Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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Sweden to Phuket: Epic cycling journey for island orphanage
PHUKET: A man is standing out in the cold in the snowy town of Karlskoga, his fellow citizens walk briskly past, unaware that within about a month the man will be departing their homeland on an epic cycling journey across half of the world to the shores of paradise – Phuket. Unlike many such great undertakings, which have been motivated…
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Phuket Sports: Reaching the ultimate goal [Video]
PHUKET: The ancient martial art of Muay Thai is alive and strong, especially in Phuket, where fighters from around the world make their way to train with some of the best. The Phuket Gazette and PGTV were able to get the scoop on what’s new in the island’s fighting scene during a recent visit to Tiger Muay Thai gym. Located…
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Phuket Sports: Train like a pro, win like a pro
PHUKET: Roughly 135 is the number of triathlons completed by Jaray Jearanai, Phuket’s homegrown triathlete. “I’ve been running for nine years and each year I run more than 15 triathlons,” he says. But as much as he likes it, it’s not all just for fun. “I want to be the best Thai triathlete. Right now, there are no Thais going…
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Phuket Sport: Getting back to the top
PHUKET: I first saw Alisa Kleybanova bouncing balls across the net during her morning tennis practice at Thanyapura. Not a hint of smile on her face, but 100 per cent focus, precision and power. Later, when she dips into Thanyapura’s Olympic size pool with the members of the Dutch elite swim team who are preparing in the sport complex for…
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Protests hold up Phuket sea gypsy DNA results
PHUKET: DNA tests that could prove the residency of sea gypsies in Rawai and help them counter land claims of private investors seeking to evict them have been delayed due to the Bangkok Shutdown. The tests are being done on bones found last year buried in the dirt floor of a sea gypsy home. If there is a match between…
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Governor Maitri Inthusut honors Phuket Gazette’s 20th anniversary
PHUKET: Managers and staff members past and present were joined by more than 500 business leaders, readers, writers and friends of the island’s main newspaper to celebrate the 20th anniversary milestone of the Phuket Gazette at a party hosted by founder and publisher John Magee and wife Janpen Arno in Cherng Talay. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, a regular columnist for…
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Patong police delay action on tourist extortion claims
PHUKET: Patong Police Acting Superintendent Sakchai Limcharoen confirmed today that no immediate action will be taken over claims that officers under his new command stand accused of extorting money from tourists. The news follows Phuket expats who assist the Patong Police as Region 8 International Volunteers revealing in a public statement yesterday that several of them had resigned over an…
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Phuket teacher recovering after blood donations allow for safe surgery
PHUKET: Donors answering an urgent call for A-negative blood allowed doctors to perform a four-hour operation to repair the fractured leg of Phuket teacher Dean Jackson last night. Mr Jackson, a teacher from HeadStart International School, was injured when he fell off his motorbike and rushed to the hospital with a broken leg (story here). “We are pleased to announce…
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Phuket Airport taxis face undercover sting operation
PHUKET: In an effort to compel airport metered taxi drivers to turn on their meters, Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada will send policemen to pose as tourists in a sting operation. “If the undercover officers find a taxi driver who refuses to turn on his meter, we will arrest him immediately,” Vice Governor Chamroen said. The move follows a complaint the…
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Drug dealer turns in Phuket suppliers
PHUKET: Police seized more than 3.7 million baht of property after a Phuket drug dealer gave up his suppliers Tuesday night. “We first arrested Kiatipoom ‘Tak’ Rangubwong, 34, in possession of 338 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills,1.8 grams of ya ice (crystalmethamphetamine) and drug paraphernalia at his house on Thung Thong Road at about 11pm,” said Col Jaroon Bangprasert of the…
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Breaking News: Phuket expat volunteers quit over police corruption allegations
