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 City top cop transferred
PHUKET: Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai has been transferred to Takua Thung Police Station in Phang Nga province, just north of Phuket.The transfer comes after Col Chote was temporarily suspended from duty on May 5 following allegations of underage staff working in Phuket Town clubs and entertainment venues.Acting Superintendent of Phuket City Police Sakchai Limcharoen also confirmed to the…
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Phuket Health authorities stage airport epidemic control drill
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office, assisted by three airlines, yesterday carried out an exercise aimed at preventing a serious infectious disease spreading among passengers on board an aircraft and then infecting the island’s population.The drill took place in and around Phuket International Airport’s multipurpose building. Personnel and equipment from Business Air, Thai Airways and AirAsia airlines played a part…
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Phuket City Police issue reminder: election alcohol ban in Phuket Town tonight
PHUKET: Phuket City Police Superintendent Sakchai Limcharoen this afternoon reminded operators of bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment venues in Phuket Town that a ban on the sale of alcohol will come into effect within Phuket City limits from 6pm today. “Due to the Phuket City Municipality election tomorrow, alcohol sales will be banned from 6pm tonight until midnight tomorrow…
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Aussie woman jailed for false rape report in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Court today sentenced a 21-year-old Australian woman to 15 days in jail for falsely reporting that she was raped in Patong on Sunday. In her report to Patong Police, 21-year-old Stevie Rochelle Bamford claimed she was attacked by three men while taking a tuk-tuk back to her hotel at about 2am. However, CCTV footage taken at the…
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Phuket parents appeal for help in finding missing daughter
PHUKET: Distressed parents are appealing for any information that may help locate their missing teenage daughter, Mullika “Nong Fah” Suansan, who disappeared from her Phuket school last Friday morning. Security-camera footage at Muslim Wittaya Phuket School in Koh Kaew, north of Phuket Town, shows 15-year-old Mullika arriving at the school on the school bus, but she failed to show up…
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NEWS UPDATE: Phuket Police to order DNA confirmation of Joshua Shane’s body
PHUKET: Phuket Police will ask the Central Institute of Forensic Science in Bangkok to conduct DNA tests to confirm that the body recovered off Patong Beach yesterday afternoon is that of missing American student Joshua Shane. The institute is headed by the well-known Pornthip Rojanasunand, who spearheaded the huge task of identifying victims of the 2004 tsunami. “Although people close…
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Phuket assault victim left for dead at garbage tip
PHUKET: Phuket Police have launched an investigation after a man with severe head injuries was found, apparently left for dead, at a garbage tip before dawn yesterday. The police were notified of the man’s condition by a passer-by who noticed him, unconscious and bleeding profusely from the head, next to a collection of garbage cans on a dark stretch of…
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Phuket Airport security on the agenda
PHUKET: The fence running along the perimeter of Phuket International Airport does not provide adequate security, Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada told a meeting of about 20 officials this morning.“The road should be closed to traffic, except for people living in the area, who must be issued special passes,” he said.Representatives from Airports of Thailand, the public organization that operates Phuket…
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Phuket police take chainsaws to drug problem
PHUKET: Chainsaw-wielding police took a cut out of the drug-supply in Phuket on yesterday, bringing down several enormous kratom trees on Luang Poh Road. Despite kratom trees being native to Southeast Asia, their leaves have been considered a controlled substance, in the same category as cannabis, since promulgation of the Kratom Act in 1943. The law made planting the tree…
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Phuket officials ramp up ‘child protection’ campaign
PHUKET: A series of raids netting underage youths working at entertainment venues in Phuket Town has prompted Phuket authorities to ramp up their child protection campaign. Members of the various organizations involved in children protection met to discuss recent events and related what measures are being taken to curb the rising trend of youth drug-addiction and wayward behavior. The meeting…
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“Bomb’ suitcase at Phuket bus terminal a false alarm
PHUKET: Phuket City Police responding to a report of an unattended suitcase at the new Phuket bus terminal last night considered the threat serious enough to call in the bomb squad. Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Jamroon Plaiduang, and bomb-disposal officers from both Phuket and Thung Song District in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, arrived at the scene at about 9pm. After…
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Re-branded Phuket FC lose 2-0 at Navy
PHUKET: Playing their inaugural league match as the “Islanders”, the re-branded Phuket FC succumbed 2-0 against Royal Thai Navy FC last night in Chonburi. Held at the Royal Navy Stadium on the Satthahib Naval Base, the match was played in front of about 800 fans, including a handful of die-hard Phuket “Hulk” fans who endured the long journey to root…
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Body reported recovered in Phuket search for Joshua Shane
PHUKET: Phuket Marine Police have yet to officially confirm whether a human body reported washed ashore at Kalim Beach this morning is that of missing American student Joshua Shane, who disappeared while swimming in Patong on Tuesday night. Lt Jeerayuth Onthong of the Phuket Marine Police, who headed the search mission, told the Gazette he was notified of the discovery…
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Phuket Prison declared all “White’
