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 illegal taxis given New Year deadline
PHUKET: Fed up with the delay in illegal taxi drivers complying with the law, Phuket officials have established a December 31 deadline for taxi drivers to become legal. Phuket officials have long been flexible in trying to accommodate local taxi drivers’ concerns, Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada told a provincial transportation committee meeting on Tuesday. “In the past, we kept extending…
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Korean boy, 4, rescued from Phuket drain
PHUKET: A local resident rescued a 4-year-old Korean boy who plunged into a drain two-meters deep along the bypass road yesterday evening.“The cover for the drain was broken, and grass was obscuring the hole. It was hard to see because there was no light,” said a Kusoldharm rescue worker at the scene.Boonkua Saelim, 42, rushed to help the boy after…
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Phuket Sport: Singapore wins international cricket sixes competition
PHUKET: The Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) hosted the inaugural Sunseeker Thailand International Cricket Sixes event at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) over November 8-10. The competition saw Phuket’s local cricketer’s line up against international teams from Australia and Singapore in an action-packed, fun-filled three days.The first two days comprised of round robin matches which were followed by a great night…
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Patong Police chief told to clear parking spaces for tourists – or be transferred
PHUKET: The chief of police in Phuket’s premier tourism town of Patong has been ordered to clear beach road parking spaces for tourists by December 31 – or face being transferred.The news came after a video conference between Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arun Kaewwatee and Police Region 8 Commander Panya Mamen yesterday.“Lt Gen Panya ordered the superintendents of the…
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Phuket ATM robbers were “amateurs’, says expert
PHUKET: A welding expert today branded the thieves who last week used a blowtorch to steal 1.6 million baht from an ATM at Phuket’s Boat Lagoon as “amateurs”. Stuck for clues in tracking down the bandits, Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Serm Kwannimit today brought welding expert Wisut Pumsiri to inspect the scene of the crime (story here). “I believe…
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Driver blamed for Phuket tour bus crash
PHUKET: Police have given a Phuket tour bus driver seven days to present himself to face charges for the Patong Hill accident that saw 49* university students rushed to hospital Saturday afternoon. The 32-year-old driver, Manit Sawadee, is to be charged with reckless driving causing serious injury. The bus Mr Manit was driving plunged backward and slammed into a roadside…
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Safety helmet found at Phuket motorbike fatality scene
PHUKET: A man carrying a full-face helmet was found dead on the airport bypass road after falling from his motorbike early yesterday morning. Police were called to the scene, about one kilometer from Thepkrasattri Road (map here), at 2:30am. “The victim was identified as Thanapon Pawatpongphan, 44,” said Capt Santi Prakobkan of the Tah Chat Chai Police. “It seems as…
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Phuket kratom cooks caught in the act
PHUKET: Police in Kamala, on Phuket’s west coast, nabbed two men cooking up a batch of the illegal drug cocktail “4×100” at a workers’ camp on Friday.“Plain clothes police informed us that two men, Aekkaluk Phanchalard, 29, and Suthep Abdulsamak, 42, were making 4×100 at the camp,” explained Lt Suchart Chompooseang of the Kamala Police.Uniformed officers quickly assembled a squad…
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BIS Phuket earn four trophies at its football tourney
PHUKET: British International School Phuket (BISP) was proud to once again host its annual football tournament, with the hosts taking home four of the total 30 trophies. This year there were teams representing 26 international schools from not only Thailand, but China, South Korea, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. Out of 10 classes, BISP won top honors in the…
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Phuket tour bus plunges off Patong hill, 44 students injured
PHUKET: A tour bus carrying students on holiday from Bangkok plunged off Patong Hill this afternoon after failing to make it up the steep incline.No deaths were reported in the incident, but 38 students were taken to Patong Hospital while six others were rushed to Bangkok Hospital Phuket in Phuket Town.“One of the students, a Pakistani national, suffered serious head…
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New Tourist Police Commander joins Phuket boat safety blitz
PHUKET: The new commander of the Tourist Police, Maj Gen Apichai Theamart, yesterday led a team of officers on a safety inspection of boats operating at Rassada Pier, on the east side of Phuket Town. The inspection, aimed at ensuring Phuket tourists’ safety, follows a heavily overloaded ferry from Pattaya capsizing off Koh Lan, injuring many passengers and causing the…
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Phuket tourist van drivers win reprieve against arrests
PHUKET: Local van drivers who shuttle tourists at hotels and resorts to and from the various piers around Phuket have won a reprieve from arrests during the ongoing crackdown on illegal drivers.The news follows a collection of 60 drivers successfully appealing to Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada at Provincial Hall yesterday.“All of us have already applied to the Phuket Land…
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Phuket traffic cop perks up to catch coffee fiend
PHUKET: A passerby in Phuket Town helped an off-duty police officer chase down a man who allegedly stole a bag of instant coffee from a 7-Eleven convenience store early yesterday morning.Kampanart Rattanamuay, 34, was found by police with five bags of coffee, a DVD and a pair of gloves.“By the time we arrived, Mr Kampanart had already been captured and…
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Letter from the Phuket Governor: Improving the island step by step, his way
Maitri Inthusut arrived on the island to take up the position of Governor of Phuket on October 8, 2012. With a master’s degree in political science from Thammasat University, he joined the National Security Council, rising to the position of NSC Secretary-General, before taking up the position of Chief Secretary for the Secretariat of the Cabinet. He has also served…
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One killed in Phuket construction work truck crash [video report]
PHUKET: A truck carrying construction workers flipped on a hill on the coast road between Patong and Kamala yesterday, killing one and injuring 12. Kamala Police were notified of the accident at about 5:30pm. By the time they arrived at the scene, traffic police were already there, helping to direct traffic in the long tailbacks building up at the crash…
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Phuket Poll: Is compulsory health insurance for tourists worth it?
