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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Phuket FC fall in Cavalry charge, stumble on road to survival
PHUKET: The Islanders suffered their third straight loss and subsequently slipped into 15th place of the 18-team team league, following a 2-0 scoreline away at Suphanburi on Saturday night. One goal in each half by the Suphanburi FC Elephant Cavalry’s Yodrak Namangrak and Phaisan Pona on 23 and 53 minutes, respectively, sealed the result, securing the home side’s second-place standing…
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Rescued Phuket dolphin’s health improves
PHUKET: The condition of the injured Spinner dolphin rescued from Mai Khao Beach last month has improved, albeit slightly, thanks to the efforts of staff at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC). However, the one-year-old female dolphin still has only a 50:50 chance of surviving, said Dr Patcharaporn Gaewmong, a veterinarian at the PMBC’s Endangered Species Unit (ESU). “We have…
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Rare “hairy leg mountain crab’ spotted in Phuket
PHUKET: A rare type of crab, thought to be extinct on Phuket, was recently found on the island, years after any previous confirmed sightings were reported. An officer at the Phuket Marine National Park Research Center caught a “hairy leg mountain crab” in a mangrove forest at Tah Chat Chai, at the northern tip of Phuket, last Wednesday. “This kind…
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Fire damage to Phuket LPG cargo ship estimated at B400k
PHUKET: Damage to the liquid propane gas (LPG) cargo ship that caught fire off Phuket yesterday may reach up to 400,000 baht, the Phuket Gazette was told today.“The communications room was heavily damaged by the fire. We believe that’s where it started. The radio and radar systems were damaged, as were a storeroom and one room in the crew’s quarters,”…
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“Ruptured my right testicle….”
“Ruptured my right testicle, got a knee one minute into the second half, had to have it removed.” PHUKET: Warrington prop forward Paul Wood ruptured a testicle during Saturday’s Rugby League Grand Final. Wood suffered the injury at the start of the second half after catching a knee to the groin, but he played on before going to hospital after…
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Destination marketing: Heritage experts shed light on Phuket’s cultural identity
PHUKET: The American Chamber of Commerce teamed up with the Phuket PR Network last night to present a fascinating and most entertaining culture-preservation lesson at the Blue Elephant in the heart of Old Phuket Town.The event was headlined by two heritage preservation experts, who gave captivating lectures about the importance of Phuket’s cultural past, present and future.Dr Yongtanit Pimonsathean, a…
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Go Eco Phuket aims to maintain momentum
PHUKET: Go Eco Phuket, the local marine conservation group launched last weekend with the world’s biggest reef cleanup, is looking to maintain its momentum by joining the Royal Thai Navy in scuttling a ship to use as an artificial reef. Group members have already held discussions with local Naval officers about the project, which is expected to ease the pressure…
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Phuket locals taught to fight crime for tourist safety project
PHUKET: About 150 employees in Patong, including rental car operators, motorbike taxi drivers and beach masseuses, attended a seminar this week designed to train them as active members of the Patong Safety Zone project, which has already been hailed as a success by police.“The Patong Safety Zone project has been running for awhile, and we have already noticed a decrease…
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Phuket Police dubious over Russian tourist’s stolen booty
PHUKET: Phuket Police are treating as suspicious claims by a Russian man that the 400,000 baht in foreign currency he buried for safekeeping on Thursday was stolen.Lt Col Boonlert Onklang of the Chalong Police told the Phuket Gazette that the man, who he declined to name, said he buried the booty beside his rental holiday villa where he was staying…
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Phuket village headmen rally against new election law
PHUKET: More than 200 subdistrict chiefs and village headmen gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday morning to protest the amendment of a law dictating the amount of time between their elections.Previously, the law allowed subdistrict chiefs and village headmen to maintain their position until they reached the age of 60. The new amendment changes the length of the “elected term”…
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Phuket worker’s family compensated after electrocution
PHUKET: The Arrow Media advertising company has agreed to pay 100,000 baht compensation to the family of one of its workers who was electrocuted by a bare high-voltage power line at the Darasamuth Intersection on September 28.Wai Hayoung, 32, was killed instantly after being electrocuted by a 115,000 volt (115kv) power line while climbing an advertising board to make repairs.An…
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Farewell to Phuket Governor Tri
SPECIAL REPORT: Letter from the GovernorPHUKET: Over the years, my top concerns for Phuket have been flooding, traffic and wastewater. Flooding and traffic are no longer grave concerns for me because many projects have already received funding and many are already underway.That said, with the new Phuket Governor due to arrive imminently, I would like him to rate traffic as…
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Phuket gas stations not swayed by news that petrol tax “not new’
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) today refuted claims that they had introduced a “new” tax to be collected on the sale of all fuels in Phuket, including diesel, marine diesel, benzine and gasohol. The “maintenance tax”, levied as a 10 per cent surcharge on the sale of all engine fuels, is the same tax previously collected by the…
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Police re-confirm no further investigation into Belanger sisters’ deaths
PHUKET: Krabi Police re-confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today that they have ceased any further investigation into the deaths of Canadian sisters Audrey and Noemi Belanger. No further investigation into the death of the sisters will be conducted, unless the Public Prosecutor or the Canadian Embassy orders that the police resume their work on the case, explained Lt Col Jongrak…
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Man with gibbon escapes Bangla loris raids
PHUKET: Environmental crime police and Phuket wildlife conservation officers are on the lookout for a man who escaped arrest with a gibbon last night after a raid on Patong’s Soi Bangla netted five touts charging tourists for taking photos with protected animals. A team of officers led by Awat Nitikul, chief of the Environmental Conservation Unit based at Phuket’s Khao…
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Phuket Sports: Turns, turncoats and turnups
PHUKET: The big news last week was that Lewis Hamilton jumped ship after fourteen years with McLaren. I said a few weeks ago that I would be surprised and disappointed if he did so. I’m disappointed, but was less surprised after watching, with a sense of awful foreboding, as his gearbox blew him from winner to DNF in Singapore. Hamilton…
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“His reputation has already been affected by his unsuccessful….”
