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.
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Man kills friend after drunken spat
PHUKET: A man shot dead his friend this morning in a fit of rage following a drunken argument that turned deadly. The victim, 38-year-old Smingdam Phollawong, a rubber plantation worker from Mukdahan, was found lying dead in front of the suspect’s house, with a fatal gunshot wound to his left shoulder, Thalang Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri told the Phuket Gazette.…
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Phuket firefighters “sink’ fire-ravaged fishing boat
PHUKET: Firefighters breached the hull and partially sank a Taiwanese fishing boat off Phuket’s Saphan Pla Pier in Rassada late last night to stop flames from spreading to other vessels. The fire teams arrived after midnight to find smoke billowing from the boat, which was moored close to the pier. “We believe the fire broke out in the engine room,”…
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Education, disaster relief in Phuket not to be sacrificed for underground cables, Patong councilor says
PHUKET: One of the 14 Patong Municipality councilors who on Friday voted against a project to bury the power cables along the beachfront road has come forward to explain the decision. “The council supports the project, but we will not sacrifice the town’s kindergarten-expansion plans or disaster-relief fund in order to beautify the Patong beachfront,” councilor Weerawit Krueasombut told the…
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Police, Navy get tough on illegal Phuket taxi drivers
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy and Patong Police have teamed up to take down any illegal taxi drivers found operating in Phuket’s premier party town. “We have arrested 13 illegal taxi and tuk-tuk drivers so far. There will be more to come,” Patong Police Traffic Inspector Ekkarat Plaiduang told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “We made the first five arrests…
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Cilic crushes Nishikori to claim US Open title
PHUKET: Croatia’s Marin Cilic swept past Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 6-3 to win the US Open on Monday and reach the pinnacle of the sport one year after a doping ban kept him out of the year’s final grand slam. The big-serving Croatian overwhelmed a weary Nishikori in one hour, 54 minutes to clinch a ruthless victory and deny…
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Teen lucky to be alive after premature birth, says Phuket doctor
PHUKET: A teenager was rushed from a Phuket worker’s camp to hospital this morning with serious blood loss after giving premature birth to a baby girl, who was found dead at the scene. Myanmar national Zar Ni The, the 19-year-old wife of one of the migrant worker, went into labor prematurely at a Phanason Parkville estate worker’s camp on Sri…
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Body found off Phuket beach by jet-skiing tourists
UPDATE: After this initial report was posted online, the Gazette was informed that one of its own editors, Jeremie Schatz, enjoying his time off, discovered the body while surfing with a friend. It was Jeremie and his surfing buddy who pulled the body to shore. PHUKET: An unidentified body was found floating in the ocean off Phuket’s west coast by…
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Moshe David gets life for Phuket murder of Hungarian businessman
PHUKET: Hungarian-Israeli dual national Moshe David was today sentenced to life in prison for the gruesome murder of Peter Reisz in Phuket in 2012. The life jail term was handed down by the Phuket Provincial Court early this afternoon. Mr David earlier confessed that he killed Mr Reisz in a fit of rage after Mr Reisz had allegedly swindled him…
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Thai Navy deploys warship to rescue Phuket fishermen
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy base in Phuket deployed the HTMS Chonburi to rescue six fishermen after their longtail boat engine stalled and their anchor rope broke in strong waves off Koh Mai Thon yesterday. Lt Cdr Natthanai Lekjaikla, captain of the HTMS Chonburi, explained that the Navy was notified of the men’s predicament at about midday. “We kept in…
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Unidentified body found in Phuket Town canal
PHUKET: Police are working to identify a dead body found floating in a canal near the Waste Incineration Power Plant and Landfill at Saphan Hin, on the outskirts of Phuket Town yesterday morning. Local villagers alerted the police of the discovery at about 7:30am. “We believe the man had gone fishing and fell into the water without anyone noticing. It…
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Williams beats Wozniacki for 18th grand slam title
PHUKET: World number one Serena Williams swept past good friend Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3 6-3 in the US Open final on Sunday to move into the record books with her 18th grand slam title. The third straight and sixth overall US Open crown for the 32-year-old American, her 18 career slams put her into a tie with Chris Evert…
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Police take down armed teens for Phuket Town street shootings
PHUKET: Police have arrested two teenagers, and expect to soon take into custody a third suspect, for shooting into a shop and then a family home in Phuket Town late Tuesday night. Butrprom Choopeng, 18, was arrested yesterday at a house in Bangthong village in Kathu. He was found in possession of a homemade .22-caliber handgun with one round of…
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Chinese tourist dies after day trip to Phi Phi Island
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist has died after being pulled unconscious from the water during a day trip with friends from Phuket to Phi Phi Island yesterday afternoon. Tour staff spotted Wang Yuhua, 61, floating face down in the water, prompting the boat crew to quickly recover her from the water and speed her to Phi Phi Hospital. Ms Wang was…
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Phuket Marine chief plays down ‘get AIS connected or go to jail’ order
PHUKET: Phuriphat Theerakulpisut, chief of the Phuket Marine Office, today played down an alarming report that all foreign yachts in Phuket had to be fitted with AIS (Automatic Identification System) devices by October 1 or face six months in jail. The news follows Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday signing an order to make AIS receivers mandatory on all craft in…
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Phuket taxi brawl lands Aussie tourists in hospital, custody
PHUKET: A drunken brawl inside a Phuket taxi landed three Australian tourists in hospital with minor injuries late last night. A fourth Aussie tourist, Todd Taylor, 31, who was blamed for starting the fight, was taken to Thalang Police Station for questioning. Taxi driver Jaran Chamnankaow told police that he picked up four passengers in Patong at about 10pm, and…
