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 lifeguards to be back on duty by next Tuesday
PHUKET: Phuket lifeguards say they expect to sign their new contract and be back at work by next Tuesday at the latest and possibly as early as this Saturday. A dispute over the terms of the contract led lifeguards to walk off the beaches on April 27, when their last contract concluded (story here). One drowning death, that of 26-year-old…
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Phuket police arrest man for rape of woman, her 14-year-old niece
PHUKET: Police arrested a Phuket resident today for the rape of a 24-year-old Myanmar national and her 14-year-old niece in the forest along Ao Yon – Khao Khad Road on May 8. The man, who turned himself in, was charged with rape, rape of a person under the age of 15, and theft. The 44-year-old suspect has denied all charges.…
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Chief departs Phuket with park encroachment raids
PHUKET: As his last major act as chief of Sirinath National Park, Cheewapap Cheewatham this morning led 50 officers on raids of businesses deemed to be illegally built on national park land near Nai Thon Beach. “Seven new shops – six on the beach, one on the beachfront road – have been built without permission from Sirinath National Park and…
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Phuket Governor off island to report to army base
PHUKET: Bangkok’s appointed leader to the island, Phuket Governor Maitri Insthusut, departed this morning to report to the Royal Thai Army base in Nakhon Sri Thammarat. Governor Maitri’s trip comes in the wake of Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha’s declaration of martial law, which took affect at 3am today (story here). Governor Maitri is expected to arrive at the base…
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Sun still shining in Phuket, despite martial law order
PHUKET: The declaration of nationwide martial law as of 3am today has left Phuket officials unperturbed. “Officials are just working as usual,” Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa told the Phuket Gazette this morning. The martial law order, essentially giving the army control of the country, was issued by Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha (story here). After more than six months…
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Krabi squatters protest police force after man is shot
PHUKET: About 100 people rallied outside Krabi City Hall yesterday to condemn the police and related officials for using excessive force to disperse their rally on Sunday. The group also called for Krabi Governor Prasit Osathanont to launch an investigation and mete out punishment to those behind the incident on the Southern Sea Board Road, in which a protester reportedly…
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Cop denies pulling trigger in Phuket drive-by shooting
PHUKET: A police officer who left the Saraphan Pleng Pub in Chalong shortly before a fatal shooting early Friday morning appeared at the Chalong Police Station Saturday to declare his innocence. The Phuket Provincial Police officer, who police have declined to name, fell under suspicion after officers questioned staff at the pub about the murder of Nuchsika Klasuek, 35, who…
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Exercising off-duty cop nabs two animal touts in Phuket
PHUKET: An off-duty police officer leaped from his bicycle and arrested two out of six men on Soi Bangla who were offering tourists photo opportunities with animals yesterday. Lt Col Sutthichai Thianpho swooped in to make the arrest of the six men after seeing them touting four iguanas and two slow lorises. He quickly arrested Suchai Jaroenpu, 32, from Phang…
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Chalong top cop back at work in home station
PHUKET: Chalong Police Superintendent Krittapas Dazintharasorn, who was transferred to the Thalang Police Station in early April when he and his officers came under fire for alleged extortion, returned to take up the reins in Chalong on May 1. The charges against the Chalong police were filed in the wake of 20 dive instructors being rounded up by Chalong cops…
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Mathayom 6 graduates killed in Phuket hit-and-run
PHUKET: Police are hunting for the driver who killed two teenagers in a hit-and-run crime in Phuket last night. Piyabut Thongngarm, 18, died at the scene, while Jenista Purisawane, 18, died en route to hospital, Capt Thada Sodarak of the Chalong Police said. “It was raining when we arrived at the scene, near the Rawai shell museum. It was clear…
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Phuket sea gypsies offered free land in relocation deal
PHUKET: The provincial government has organized 50rai of land for the sea gypsy families living on Koh Sireh who are being sued by a private developer for allegedly squatting on private land. “Other sea gypsy families are living in houses allegedly built on private land, but have yet to face legal action,” explained Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa at a…
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West Ham United FC Academy to train Phuket youths
PHUKET: Having trained English Premier League stars Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard Jr, West Ham Academy’s coaches are coming to Phuket to do what they do best – teach others to play at the top of their game. The Elite Residential Soccer Course Phuket 2014, organized by the Bangkok Soccer School and featuring West Ham United FC Academy…
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Running after dark – Thanyapura Neon Night Run
PHUKET: Grab your glow sticks and get ready for the inaugural Neon Night Run, a glow-in-the-dark family fun run at Thanyapura Phuket. Entrance to the five-hour neon-themed races and festivities costs 300 baht and will kick off at 5pm on May 31. The fun run is stacked with events with four fun-run categories for kids, ranging from 500 meters up…
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Thai visa-van ban at Malaysian border not part of recent crackdown
PHUKET: The blockade preventing Thai visa-run vans from entering Malaysia on their way to Penang is not linked to the recent crackdown on visa runs in Thailand, confirmed a KBV Phuket Visa Run staffer. “Thai visa-run drivers and vehicles have not been allowed to cross the Malaysian border for more than a week now due to a small protest of…
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Wanted: Phuket home for Chinese Consulate
PHUKET: Unable to find a suitable property for the new Chinese Consulate in Phuket, officials from the Chinese embassy sought advice from Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa on Thursday. “We will certainly have a consulate in Phuket, and it will be open as soon as possible,” said Vice-Consul Wang Huijian, who will head the new consular office. “We have four…
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Serial sunscreen shoplifter snagged in sunny Phuket
