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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Chief vows to boost patrols to protect Phuket divers
PHUKET: The chief of the Fishery Management Center in Krabi has vowed to bolster patrols at Phuket dive destination Shark Point after photos surfaced of a gill net being dropped over the protected marine area when divers were in the water.“To ensure diver safety, we will increase the frequency of our patrols in the area to prevent any type of…
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Aldhouse pleads guilty to Phuket murder charge
PHUKET: Lee Aldhouse, the British kickboxer extradited from the UK to face murder charges in Phuket, today entered a plea of guilty to murdering former US Marine Dashawn Longfellow in Rawai three years ago. The plea was entered after Judge Montri Saroj, speaking via a court translator, reminded Aldhouse that a guilty plea would likely “help” commute a possible death…
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Two thieves “tagged’ on Phuket City Police Facebook page
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have arrested suspects in two crimes after posting CCTV images of the men on their Facebook page. The first crime took place on August 5, when Tippayo Pho’s room on Phun Pol Soi 2 in Phuket Town was robbed of a 35,500-baht MacBook and a black Lenovo laptop valued at 33,300 baht. Police collected CCTV footage…
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Golfing champion to return for defense
PHUKET: The 2011 Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel will defend his Thailand Golf Championship crown alongside colorful PGA Tour star Rickie Fowler at this year’s edition of Asia’s flagship tournament scheduled for December 12-15 at the picturesque Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, just outside Bangkok. The Thailand Golf Championship will once again see some of the world’s top golfers competing…
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Phuket resort staff receive lifeguard training to stave off tourist drownings
PHUKET: Amid concerns over the high number of drownings in recent years, the Phuket Marine Police are providing lifeguard training to staff at hotels and resorts in Patong.The officers are also recruiting more volunteers from Patong’s hospitality industry to join a network of people trained to swiftly report crimes.The two-day training program at the Patong Resort Hotel ended yesterday. “A…
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Phuket Police on standby to counter farmers’ protests in Deep South
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on standby to provide reinforcements for the Nakhon Sri Thammarat Provincial Police as the Deep South province braces for further protests by palm oil and rubber farmers.Oil palm and rubber farmers protesting against the depressed prices for palm oil and rubber blocked the railway at Ban Tun junction in Cha-uat district this morning.In response, Phuket Provincial…
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Manhunt in Krabi: Murderer out on bail slays stepson’s wife, toddler
PHUKET: A man out on bail for murder is charged with killing again and is being sought by Krabi Police for slaying his stepson’s wife and toddler. Police in the Khao Phanom District of Krabi received word just after midnight last night that two people had been shot dead in Phru Tiao subdistrict. When police and rescue workers arrived at…
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New evidence in American expat death points to natural causes
PHUKET: A tombstone unearthed in the tiny village of Bang Phuying last month has led a crack team of local forensic scientists to speculate that the apparent death of one of Phuket’s first American expats, Carter J. Wyatt, may have been the result of perfectly natural causes. The head of the team, Police Detective Chadjen Maikaojai, told the Phuket Gazette…
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Brown Patong Bay blamed on algae bloom
PHUKET: Phuket’s leading environment officer today speculated that the color of the seawater at Patong Bay turned an off-brown over the weekend possibly due to a “plankton bloom”. The news comes two days after officials staged a press event, led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, promoting the launch of a campaign to regularly test the quality of seawater at Phuket’s…
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Airport drug-scam allegation puzzles authorities
PHUKET: An Australian couple who told the Australian media that their luggage was tampered with and marijuana planted in it as they were leaving Bangkok may not have been telling the truth, the Phuket Gazette has found. Georgia (not her real name) told an Australian radio station (see here) that she and her boyfriend believe they were being set up…
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Phuket police call for public’s help in identifying cafe thief
PHUKET: Phuket City Police today released CCTV images of a man who robbed a cafe at the top of Rang Hill on August 5. “We’ve searched for the man ourselves, but couldn’t find him. We are now releasing these images with the hope that the public can identify him,” said Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Prawit Engchuan.The robbery took place…
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Phuket bartender saved from drunken swim at Patong
PHUKET: Friends of an intoxicated Phuket bartender saved him from drowning this morning after he decided to go for a swim at Patong Beach. Surachai Junmee, 29, and five friends were drinking at Loma Park (map here), after they got off work at about 2am, Patong Police Capt Teerasak Boonsang explained. “At about 6:30am, by which time they were quite…
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Phuket FC mauled by Port Lions, promotion looks slim
PHUKET: If there was any hope left for Phuket FC to still get promoted following Wednesday’s home draw to Air Force (see story), then it was all but relinquished following their away-loss last night to Singhtarua FC. Played in front of an energetic blue-and-orange-clad “Klong Toei Army” crowd at the PAT Stadium in the heart of the Thai capital, the…
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So far today that Cardiff had a 4-4-2 was…
Quote of the day: The only point of the game so far today that Cardiff had a 4-4-2 was on the list at the start of the match, the rest of the match they seem to have been playing a 1-9-1 a variation of the flat back eleven… – Trevor Fisher (Man City fan & Phuket resident) PHUKET: Fraizer Campbell…
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Phuket illegal resorts next on list, warns Parks chief
PHUKET: Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) director-general Manopat Huamuangkaew has warned that Phuket is now at the top of his priority list in demolishing illegal resorts encroaching on national park land.Mr Manopat specifially identified Sirinath National Park, on Phuket’s west coast, as his key interest in protecting public land in Phuket.The news follows work beginning on…
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Police move to detain Rohingya at purpose-built regional shelters