PHUKET: At least five long-term Phuket expats who have spent years assisting police as volunteers in Patong have resigned over allegations that police officers have extorted money from tourists. The Region 8 International Volunteers who work out of Kathu Police Station – the formal name for the police station in Patong – met today to discuss their concerns about working…
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Phuket expat volunteers strike amid Patong Police fallout
PHUKET: The ousting of Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan on Monday has prompted expat police volunteers in Phuket to go on strike. Expat police volunteers will no longer assist police or carry out their highly-praised night patrols of Patong until a clear structure is established, explained Wal Brown, long-term Phuket expat and head co-ordinator of the Royal Thai Police Region…
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Phuket Marine Police conduct boat safety raids
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Office conducted safety inspections of speedboats, dive boats and other vessels geared toward tourism at Chalong Pier yesterday. “It is our responsibility to continually check on the boats and strictly enforce regulations to ensure the safety of passengers,” Chatchai Sakdee of the Phuket Marine Police said. Police confirmed that the boats were not carrying more than…
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Phuket mini-crepe maker saved from sharks, gets gift of a lifetime
PHUKET: A Phuket vendor who saw his only source of livelihood – a mini-crepe cart – go up in smoke was able to avoid going to loan sharks to replace it because of help from an unlikely source, a New Zealander who has been to the province only twice. Prayoon Inpuang, 44, was preparing to sell mini-crepes in Phuket Town…
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Phuket speed cameras return to bypass road this week
PHUKET: Speed cameras on Phuket’s bypass road will be put back in position this week after officials removed them on Friday. “The pictures the cameras were taking at night were not clear or bright enough to identify license plates,” Lt Col Rungrit Rattanapagdee of the Phuket City Police told the Phuket Gazette yesterday morning. “We hired mechanics from Nextech System…
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Urgent call for blood to save Phuket teacher
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is urgently calling for donations of A-negative blood in order to save the life of Dean Jackson, a teacher who was injured in a motorcycle accident. “We received a request from Phuket International Hospital for two units of A-negative blood to save the patient’s life,” PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak told the Phuket Gazette…
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Phuket tuk-tuk blockade ousts Patong Police superintendent
PHUKET: A 200-strong tuk-tuk blockade last night ended with Phuket’s top cop agreeing to meet the drivers’ demands, which included transferring the Patong Police superintendent. The blockade formed after four tuk-tuk drivers were arrested yesterday afternoon for not allowing green plate taxi drivers to use public parking spots on Thaweewong Road, said Sakol Srisompoch, president of the Patong tuk-tuk drivers…
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Woman saved from Phuket mob after fatal motorbike collision
PHUKET: Rescue workers saved a Phuket woman from the wrath of an angry mob in Pa Khlok early yesterday evening after her car struck a local man and dragged him to his death. The accident occurred in Baan Bangla, about two kilometers east of the Heroines Monument (map here), at about 6:30pm, Lt Chatree Chuwichian of the Thalang Police told…
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Phuket Provincial Hall fails to re-open
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Hall did not re-open yesterday as anticipated after People’s Democratic for Reform Committee (PDRC) leader Suthep Thaugsuban announced the end of the Bangkok Shutdown. “As I told you on Saturday, the stage in front of Provincial Hall will remain standing until I receive word from Bangkok to dismantle it,” said Phuket protest co-ordinator Amnuay Kumban (story here).…
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Phuket restaurant owner saves the month for woman in Cherng Talay
PHUKET: A Phuket restaurant owner saved the day for a woman who left behind her entire month’s living allowance in a motorcycle basket Sunday morning. The 47-year-old Kamala restaurant owner found 6,620 baht and an identification card outside CP Fresh Mart in Cherng Talay, said Peerasit Noopayan of the Cherng Talay Police. “Pradit Samohthong came immediately to the station and…
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Phuket Police arrest man with counterfeit US$10,000 “Nan Francisco’ bank notes