PHUKET: A sunscreen shoplifter was arrested with over 20 bottles of the lotion by Phuket Police yesterday afternoon. Daoruang Budda, 31, was identified by police from CCTV footage at a Family Mart convenience store in Patong. “After we got the description out, one of our officers spotted her riding a motorbike in Patong. We followed and approached her at the…
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Tourist visa runs are not dead: Immigration boss
PHUKET: Tourists who can prove that they are genuinely staying only short-term while travelling in Thailand will be allowed to leave on “visa-runs” and re-enter the country, Immigration Commissioner Pharnu Kerdlarpphon confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “Genuine tourists are fine. All they have to do is prove to the immigration officer at the border checkpoint that they really are tourists…
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Phuket woman gunned down in Chalong
PHUKET: A woman was gunned down at the Saraphan Pleng Pub in Chalong early this morning. Nuchsika Klasuek, 35, was shot in the head after leaving the popular live-music pub at about 4am by an unidentified suspect inside a pick-up truck. “Eyewitnesses said the pick-up truck was heading toward Chalong Circle on Patak Road when one shot was fired directly…
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Interpol, Russia notified of Phuket murder-kidnap suspects
PHUKET: Police have notified Interpol and the Russian authorities to be on the lookout for the two men wanted for the murder and kidnapping of Russian national Alexey Slabinskiy in Phuket in March. Prime suspects Oleksandr Boychuk, 44, and Aleksandr Novichkov, 58, both Russian nationals, are now believed to have fled Thailand by boat. “We have not been able to…
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Phuket TOT internet outages are over, but hiccups to continue
PHUKET: Staff at TOT Phuket have confirmed that a broken fiber-optic cable in Nakhon Sri Thammarat has been repaired, restoring internet access for thousands of TOT customers throughout Southern Thailand. The cable went down at 10am on Wednesday, Wiraporn Kumied, a technician at TOT Phuket, told the Phuket Gazette.“We were inundated with calls from customers in Phuket who could not…
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Phuket Tourist Police in fender bender on slippery road
PHUKET: A Tourist Police officer injured his back and damaged a tuk-tuk and two other cars when he lost control of his patrol car on a wet Thepkrasattri Road on Tuesday night. Local residents notified authorities of the accident near Baan Sapam Mongol Wittaya School at about 9pm. “When we arrived at the scene we saw a damaged white Toyota…
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Father’s funeral for newborn son brings Patong traffic to a halt
PHUKET: Patong suffered a short traffic jam yesterday afternoon as the grieving man who lost his wife and newborn son earlier this month led a traditional funeral parade through the city streets. “I would like to apologize to everyone for the traffic problems. I had no intention to close the road, only to lead a funeral parade through Patong as…
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Fingerprint scans to debut at Immigration to catch known criminals
PHUKET: Thai Immigration aims to begin scanning fingerprints of all foreigners arriving in the Kingdom by the end of the year under a project costing 342 million baht. “The budget has yet to be approved, but we hope to introduce fingerprint-scanning machines by the end of 2014,” Immigration Commissioner Pharnu Kerdlarpphon confirmed to the Phuket Gazette yesterday. The scanners, to…
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Police seize drugs, rifle in Phuket encroachment raid
PHUKET: Officers acting on a tip-off raided four shacks built in a protected Karon forest near Freedom Beach, south of Patong, yesterday and discovered a rifle, marijuana and wood-cutting equipment, but no people. “It looks like the people staying there knew we were coming and ran away,” said Karon Village Chief (Kamnan) Winai Chidchiew. “We found eggs that had just…
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Phuket Police rule out foul play in death of American
PHUKET: Police today ruled out the possibility of criminal activity in the death of a 57-year-old American tourist whose body was found in his room at a Patong guesthouse on Monday. The body of New Jersey man John Randolph Grieg was discovered partially clothed and lying face down on the floor near his bed by PL House staff at about…
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Relief on its way for Saiyuan blackout
PHUKET: A utility pole that was damaged several days ago after being hit by a car gave up the ghost today, causing a blackout in Phuket areas south of Mangosteen Resort & Spa in Rawai. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority Operations Chief Yongyuth Podbutr told the Phuket Gazette today. “The blackout…
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Adam Kable inspires Thai, Southeast Asian swim coaches
PHUKET: Adam Kable, High Performance Squad Coach from the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center (SOPAC) Swim Club, was the keynote speaker at the recent 2014 Swimming Sport Science South East Asia Conference in Bangkok from April 26-27, an event attended by more than 100 swim coaches from across Thailand and Southeast Asia. The conference was held to highlight the Australian…
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Tesco Lotus steps up its ‘no plastic bag’ campaign in Phuket
PHUKET: After successfully removing plastic bags from one of its stores, Tesco Lotus plans to stop using them in two others, thereby reducing plastic bag use in Phuket by 10,000 bags per week. On May 16, Tesco Lotus branches in Rawai and Surin will stop using plastic bags, said Charkrit Direkwattanachai, Head of Public Affairs for the chain in Thailand.…
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Speed key in successful Central Festival Phuket fire drill
PHUKET: Emergency services and about 700 Central Festival Phuket staffers took part in the department store’s annual fire drill on Friday morning. Presided over by Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Sakchai Limcharoen, the drill succeeded in evacuating the mall in under 10 minutes. Local fire crews also took part in the safety drill, as well as medics from the nearby…
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Phuket man packing heat, drugs crashes after staring down police vehicle
PHUKET: A man in the illegal possession of two guns and drugs was so distracted by a police vehicle last night that he crashed his motorbike into a car in Thalang. Police rushed over to the badly injured Chainarong Singsombat, 27, to whisk him away to hospital, but hesitated when they discovered that he was packing heat. “We found a…
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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