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Police are lobbying Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to build regional detention centers to house Rohingya refugees across Southern Thailand. The move aims to relieve the pressure on already-overflowing detention centers at immigration offices in Phuket, Phang Nga and Ranong. Maj Gen Kraibun Suadsong from the Royal Thai Police Office of Police Strategy, which oversees the Thai…
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Deputy PM calls for “one-stop’ police counters for Phuket tourists, expats
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok today called for every police station across Phuket to have a dedicated section to receive complaints from foreigners.The call came at a meeting at The Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town attended by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavalviwat and other top-ranking police officers from the Andaman provinces of Phang Nga and…
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Ten more Rohingya escape Thai Immigration, this time from Ranong again
PHUKET: Ten Rohingya detainees escaped at dawn yesterday from a detention facility at the Immigration Office in Ranong, the popular visa run destination for many expats and tourists in Phuket. The incident is the latest in a series of Rohingya escapes from various facilities in the past few months. The 10 escapees were part of a group of 118 Rohingya…
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Nigerian arrested in Phuket with visa stolen from Malaysia, cocaine
PHUKET: A Nigerian man arrested for possession of cocaine in Phuket yesterday was also found to be carrying a passport with a visa stolen from the Thai embassy in Malaysia.Karon Police on patrol were notified by an undercover officer of the location of the Nigerian, who was believed to be in possession of drugs.“We approached the man and asked to…
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Phuket Town Hungry Ghost festival underway
PHUKET: Phuket Town is honoring its strong Chinese cultural roots with the annual Por Tor Festival, which was launched yesterday in the town’s Queen Sirikit Public Park (map here). More commonly known as the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts across Asia’s Chinese communities, the festival comprises a variety of cultural displays and activities. “The Por Tor festival is an annual…
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Phuket man denies being multi-million-baht extortion artist, blames official
PHUKET: A Phuket businessman and adviser to the Thailand Trade Organization turned around allegations of being a Patong extortion artist today, pointing his finger at a government official. However, Chart Chindapol was unwilling to name the official, who he claimed raked in 50 million baht a month, pocketing 3 million for himself. A letter accusing Mr Chart of “distressing, threatening…
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Officials tackle Patong Beach’s “big brown’ water problem
PHUKET: An order was made to review operations at the Patong Wastewater Treatment Plant following tests of the seawater at Patong Beach this morning. The director of the Phuket-based Regional Environmental Office 15, Pornsri Suthanaruk, announced the news as Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut joined environment officials conducting the water-quality tests. Dr Pornsri explained that private and commercial premises in Patong…
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Spa speed splashes spills and spunk – F1
PHUKET: Well, F1 is back after the mid-season break. Before Hungary I asked if Lewis Hamilton could continue the trend of British global sporting dominance to win in Hungary. He could. I said Red Bull was looking very powerful, but Sebastian Vettel was not my favourite to win Hungary. As I predicted, Mercedes out-qualified him and Lotus outperformed him. But…
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Phuket land probe: officials receive protection of anonymity
PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) yesterday declined to name anyone under investigation for allegedly issuing land titles for plots within Phuket’s Sirinath National Park. The news came as Chief of the DSI’s Consumer and Environment Protection Office Prawuth Wongsinil, publicly announced that his office will investigate only two of the 11 resorts identified by former Department of National…
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Phuket’s Outrigger T20 cricket: Round 7
PHUKET: On a sunny Sunday for round 7 of Phuket’s Outrigger T20 Cricket league, ICC took on the Youth side in the morning session, while the Village faced Patong in the afternoon session. In the morning match, ICC notched up a solid 162-7 batting first while the Youth could only manage 125-6 in reply. The much anticipated afternoon encounter between…
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Decommissioned warship bursts into flames – again
PHUKET: The decommissioned warship RTMS Lanta burst into flames yesterday while workers were repairing damage caused by a previous fire that broke out at the tourist attraction on July 3 (story here). No injuries were reported. It took Krabi Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) firemen about an hour to squelch the flames on the warship, which is a tourist attraction in…
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Phuket’s Organized Crime Center keeps eye on the prize – illegal taxi industry
PHUKET: An officer at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Organized Crime Center clarified today that the current goal of the center is solely to dismantle the illegal taxi operations in Phuket, which officers believe are at the core of tourist extortion and local money laundering issues. “The center (story here) at this point is designed to tackle all the…
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Bangkok big gun praises Phuket police work
PHUKET: Big gun from Bangkok Gen Wuthi Liptapallop of the Royal Thai Police reviewed Phuket police progress yesterday on the island-wide crackdown on crime from August 16 to September 31. The crackdown, aimed for sweeping results in preparation for the Asian Economic Community (AEC), is targeting everything from immigration issues to prostitution, said Gen Wuthi. Phuket Immigration Police presented their…
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Phuket FC suffer 13th draw of season against Air Force
PHUKET: The Islanders once again allowed an early lead to slip away and be forced to settle with yet another draw – their 13th of the season – this time against 2nd placed, Air Force AVA FC (formerly known as Airforce United) in a high-stakes match last night at Phuket’s Surakul Stadium.A beautiful header by Luiz “Dudu” Purcino 10 minutes…
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Officers seize Myanmar imports at bus terminal
PHUKET: Phuket City officers seized a large cache of apparently untaxed Myanmar goods yesterday at Phuket Bus Terminal 2. Officials led by Suthee Sirianant, Chief Administration Officer of Phuket City District Office, seized the seven large plastic bags containing the goods at about 7:30pm last night.The find was made during a search conducted as part of an anti-drug drive.“We found…
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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