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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Sponsored A healthy tomorrow starts today: Celebrate the great American Smokeout day
The Great American Smokeout, held this year on November 17, is a nationwide event that encourages smokers to take their first steps towards a smoke-free life. If you’re an expat in Thailand, this day could be a timely reminder to...
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Phuket Town sleeping python not left to lie
PHUKET: A python found taking a nap in a Phuket Town kitchen was escorted to more natural surroundings by rescue workers early this morning.When Anchalee Boonjit returned home from work at about 1am today, she realized that all was not right.“I heard a sound in my kitchen,” she said. “When I went into the room, I saw a snake on…
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Phuket Filipina in 5-month legal limbo
PHUKET: A Philippine national charged with working in Patong illegally was forced to wait in legal limbo for five months before her case was put in front of a Phuket judge.In the meantime, she remained stuck in Thailand without a work permit, or legal way to support herself.Melanie Beleno, 35, was arrested on July 4 when Immigration Police went to…
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Phuket faces 40 per cent drop in Chinese tourist arrivals in January
PHUKET: Officials expect the number of Chinese tourists coming to Phuket to drop by 40 per cent this month, despite the fact that Chinese New Year falls on January 31.Chinese New Year traditionally brings a boost in Chinese tourism to Thailand, but this year fewer tourists from Greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, are expected to celebrate the holiday…
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Cruise high over Phuket with the PIMEX lucky draws
PHUKET: Jump into a gorgeous new airplane and get high above Phuket with this year’s PIMEX (Phuket International Boat Show), which opens tomorrow at the Royal Phuket Marina (map here). The Phuket Gazette in conjunction with Phuket Airpark is offering all registered visitors the chance to win a scenic flight over the island. Each daily drawing, from January 9 to…
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Chinese-speaking guides protest Phuket Town travel company
PHUKET: About 100 Chinese-speaking Phuket tour guides protested in front of a travel company yesterday, alleging that the company was hiring illegal Chinese guides. Chaifu Saelee, 43, led the protesters to Tranlee Travel Co Ltd in Phuket Town, where they met with Kritchakorn Roongmongkolnam, the Managing Director of the company. The protest follows the arrest of three Thai guides for…
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Phuket police consider sacking cop over killing
PHUKET: Phuket Police are considering discharging a police officer who shot dead a Soi Bangla bar worker on December 26. The 35-year-old Patong Police officer, Sgt Pongsakorn Treeyuth, was off duty and allegedly drunk when he held an 11mm handgun to the head of Sawitree Kaewin, 27 (story here). “We received an order from the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok…
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Baby elephant illegally imported to Phuket returned to Phang Nga
PHUKET: An elephant camp owner charged in October with illegally bringing an elephant into the province has been fined and the elephant returned to its home in Phang Nga. Prasob Jerkae, 37, paid a 5,000-baht fine for bringing an elephant into the province without a permit, Kathu Livestock Acting Chief Jirayu Nirunwiroj told the Phuket Gazette. A tip-off had led…
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Thanyapura Phuket appoints new Sports Marketing Director
PHUKET: Continuing to gain momentum under new leadership (see story here), the island’s premier sports and wellness destination Thanyapura Phuket has made another key appointment in its quest to export its “active healthy lifestyle” concept globally. Debbie Dionysius, the key figure in transforming the Phuket Triathlon into Southeast Asia’s premier multi-sport event, has joined Thanyapura Phuket as its Director of…
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Chinese tour guide war in Phuket turns violent
PHUKET: Scuffles broke out in front of Wichit Police Station yesterday as tensions boiled over between Chinese-speaking Thai tour guides and Chinese nationals who they accuse of taking their jobs. More than 100 Thai guides gathered at the station in support of Suraphol Saelub, 24; Somchai Saetung, 39; and Ja Saema, also 39, who all face charges of attacking Chinese…
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Marine Chief sinks Phuket sea taxi rumors
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Office chief today trounced rumors that the 240-million-baht budget for an airport-to-Patong “sea taxi” had been approved. “I do not know how the rumor that it was already approved was spread,” Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut told the Phuket Gazette. Director of the Marine Office 5 Wichai Khamkong plans to raise the issue of the…
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Phuket Governor puts spotlight back on Tourist Police
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut highlighted the good work done by the Phuket Tourist Police this morning, about a month after the reputation of the department was tarnished by an ex-member becoming a drug dealer. Phuket Tourist Police Inspector Urumporn Koondejsumrit was asked to attend the governor’s monthly meeting and speak about the opportunities for expats to become involved with…
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National politics dry-docks PIMEX Coastal Waters Safety Summit
PHUKET: Political turmoil has forced Safer Phuket organizers to postpone the Coastal Waters Safety Summit, scheduled to be held at this year’s PIMEX boat show (story here). “We’ve made a huge amount of progress, but with the current political situation, the momentum was starting to dissipate. Everyone is in interim status at the moment,” Safer Phuket founder Duncan Stewart told…
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Tennis Tip: Taking advantage of the warm-up
PHUKET: When we get onto the tennis court to ready ourselves for a match there are bound to be some type of nerves flowing through our veins. That’s natural.As we hit the first few tennis balls in warm-up we begin to become consumed with how our forehand, our backhand and our serves, for example, are feeling at that moment. That’s…
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Taxi, tuk-tuk drivers save the day for forgetful tourists
PHUKET: A taxi driver and a tuk-tuk driver yesterday made two tourists very happy by returning over half a million baht and other belongings that had been left behind in their vehicles.Italian tourist Alfredo De Santi, 37, left a bag containing an iPad, passport, telephone and 500,000 baht in the taxi he took from the airport to his accommodation in…
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Gang brawl near Red Cross Fair leaves 2 dead, 2 injured
PHUKET: A fight between two rival gangs left two Myanmar nationals dead and two others injured at Saphan Hin last night. Both gangs had attended the final night of the Red Cross Fair. They ran into each other after leaving the event and a battle broke out, said Capt Udom Petcharat of the Phuket City Police. Police called to the…