PHUKET: Stories of fundraisers to cover the medical costs of friends and loved ones are not strangers to Phuket’s news pages. Dozens of stories a year roll in, and many more remain undocumented, about those travelling through The Kingdom who succumb to unfortunate circumstances and rack up enormous medical bills as doctors fight to save them. Many of these bills…
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British national charged for road fatality in Phuket
PHUKET: A British national was charged with reckless driving causing death after she allegedly forced a 17-year-old student on a motorbike off the road into a utility pole. According to witnesses, Faye Louise Taylor, 39, made a left-hand turn from Thepkasattri Road toward Nai Yang Beach at just past midnight today, cutting off Patiphan Lawan. The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who…
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Phuket temple receives 1.2mn baht to mark Kathin ceremony
PHUKET: Temple administrators at Wat Kata yesterday received a donation of over 1.2 million baht as part of the Kathin Ceremony, held each year to mark the end of the Buddhist “month of gratitude”. The donation was presented by officers from the Royal Thai Navy, joined by Karon Municipality officials and a gathering of about 2,000 other Buddhist disciples. “The…
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Hot withdrawal: Phuket ATM robbed of B1.6mn
PHUKET: Thieves used a blowtorch to make off with an estimated 1.6 million baht from an ATM at the entrance to the Boat Lagoon this morning. The theft, at a Siam Commercial Bank ATM, was discovered at about 11am by an employee who had come to service the machine. “The thieves broke the lock on the door of the building…
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Phuket students in mass rally against amnesty bill
PHUKET: Hundreds of whistle-blowing students streamed through Phuket Town last night on their way to Phuket Provincial Hall to protest the amnesty bill. Starting at about 6pm, students from Phuket Wittayalai School, Satree Phuket School, Phuket Technical College, Rajabhat University and the Prince of Songkla University Phuket Campus gathered in front of Provincial Hall to make their opposition to the…
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Phuket tuk-tuk driver foils snatch-in-action
PHUKET: A Kalim tuk-tuk driver rushed to the aid of a woman who called for help yesterday and managed to apprehend the man who had just snatched her bag.Yongyuth Dhamkong, 42, was driving along the Kalim beachfront road at about 2am when he heard Nongsarang Sakyen, 33, calling for help.“When I drove past the victim, I heard her shout for…
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False alarm over bomb at Phuket school
PHUKET: A cardboard box found at the entrance to Satree Phuket School yesterday morning raised fears among security guards that the package might contain explosives. Police were called to the scene, near the busy Tungka Intersection in Phuket Town (map here), just before midday. “When we arrived, we found a box and an envelope, in a plastic bag from a…
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Phuket alumni, hospital workers protest amnesty bill
PHUKET: Opposition to the amnesty bill continued in Phuket yesterday as university alumni and hospital staff made their opinions known.About 20 Chulalongkorn and Thammasat University alumni association representatives presented Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut a letter of opposition to the bill while explaining how an amnesty could affect Phuket.“If this bill passes, the nation as a whole will experience more corruption,”…
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Phuket rescue too late for chicken
PHUKET: A chicken-owner tried to save his fowl from a python yesterday morning, but his efforts came too late; the chicken had already expired.An official of Radio Thailand Phuket called Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers for help catching the snake at 7:30am.The official, who asked not to be named, told rescue workers that he was alerted to the snake’s presence when…
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Phuket expats risking lives on the road to stay in paradise
PHUKET: The visa van crash that took the life of Filipina singer Renita Dequina Polido on October 21 (story here) sent shock waves through the Phuket expat community and raised questions about the logic of a system that requires foreign workers to leave the country to get visas and renew 90-day permits-to-stay so regularly. The early morning accident occurred on…
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ABBA Fever has Phuket organizers, ticket sellers maxed out
PHUKET: With less than 36 hours remaining before the doors open to Friday night’s ‘ABBA Forever’ concert at Laguna Phuket, organizers Events International have asked the Phuket Gazette to advise readers as follows. The entourage from London arrives in Phuket today. Tomorrow night’s concert is sold out. There are still some tickets available for Saturday night, but few if any…
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Tuk-tuk ejection scheme draws mixed reactions
PHUKET: As the clock starts to tick down on a plan to evict tuk-tuk drivers from parking spots in Patong, response from tuk-tuk drivers varies from flat refusal to requests for fairness in the application of the new measure. “Most tuk-tuk drivers will not agree to move off the road. Where would we work then?” said Sakol Srisompoch, who earlier…
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Phuket beach closed after croc scare
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut asked hotel staffers and local residents yesterday to help keep people out of the water along Mai Khao Beach after a 2.5-meter-long crocodile was spotted in the area on Sunday (story here). “To ensure the safety of tourists and residents, Governor Maitri declared the area a no-swim zone,” Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR)…
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Breakfast blaze cooks Phuket Town vegetarian restaurant
PHUKET: A fire that broke out in a vegetarian restaurant during the breakfast rush today caused customers to scatter.Only minor injuries were reported from the incident. The cook at the Num Heng vegetarian restaurant on Chana Charoen Road told police that she was cooking when the fire started from the gas canister she was using.“I turned my back to get…
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Phuket gold snatch duo hail police pickup as getaway car
PHUKET: Two men who snatched a gold necklace from a 50-year-old woman on Sunday night were arrested after they accidentally waved down a police pickup truck to hitch a ride as they fled. Preeda Adam, 25, from Pathum Thani, and Phuket native Somsak Puangcharoen, 23, were arrested just after midnight yesterday. Both men reportedly worked as kitchen hands at the…
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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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