“His reputation has already been affected by his unsuccessful return to the sport.”PHUKET: Motor racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart is happy Michael Schumacher has chosen to retire from Formula One at the end of this season. Schumacher’s announcement comes less than a week after Lewis Hamilton joined Mercedes to replace the German next season.The most successful F1 driver ever, his…
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Petrol retailers fight Phuket pump price rise
PHUKET: Operators of local gas stations are fighting to stave off a price rise at Phuket pumps following the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) announcement of its intention to impose a local “maintenance tax” on fuel.The surcharge, which would raise costs for operators by no less than 3 satang per liter, was revealed to operators in a letter issued by…
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Phuket Police hunt serial masturbator
PHUKET: Phuket City Police are now searching for a man wanted for sexually harassing restaurant staff in Phuket Town after he exposed himself and masturbated in front of them four times in three days. “We launched a search for him last night, but we have yet to find him. Our officers have been alerted to the car’s license plate number…
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Phuket official attacked over alleged affair with man’s niece
PHUKET: An enraged man attacked Chalong Municipality’s Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Wuthiphong Promtawee in Phuket yesterday over an alleged affair Mr Wuthiphong was having with the man’s niece. Arriving at the scene shortly after 10am, Phuket Police were met by a 20-strong-crowd of office employees who had caught the chief’s assailant. Chalong Police officer Lt Col Ekkasit Pinkaew questioned the…
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Phuket officials tackle water shortages, floods
PHUKET: Despite heavy rain forecast for the coming few days, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) this week held its second public meeting to discuss possible solutions to stave off chronic water shortages. At the Phuket Merlin Hotel on Tuesday, PPAO Vice President Soratham Jinda chaired the event, under the slogan “One Tambon, One Water Resource”, with PPAO Chief Administrative…
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Phuket police seize heroin at Phuket checkpoint
PHUKET: Phuket police making a routine stop at a checkpoint in Thalang early yesterday morning seized 33 grams of heroin after searching a car that was not fitted with any license plates. Crime Suppression officers led by Inspector Prasarn Thoworn were on duty at a checkpoint in Baan Yamu, Paklok, when a white Kia sedan arrived at 1:30am. Noticing the…
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Life of Liberty, after the crash
PHUKET: On an island where almost any crash that isn’t fatal is missed in the news, countless personal struggles and victories of the victims of Phuket road accidents are overlooked. Liberty Jefferson had been an English-language teacher at Kanjonkietsuksa School for three and half years, before her was leg shattered in a motorbike crash. Heading north on Thepkrasattri Road from…
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Phuket Sports: Ironman Lieto “Fully Booked!” on double Laguna Phuket Mission
PHUKET: The reputed fastest cyclist in triathlon, Chris Lieto, is heading back to Phuket to compete in the Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT) and Ironman 70.3 this year. The American hopes to make up for the disappointment of his Phuket debut last year, when he crashed out on a rain-soaked 70.3 bike course. Renowned as the fastest American Ironman and one…
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CCTV short circuit sparks Phuket antiques shop fire
PHUKET: An in-store CCTV system monitor is believed to have started a fire at an antiques and souvenir shop in the Phuket tourist area of Kata, destroying goods valued at more than half a million baht. Chalong Police duty officer Chianchai Duangsuwan was informed that a fire had broken out at the Sawasdee shop on Taina Road at 10:45am on…
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Phuket Sports: Pacquiao expected to sign contract to fight Thailand’s Buakaw
PHUKET: Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) is expected to sign a contract tomorrow agreeing to take on Thailand’s most famous fighter, Sombat Banchamek, commonly known as Buakaw, in a special fight planned for December 21. Narong Hengtrakul, one of Thailand’s most renowned international matchmakers for both conventional boxing and Muay Thai fights, will meet Pacquiao in Manila tomorrow to…
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Case closed on Belanger sisters’ deaths
PHUKET: Krabi Police have closed the case on the deaths of Canadian sisters Audrey and Noemi Belanger with no more investigations to be conducted. Audrey, 20, and Noemi, 25, from Quebec, were found dead in their hotel room on Phi Phi Island on June 15. Both had suffered a violent physical reaction to suspected poisoning. Autopsies conducted by forensic police…
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Weather warning for Phuket ahead of cyclone landfall in Vietnam
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department today issued a “torrential rain” warning for much of Thailand as tropical cyclone Gaemi in the South China Sea is expected make landfall over central Vietnam this weekend. “This will affect Thailand during October 4-8,” said the warning, issued by TMD Acting Director-General Somchai Baimoung. The outfall from Cyclone Gaemi is expected to combine with…
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Mayor Pian blasts Phuket land probes as “hypocritical’
PHUKET: Following the inaugural meeting of the newly elected Patong Town Council yesterday, Patong Mayor Pian Keesin blasted the effectiveness of the current spate of ongoing and ever-increasing Phuket land investigations.“I want to see real law enforcement on this issue. Land in Phuket needs to be preserved and its development planned with a long-term view,” Mayor Pian, who was born…
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Live Wire: Is Phuket smart enough for the iPhone 5?
PHUKET: Last week I talked about the iPhone 5, how it compares to the Samsung Galaxy S III, and the problems that people from Toledo to Tashkent are going to have deciding which one to buy. Here in Phuket, we have one HUGE question that doesn’t concern much of the rest of the world – and it’ll be a key…
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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