PHUKET: Phuket Tourist Police last night arrested a man who tried to exchange counterfeit US$10,000 bank notes that read “Nan Francisco” and totaled more than 157 million baht. Wachirawich Janjaroenchaisin, 40, was arrested during a sting operation after police received a tip-off that someone was trying to exchange US$10,000 bank notes on the island. “Officers pretended to be exchange brokers…
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Two Phuket tourist vans collide, injuring six
PHUKET: Two tourist vans collided last night near the main Tesco Lotus in Samkong, injuring six. One tourist and both drivers remain in the hospital today. A Maikhao Sakoo Co Ltd van driven by Sulaiman Udom had picked up tourists at the airport and was headed west on Phra Phuket Kaew Road to Patong when a Tez Tour Thailand van…
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Breaking News: Swede gets life for stabbing murder
PHUKET: Swedish national Tommy Soderlund was today sentenced to life imprisonment for the stabbing murder of Maxim Schantz in Phuket two years ago.He was also ordered to pay compensation to the victim’s family. However, the court has yet to verify the amount.Tommy Viktor Soderlund, 28, stood accused of the murder along with Johan Sebastian Ljung, also 28. Mr Ljung recieved…
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Phuket Provincial Hall may open Monday as protesters pack up Bangkok Shutdown
PHUKET: Protesters are considering allowing government officers to re-open the doors to Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday after nearly two months of closure. Provincial Hall shut its doors on January 13 after anti-government protesters rallied outside in support of the Bangkok Shutdown (story here), an attempt to reform the government and topple what People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) leader Suthep…
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6-year-old, aunt killed in Phuket motorbike crash
PHUKET: A 6-year-old girl and her 17-year-old aunt died in a motorbike accident after a pickup truck allegedly cut across multiple lanes of traffic in Pa Khlok yesterday. Rescue workers and Thalang Police rushed to the scene of the crash on Pa Khlok-Muangmai Road near Baan Bangla Mosque at about 3:45pm. “We found Rachada Pongpongsuwan, 17. Sunisa Nontri, her niece,…
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Phuket Vice Governor orders stop to Big Buddha construction
PHUKET: Construction on Phuket’s Big Buddha was halted yesterday after villagers filed a complaint alleging that it had caused landslides last year, and could potential do so again when the rainy season returns. Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak led 20 officers in an inspection of the construction site yesterday morning. He was joined by Suporn Vanitchakul, President of Phraphuttha Mingmongkol Sattha…
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Phuket Sports: We Freedive Suunto series begins
PHUKET: The We Freedive Suunto Series saw contestants holding their breath last Sunday at Phuket Country Home in Chalong as they faced off to gain international points and improve their ranking for the Association Internationale pour le Developement de l’Apnee (AIDA). Five competitors participated in the static apnea, one of the eight AIDA freediving disciplines. In static apnea, “the freediver…
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Former Diamond Beach Club DJ dies in Phuket motorbike crash
PHUKET: A former resident DJ at Diamond Beach Club was killed in a motorbike accident after an encounter on a curve with a Phuket tour bus this morning on Srisoonthorn Road. The 42-year-old American, Josh Christian Ezell, announced on his Facebook page earlier that day that he would be retiring from his career as a disc jokey. Mr Ezell’s body…
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Smoke clears from Myanmar’s first dive boat sinking
Special Report After being questioned for four days in Myanmar, the trip leader for MV Blue Star which went up in flames on February 9 about 100 nautical miles from civilization returned to Phuket to set the record straight. The Gazette‘s Isaac Stone Simonelli reports. PHUKET: The Finnish-owned liveaboard Blue Star departed Thap Lamu Pier on February 6 with 33…
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Last witnesses for prosecution in Dokset murder trial take the stand
PHUKET: The prosecutor in the Stein Harvard Dokset case concluded his arguments on Wednesday after asking the confessed killer’s girlfriend and the case investigator to take the stand. The long-term Norwegian expat is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Rungnapa Suktong, concealing the evidence of the crime and illegal possession of a firearm. Though Mr Dokset, now 51 years old, has…
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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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