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French tourist smashes motorbike through Phuket salon window
PHUKET: A French tourist injured her leg today after she lost control of her rented motorbike and crashed through the glass window of a Phuket Town beauty salon. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation called to the scene on Phang Nga Road by the startled salon owner found Nastasya Kotnarovsky, 27, with minor injuries to her left leg and scratches…
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Authorities to sweep Phuket for illegal tour companies, guides
PHUKET: Authorities will sweep through Phuket from Monday in a move to rid the island of illegal tour companies and illegal, foreign guides. The news follows a brainstorming session yesterday between Phuket officials, authorities and officers from the MOTS Phuket office on how to tackle the issue of illegal tour companies and guides operating on the island. “We have 1,601…
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Phuket officials order illegal beach wall to be demolished
PHUKET: An illegal beach wall built near Bang Tao Beach after the tsunami in 2004 will be demolished today, officials have told the Phuket Gazette. “We received a complaint from a local landowner who said the wall cuts off his legally-owned plot of land from the beach,” said Cherng Talay Mayor Ma-ann Samran. “Following an inspection of the area [yesterday],…
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Costs, lack of demand delay Phuket Airport Bus service to Karon
PHUKET: High costs and lack of demand has forced the operators of the Airport Express Bus service to push back the launch of its new route from Patong to Kata-Karon until at least October. However, bus company chairman Prakob Panyawai is working on adding two more bus stops in Patong, Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) chief Terayout Prasertphol confirmed to…
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DDPM prepares to combat potentially deadly blazes in Phuket
PHUKET: A full-scale fire drill was held today as the Phuket-based Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office, Region 18 (DDPM-Region 18), prepared to prevent any further deadly blazes on the island. “Though the fire drill must be carried out annually by law, we are really doing this to make sure that when the time comes, we are able to…
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Phuket beach vendors given more time to lodge complaints
PHUKET: The doors of the Kathu District Office will remain open to Phuket beach vendors who wish to lodge complaints or register for financial assistance, officers confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. More than 370 vendors, who lost their jobs during the Patong and Kamala beach cleanups, registered their complaints with the Kathu District Office last month (story here) and…
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Serena crushes Pennetta to reach Open semi-final
PHUKET: Two-times defending champion Serena Williams, in her black and white leopard dress, started quietly before roaring past 11th seed Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open on Wednesday. The world number one lost her first two service games to Pennetta to fall behind 3-0 before snapping to attention and rattling off the next six…
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Men hunted down, hacked to death in Phuket
PHUKET: Police are continuing an investigation in the hope of identifying two men who were hunted down and hacked to death at a fish-processing plant in Phuket last night. Witnesses told police they saw a gang of five men chasing two others from Sri Suthat Road into a fish-processing compound in Rassada at about 10:30pm. “Both of the victims were…
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Phuket National Reform Council candidates kept secret
PHUKET: The names of all candidates who have registered to represent Phuket as the sole “provincially selected” nominee to serve on the National Reform Council (NRC) will be kept secret until five finalists are chosen. “About 20” people have entered the race to be Phuket’s NRC member, Phuket Election Commission (PEC) Director Kitipong Thiengkunakrit told the Phuket Gazette this morning.…
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Marines spearhead Phi Phi Island beach cleanup campaign
PHUKET: About 60 officers took to the beaches of the popular party island Phi Phi, east of Phuket, today to talk with seaside vendors and inspect buildings suspected of encroaching on national park land. “We only inspected the buildings. Tomorrow, we will file a complaint against any buildings we believe to be encroaching on park land,” Capt Prinyatham Poonpitagtham of…
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Bread truck kills man crossing Phuket road
PHUKET: A man was killed today in Phuket after being hit by a speeding Farmhouse delivery truck while he was trying to cross the road. The van, belonging to President Bakery Public Co Ltd, was delivering the well-known Farmhouse brand of bread when it struck the man on Thepkrasattri Road. “The victim, an unidentified male, is thought to be in…
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Phuket’s taxi mafia ‘our only target’, says Region 8 commander
PHUKET: Region 8 Police Deputy Commander Paween Pongsirin today affirmed that his officers’ mandate was to crack down on Phuket’s taxi mafia, not to tackle any corrupt activities allegedly perpetrated by the island’s police officers. “My specific orders are to crack down on Phuket’s taxi mafia,” Maj Gen Paween said. “There are about 10 officers in my team who are…
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Phuket police taser, fire rubber bullets on hysterical hatchet-wielding man
PHUKET: Police tasered and fired rubber bullets on a hysterical Phuket man who was threatening to attack his family and neighbors with a hatchet this morning. “Police officers on patrol on motorbikes were the first to the scene, in Soi Hutchananiwet [in Rassada], near the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization [PPAO] Hospital,” Phuket City Police Superintendent Sermphan Sirikong told the Phuket…
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New Muay Thai stadium to open in Phuket
PHUKET: A new Muay Thai boxing stadium named Taied Stadium will open in Chalong on September 18.The stadium is located at the heart of the island’s Muay Thai training scene on Soi Taied in Chalong, on the same site as a temporary stadium that hosted several fights earlier this year in order to gauge spectators’ interest. The stadium’s owner, Tawatchai…
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Phuket’s White Prison status untainted by porn cache
PHUKET: The overcrowded Phuket Provincial Prison maintained it’s unblemished White Prison status despite dirty magazines, as well as other contraband, being turned up in a pre-dawn raid this morning. “We searched all possible places that inmates could be hiding contraband and found three adult-content magazines, two pairs of box cutters and a leather belt,” said Phuket Prison Chief Rapin Nichanon.…
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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