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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Stalemate edges Phuket FC into fifth
PHUKET: The Islanders moved into fifth place of the 18-team Yamaha League One thanks to a goalless draw with second placed team, PTT Rayong on Saturday evening at Surakul Stadium, Phuket Town. Actual play only lasted 40 minutes, as this was the conclusion to the game abandoned on June 9 due to rainstorms over Phuket forced the match officials to…
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Two more suspects sought in Phuket attack on Malaysian royal bodyguard
PHUKET: The five people accused of attacking a Malaysian royal family bodyguard in Patong in May continue to be held in Phuket as police pursue two additional suspects. “The court has issued arrest warrants for two Malaysian suspects,” said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arun Kaewvatee. “We have sent the warrants to Malaysian police, who are searching for them,” he…
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Phuket top province for Dengue Fever outbreak
PHUKET: Phuket is now listed as the highest ranking province in Thailand for Dengue Fever outbreaks, Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Deputy Chief Dr Krit Sakulpat confirmed to the Phuket Gazete today. Despite the ranking, there is no reason to panic, said Dr Krit. “For the statistic, the number of patients is divided by the registered population, which in Phuket…
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Phuket Poll: Chalong underpass: six routes diverge in chaos and I choose”¦ eh, um, err….
PHUKET: Underpasses are the new mega-project craze on Phuket as officials scramble to find long-term solutions to the island’s mounting traffic congestion. Work is already well underway for Phuket’s first underpass at the Darasamuth Intersection in front of the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, which was started on November 23 last year (story here). The newest addition to several underpass…
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Man caught on CCTV nicking clean Phuket knickers
PHUKET: Police are now sniffing out the trail of a chronic underwear thief who was caught on CCTV stealing over twenty pairs of drying panties from an apartment complex in Phuket Town.After receiving multiple complaints from residents of Chaloemlarp Apartment about their underwear being stolen, the owner of the complex set up a CCTV camera system.“On July 2 at about…
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Junior Phuket Raceweek set to ‘come of age’
PHUKET: Junior Phuket Raceweek is set to take place Saturday, July 20 off Phuket’s Southeast coast. Sister event to its bigger brother Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, which celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year, Junior Phuket Raceweek gives budding young sailors an opportunity to race in an international-standard regatta. “There are limited competitive sailing opportunities for youngsters on Phuket, and…
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Phuket Sports: Twenty20 season opener sees old rivalries resumed
PHUKET: THE Outrigger T20 league kicked off at the ACG cricket ground last Sunday with an action-packed double header. In the first match, The Village took on last season’s finalists Island Cricket Club (ICC) while the second match saw defending champions Laguna take on arch rivals Patong. After a disappointing showing in the recently completed senior league season, the Village…
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Phuket Airport Express bus ready to roll on July 19
PHUKET: In what seems to be the last shuffle of dates for the launch of the long-awaited Phuket Airport Express bus service, wheels are now to be rolling by July 19, operator Prakob Panyawai confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “The airport buses will be ready to run on July 19. We thought we could start on July 15, but we…
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Swiss man breaks leg in fall from motorcycle
PHUKET: A Swiss man is recovering well following surgery after a motorcycle accident in Thalang yesterday afternoon. Carlo Somaini, 54, was about 300m north of the Heroine’s Monument riding north on Thepkrasattri Road when a motorbike emerged from a soi in front of him. “He was startled,” said Thalang Police officer Thani Petchswee. “He tried to avoid the motorbike, and…
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Phuket mother in debt sells daughter for sex
PHUKET: Phuket police yesterday arrested a mother for selling her daughter for sex. Upon learning that a karaoke bar on Kwang Road in Wichit (map here) was offering sexual services to its customers, police staged a sting operation. “An undercover policeman arranged to purchase sex from a 14-year-old girl in the bar for 3,000 baht,” said Wichit Police officer Passakorn…
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Thailand’s Human Rights Commission silent on Rohingya shootings
PHUKET: Thailand’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) yesterday told the Phuket Gazette they were “unable to report” on their own investigation into reports of Royal Thai Navy sailors opening fire on a boatload of Rohingya, allegedly killing at least two of the refugees, in February. The news comes four months after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised the international press the allegations…
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Woman rescued two hours after fall from Phuket bridge
PHUKET: A 43-year-old woman was rescued from the fast-flowing water in the channel separating Phuket from the mainland two hours after she was seen standing at the railing of Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge. Rescue workers and Tah Chat Chai Police rushed to the scene soon after 10pm, when villagers reported seeing a woman stop her car halfway across Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge…
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Call for A- blood after Brit expat suffers motorbike crash head injury
PHUKET: The Phuket blood bank at Vachira Phuket Hospital is calling for donations of A- blood following an operation on British national Marc Harrington yesterday. Mr Harrington, 66, was admitted to hospital for a head injury sustained in a motorbike accident in Phuket on June 22. “He underwent an operation yesterday, in which we needed to use A- blood. He…
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Severe coral damage prompts DNP to limit dive tourists to Phi Phi Island
PHUKET: Coral reefs at the popular marine national park that covers the famous Phi Phi Islands near Phuket have reached a severe level of degradation due to bleaching, a senior government official revealed yesterday.“Bleaching has affected up to 70 per cent of the coral reefs around Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park. Of the affected corals, 47.52 per…
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Phuket beauty salon owner overwhelmed by debt, found dead
PHUKET: The 28-year-old owner of a Phuket beauty salon is believed to have committed suicide due to the stress of overwhelming debt. Local residents spotted the body of Dussadee Ngoy-phutorn, from Sakon Nakhon, in a lagoon behind Phuket Rajabhat University (map here) at 7:20am today. Ms Dussadee, owner of the My Mint beauty salon in Samkong, Phuket Town, was last…
