pre-dawn blitz
PHUKET: The end of the 256-game NFL regular season is bittersweet. Even with the unparalleled excitement of the playoffs still ahead of us, simply knowing that the end of the season is rapidly approaching is enough to set off that tiny first wave of depression in those of us who are hopelessly hooked. Super Bowl Sunday in the US falls…
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Crewman’s body washes ashore Phi Phi coast
PHUKET: Phi Phi locals yesterday discovered the body of a crewman who drowned after the cargo boat he was working on sank in heavy weather on Monday (story here). The body of the man, named by police only as “Mr Au”, was discovered at Ao Rantee on the Phi Phi coast at about 1pm. “Mr Au’s body washed up on…
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Chinese dive tour company shut down at Koh Racha
PHUKET: Officials have shut down a dive tour company serving Chinese tourists at Koh Racha, located about 25km south of Phuket, after confirming that Myanmar nationals were working illegally there as dive instructors. Santi Pawai, director of the Minister of Tourism and Sports Phuket office, announced the forced closure of dive company Hou Hai Diver Co Ltd during his inspection…
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Teen shot dead in New Year drive-by near Governor’s house
PHUKET: Police are searching for six men wanted for shooting dead a 15-year-old on the streets of Phuket Town last night in an attack that began in front of the Governor’s House on Narisorn Road. Police arrived at scene, near Ministry of Finance Phuket Office, shortly after receiving a report of the shooting at 11:15pm. “We arrived to find one…
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Phuket suffers first fatality in New Year “Seven Days of Danger’
PHUKET: A Mercedes-Benz and a motorcycle collided at 12:10am today, resulting in the first fatality of the Seven Days of Danger safety campaign – which targeted zero deaths. The Mercedes, driven by Chaichana Seaong, 40, collided with the motorcycle in front of the Mook Phuket shop on Chao Fa East Road, near the Kwang Road intersection. Witnesses claim the the…
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Phuket New Year gifted International Space Station flyby
PHUKET: In addition to the New Year’s Eve celebrations held throughout Phuket tonight, stargazers will be treated to the sight of the International Space Station (ISS) passing overhead. If the skies are clear, the ISS will be visible to the naked eye as its substantial bulk will reflect sunlight during its brief south-southeast trajectory, passing to the west of Phuket,…
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Records tumble at We Freedive Suunto Series final in Phuket
PHUKET: A number of national records were brushed away as the We Free Dive Suunto Series drew to a close on December 21. All eyes were on American Katie Wierenga, who is ranked third among the USA female Dynamic No Fins (DNF) athletes after an outstanding performance in October. Having surpassed the USA DNF record in practice, Wierenga pushed hard…
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Slow lorises touted on Phuket beach
PHUKET: Cherng Talay Police have vowed to search for a pair of beach touts who were taking photographs of tourists with a slow loris at Surin Beach yesterday. “There were issues with touts offering to take photos of tourists with snakes and iguanas on Surin Beach, but we haven’t had a report about this issue since the beach encroachment crackdown,”…
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Patong’s Keesin clan yet to face Phuket mafia charges
PHUKET: The Public Prosecutor has yet to press formal charges against Prab and Pattawee Keesin, both sons of former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, for operating a mafia organization. Pisitpol Phumsawat, chief Phuket public prosecutor, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that his office was still reviewing evidence presented by the police “I have dedicated a team to investigate the police claims,”…
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Famed director arrested for trespassing to make tsunami horror film
PHUKET: Famed Thai-film director Anon Mingkwanta, better known as Poj Anon, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport last night after allegedly trespassing at a derelict Phuket resort to film a tsunami horror movie. Charges against Mr Anon were filed at Tah Chat Chai Police Station on September 12 by Nipon Rangsimanwong, a representative of the Toon Maha Larp Company, which owns…
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Phuket pick-up truck smash near Mission Hospital