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Phuket loses Sek’s appeal
PHUKET: Hundreds of angry anti-government protesters last night forced the organizers of the annual Phuket Red Cross Fair to cancel a live concert by Thai rock star Sek Loso, who was to perform the closing show at the fair. Sek “Seksan Sukpimai” Loso was one of many Thai celebrities who joined a publicity campaign calling on voters to cast their…
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Family rescued from burning bedroom fire in Phuket Town
PHUKET: A family of three were rescued from a burning building after being trapped by an electrical fire in their bedroom above the family shop in Phuket Town late last night.Police and firefighters, along with three fire trucks, were called to the Modern PVC plumbing supplies store on Mae Luan Road at about 11:40pm.“When we arrived, we could see flames…
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Phuket Police aim to ID high-speed crash victim
PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a man who died in a high-speed motorbike accident in Koh Kaew, north of Phuket Town, early this morning. Police were called to the scene, near the entrance of the Inizio Koh Kaew housing estate (map here), after security guard Chamroen Pinamorn witnessed the accident at about 4am. “I saw a man speed by…
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Special Report: A year in review
SPECIAL REPORT PHUKET: With 2013 having drawn to a close, Phuket’s top-ranking officials and leading tourism industry figures appear to have avoided a year of stagnant growth, which was almost brought on by the ongoing anti-government protests (click here for our special report) and a slew of other issues that continue to plague the island. Phuket protesters bring flowers. Photo:…
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Phuket speed cameras dish out tickets for holiday season
PHUKET: Ten motorists have been ticketed since Phuket’s four speed cameras became operational on December 25.“Anyone travelling over 90km/hr will be fined 500 baht each time they are caught on one of our cameras,” Lt Col Rungrit Rattanapagdee of the Phuket City Traffic Police Police told the Phuket Gazette today. According to Thai traffic law, 90km is the maximum speed…
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5 dead in Seven Days of Danger; Phuket officials declare success
PHUKET: The nationwide Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign ended at midnight last night with a final tally of five deaths on Phuket’s roads. “Although we could not maintain zero deaths in Phuket during the Seven Days of Danger campaign, we are satisfied with the record for this year,” said Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation-Phuket (DDPM-Phuket) Chief San Jantharawong.…
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Phuket crane topples, downs power cables on bypass road
PHUKET: Officials have restored power supply along the bypass road, north of Phuket Town, after a crane toppled and brought down high-voltage power cables during peak hour traffic this morning.“We received a report of a crane falling over at 8:29am. We have yet to learn what caused it to fall,” Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) Operations Chief Yongyuth Podbutr told…
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Jintana’s family continues search for justice after execution-style murder
PHUKET: As the one-year anniversary of the execution-style murder of Jintana Mahattanapak approaches, her family seeks to meet with Phuket’s new top cop for help in a case that appears to have gone cold. Ms Jintana, a human resources director at the time of her murder, was shot coming home from work on January 18 (story here). Police initially believed…
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Phuket police declare victory after Patong parking D-day
PHUKET: Patong police have declared success in dislodging taxis and tuk-tuks from parking spots on the Patong beach road. “We succeeded in our goal of freeing up space between Prachanukroh Road and Soi Bangla. Each of the seven taxi ranks there are now limited to five vehicles each,” Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Akanit Danpitaksat told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon.…
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Phuket ponders bus ban for lethal Patong Hill
PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) has included a ban on buses travelling over Patong Hill on its list of nine suggestions to prevent more fatal accidents from occurring on the notorious incline. PLTO Chief Transport Technician Jaturong Kaewkasi presented the list of safety recommendations to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday. “Over the years, there have been many accidents…
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Phuket maintains zero road deaths in 2014
PHUKET: Two traffic accidents sent two people to the hospital yesterday, but Phuket has yet to record a road-fatality for 2014. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket) today confirmed their statistics for Phuket during the Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign as five dead and 32 injured in 27 accidents. “The accidents on January 1…
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Election candidate blockade remains steadfast in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket blockade preventing any further candidates from registering to enter the February 2 national election held strong today, the last day for potential candidates to enter the election. “We couldn’t even get inside the building this morning to open the center as the protesters blocked our way,” Kittipong Thiengkunakrit, Director of the Phuket office of the Election Commission,…
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Pakastani arrested for passing counterfeit notes in Phuket
PHUKET: A Pakistani accused of passing counterfeit notes in Phuket was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday after police identified him from CCTV images taken along the road from Karon to Patong.Imran Haider, 30, exchanged counterfeit notes representing 1,400 Kuwaiti dinar in return for 148,000 baht at a foreign currency exchange booth in Karon on December 28.“The staff at the booth…
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Phuket Police probe body washed up on Patong Beach
PHUKET: Police are investigating the cause of death of a man whose body was found washed up on Patong Beach this morning. Police were called to the beach in front of Loma Park (map here) at about 5:30am after passers-by noticed the body. “He had dark skin, was 150-160cm tall and appeared to be 30-35 years old,” said Maj Jakkrapong…
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Phuket offerings, blessings mark New Year 2014
PHUKET: About 1,000 people gathered at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town this morning to join a mass alms-giving ceremony to bring good luck for the new year. All three Phuket Vice Governors attended the 7am ceremony in front of Queen Sirikit Park (map here), as did the Phuket City Mayor and other officials. After dry food offerings were presented…
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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