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Laguna Phuket Marathon to be still bigger and better next year
PHUKET: Now in its ninth year, the Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) is going from strength to strength with numbers of participants expected to break 6,000 next year including runners from Asia, Europe and the Americas. LPIM is the largest destination marathon in Southeast Asia and sees participants push themselves to the limit in order to raise money for charity.…
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Go Eco Phuket gets going
PHUKET: After hosting the world’s largest underwater cleanup last year, local marine conservation group Go Eco Phuket and the Thai Government are joining forces again this year to break last year’s record by garnering support from over 1,000 participants for the reef and beach cleanup in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 81st birthday on August 12. The day after Her…
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Cat alerts home owner to 5-meter python house call
PHUKET: A woman was alerted to the presence of a giant snake in the carport of her home in Phuket Town yesterday by her cat. “When I went out to hang my clothes up to dry, I saw my cat staring at something,” said Saisamorn Sungmek. “It was a snake,” she said. Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation workers responded to Mrs Saisamorn’s…
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Washing machine fire cleans out Chalong Temple SuperCheap staff room
PHUKET: Two fire trucks rushed to the SuperCheap convenience store located about 30 meters from Phuket’s renowned Wat Chalong temple on Saturday after being notified of a fire there at about 8:30am.“When we arrived at the scene we were confronted by flames coming from a staff room on the third floor of the building,” said Capt Kraisorn Boonprasop of the…
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Police: case of missing Phuket woman romantic, not criminal
PHUKET: Police confirmed today that they do not consider the disappearance of Bunyanee Sungparn, 29 (story here), to be a criminal case. “After her brother reported her missing on July 1, I checked her Facebook page,” said Capt Rattanatorn Bumrungthin of the Thung Thong Police. “I read a conversation between Ms Bunyanee and her brother, Weerawit Sungparn, that mentioned a…
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Foul play not suspected in death of Microsoft engineer at Phuket villa
PHUKET: Phuket Police see no reason to open a murder investigation in the case of a former Microsoft engineer found dead at his villa at Ao Makham last week (story here). The man, American-born Clifford Nelson Bamford, was found floating in his villa pool by his housekeeper on July 1. “There were no signs of a fight at the scene…
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MV Hope at Langkawi, four more bodies spotted at sea
PHUKET: The Bangladeshi cargo ship MV Hope, which capsized in heavy seas south of Phuket on Thursday night (story here), is expected to arrive at Langkawi, Malaysia, today after being under tow from its position south of Racha Noi Island overnight. The news came as local fishermen reported seeing four bodies in life jackets off Koh Rok, off the coast…
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Relatives cry murder, Phuket police disagree
PHUKET: Relatives of a woman found dead in her car in an old tin mining pond on Monday believe she was murdered, but police do not agree.Wattana Itthisan, the 27-year-old owner of Fasai Minimart in Chalong, was found in her submerged car in an old tin mining pond behind Chalong Temple on Monday morning.“The driver’s window was open and the…
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Phuket man confesses to suffocating “nagging’ mother-in-law
PHUKET: A man who suffocated his mother-in-law after an argument in Phuket confessed to the killing several hours after the horrific encounter.The body of Prayad Phawaphutanon, 50, was found half-clothed and lying on her bed by her 14-year-old son when he returned from school yesterday evening, said Thalang Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri today.“After finding his mother dead in bed, he…
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Phuket health officials brace for MERS
Special Report MIDDLE East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was first identified in Saudi Arabia in September last year. At least 80 people have since contracted the disease; 44 of them died. The most recent deaths, both in Saudi Arabia, were diagnosed on June 28. Both patients were dead five days later. MERS spreads more easily than its relative, the notorious SARS…
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American surfer dies in Phuket
PHUKET: A 60-year-old American surfing on Phuket’s popular break at Kata Beach died after falling from his board into the water.Mark Carroll arrived in Thailand yesterday and immediately hit Kata’s surf alone after checking into his hotel.“Mr Carroll appeared to have lost consciousness while surfing and fell into the water,” Pichai Wattanawalan of the Karon Police told the Phuket Gazette.The…
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Phuket teenager shot in gang attack
PHUKET: A 16-year-old boy from Rawai was shot in the leg four times by a gang of teenagers in a reprisal attack in Phuket Town last night. The teenager, given the pseudonym “Korn” by police, was shot multiple times at the Esso gas station near the busy Slaughterhouse Intersection (map here) at about 9:20pm. “When we arrived at the gas…
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Chula United’s Big Bang neutralizes Phuket FC’s glory
PHUKET: An ever-determined 10-sided Phuket FC let their 2-1 lead against Yamaha League One (YL1) rivals Big Bang Chula United, slip away in the final minute of added time in a highly-charged fixture. Played on Saturday evening at Surakul Stadium, just under 4,000 spectators turned out, including some 300 pink-shirted BBCU fans – some rumored to be locals coerced to…
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Phuket Police’s 300 boost Bangla red-light security
PHUKET: In a mass show of police strength, more than 300 officers gathered in Phuket’s famed red-light district of Soi Bangla in Patong on Saturday night in the government’s latest campaign to bolster tourist safety on the island.Led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, the officers patrolled the bars with an eye to keeping the peace, on the lookout for any…
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Phuket police move to snare wanted rapist stepfather from Laos
PHUKET: Police have requested an arrest warrant for the Laotian man wanted for repeatedly raping and impregnating his 15-year-old handicapped stepdaughter in Phuket. “The stepfather has left the country,” Patong Police Officer Teerasak Boonsaeng told the Phuket Gazette. The 40-year-old man, originally from Laos, has been at large since June 29, when his wife discovered what he had done (story…
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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