PHUKET: Emergency medical orderlies at Mission Hospital, north of Phuket Town, rushed out to rescue several injured people from a road accident directly outside the facility yesterday morning. An Isuzu pick-up truck had hit the back of Honda saloon car opposite the Toyota dealership on the southbound side of the road, causing the car to skid and hit a motorcycle…
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Cargo boat sinks off Phi Phi, crewman believed drowned
PHUKET: Marine Police are continuing their efforts to locate a crewman still missing from a cargo boat that sank in a storm two kilometers off Phi Phi Island yesterday afternoon. The Sor Jatuporn was carrying goods from Ao Nang on the Krabi coast to Phi Phi Island when it was slammed by a storm, said Krabi Marine Police Inspector Chaiyasit…
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Kiwi arrested in Phuket for drug dealing, wanted for fraud
PHUKET: A Kiwi charged for dealing ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and cocaine in Phuket is wanted on fraud charges in his homeland, The New Zealand Herald has reported. The man, named by Patong Police as Taylor Grainge, 41, is in fact Grainge Taylor, after having changed his name in 2010, confirmed Jeff Montgomery, registrar-general and general manager for births, deaths,…
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Video Report: Khao Lak 10 years on – remembering the tsunami
PHUKET: Thailand’s primary tsunami 10-year commemoration ceremony – presided over by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha – took place on December 26 at the Tor 813 Police Boat Tsunami Memorial Site in Khao Lak. The program consisted of disaster control drill presentations followed by a number of keynote speeches by dignitaries, including PM Prayut and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister…
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Phuket’s “naughty maid’ strikes again in Patong
PHUKET: Reports of Phuket’s infamous “naughty maid” surfaced yesterday, following a police warning about her kleptomaniac behavior in May (story here). Patong Police repeated their warning yesterday, cautioning any prospective employers to be on the watch for the still-unidentified woman. “We received a complaint from a hotel on Nanai Road that a woman took a job as a maid and…
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Welfare officers tread softly in Phuket sea gypsy child prostitution probe
PHUKET: Officers are treading warily as they investigate reports of sea gypsy child prostitution and youth drug abuse at Phuket’s Rawai Pier. The pervading fear among all departments involved is that any direct confrontation could drive the children deeper into a world of crime. Pimporn Khorsantiwichai, director of the Phuket office of Social Development and Human Security, confirmed to the…
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Russian tourists injured as Phuket tour bus flips, crashes
PHUKET: Nine Russian tourists were rushed to hospital after the tour bus they were travelling in crashed and flipped onto its roof in Kamala, on Phuket’s west coast, this morning. The bus was carrying 37 Russian tourists from Phuket International Airport to Patong when the accident occurred at about 7:30am. The bus driver, Aroon Yaemkua, told police that he was…
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Popular Phuket pier needs “facelift’, says Gov Nisit
PHUKET: Rassada Pier – a bustling arrival and jump-off point for Phuket tourists – needs to be cleaned up, said Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong during his inspection of the facility today. “They need to improve the sanitation and general aesthetics of the pier. We will coordinate with the Marine Office, local authorities and private businesses operating at the pier to…
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Love, humanity ripples through Phuket tsunami memorial service
PHUKET: The devastating loss of hundreds of thousands of lives to the Indian Ocean Tsunami 10 years ago also brought a wave of humanity among the differing peoples of Phuket and the global community, Phuket Vice Governor Suthee Thongyam told those gathered at the Light Up Phuket memorial event on Patong Beach on Friday. “It is a great honor to…
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Phuket police blame lawbreakers, insufficient personnel for runaway tour bus
PHUKET: Police have blamed reckless drivers and not having enough officers to enforce the law for heavy vehicles, including Phuket tour buses, breaking the ban on crossing Patong Hill during peak traffic hours. “We admit that we cannot have police officers at the checkpoint 24/7. We wish we could but we simply do not have enough personnel. We can only…
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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