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Prison has been declared a “White Prison”, with no cell phones and no drugs to be found within its walls. The news follows six months of inmates, wardens and the prison grounds being searched. The searches failed to turn up any drugs or mobile phones, prison chief Rapin Nichanon announced yesterday.The sustained campaign of searches follows a…
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Phuket rescue mission for US student abandoned
PHUKET: Marine Police this afternoon called off a search-and-rescue mission for US university student Joshua Shane, who is missing and presumed drowned after entering the surf with friends at Patong Beach last night. Pol Lt Jeerayuth Onthong told the Gazette that the search-and-rescue mission for the 21-year-old was called off at 1pm today. Lt Col Rittee Paopan of the Marine…
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Police search for American student missing in Phuket surf
PHUKET: A search party of 20 Phuket Marine Police officers are scouring Patong Bay this morning in search of an American student who disappeared in the surf while swimming late last night.The 21-year-old student, whose name police have yet to release, disappeared at about 10pm while swimming with three friends in front of the Phuket Graceland Resort & Spa, where…
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Phuket Governor petitioned to ’empower’ Coconut Island
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha was yesterday called on by villagers and at least one resort owner to instigate action in getting mains power to Koh Maphrao, better known as “Coconut Island”. Families on the island have to pay at least 3,600 baht a month for diesel to power generators, claim village representatives, while The Village Coconut Island resort has…
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Phuket blackout hits unsuspecting residents
PHUKET: The blackout that affected areas in Chalong for at least six hours yesterday was scheduled and should not have taken residents by surprise, the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority said today.“The Provincial Electricity Authority has been installing high-voltage power cables from the substation to the circuit-breaker system for Soi Yodsanae, so they had to temporarily cut off power supply to…
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Police swoop on brother, sister for Phuket execution
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested a brother and sister who they believe orchestrated the execution of Sumittra Namfak, 55, in Phuket on Saturday. Ms Sumittra was shot at close range in the back of the head while watching television in her home in Thung Thong. Winaporn Rathakarn, 46, was arrested in Pa Khlok, Thalang, near the Heroines’ Monument. Her brother Sirawat…
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Phuket officials scramble to stop surf drownings
PHUKET: Current dangerous surf conditions and a spate of drownings at Phuket beaches in recent weeks have prompted officials to introduce new safety measures to guard against tourists from drowning. New signs warning tourists in seven languages of the danger of swimming in Phuket during the treacherous monsoon season have been posted along Phuket’s southern beaches. Meanwhile, the Phuket Governor…
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Phuket Police put drug gang on ‘ice’
PHUKET: A planned police operation that took place throughout Phuket last week resulted in the arrest of seven members of a drug gang and the seizure of thousands of ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and half a kilo of ya ice (crystal meth).The arrests were announced at a press conference on Saturday, organized by the Crime Suppression Unit of the Phuket…
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Patong Tunnel by 2017: EXAT Governor
PHUKET: The Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) Governor, Aiyanat Tinapai, has announced that the Patong Tunnel project may see the light of day by 2017.The news came at a meeting with Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa and other high-ranking officials at Phuket Provincial Hall on Friday.Mr Aiyanat explained that Transport Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan assigned EXAT to…
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Missing Phuket tourist whitewater rafter found dead
PHUKET: After three days of searching, rescue workers this morning found the body of a man who disappeared on Friday after a horrific whitewater rafting accident in Phang Nga, north of Phuket. The Egyptian Embassy named the man as Hossamellein Mostafa Abdallas Hamada, 24, and confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today that the family had been notified and had already…
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Phuket Execution: Two suspects confess, one maintains innocence
PHUKET: Two of the three men arrested for the shooting execution of Sumittra Namfak in Phuket on Saturday have confessed to taking part in the murder. The third suspect continues to proclaim his innocence. Police today had the suspects stage a re-enactment of the crime at the victim’s house in Thung Thong. The house was empty during the re-enactment as…
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Phuket finishes seventh as Youth Games close
PHUKET: The 28th National Youth Games, dubbed the “Phuket Games”, officially closed yesterday with a full-scale closing ceremony at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town.Thousands turned out to brave the wind and rain, which somehow miraculously mostly missed the venue, allowing the onlookers and performers to enjoy the event.Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Maha Sarakham Governor Chuen Warin, Sports Authority of Thailand…
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Phuket PAD protests reconciliation bills
PHUKET: Phuket supporters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), also known as the “yellow shirts”, burned effigies of 2006 coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin and fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in response to a red-shirt protest in Phuket on Friday. Rallying at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town on Saturday morning, the PAD members demanded that red-shirt supporters…
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R.I.P. “FC Phuket’: New “Phuket FC’ prevail in league cup
PHUKET: FC Phuket has finally been laid to rest and will from hereon be known as Phuket FC – the Islander. Club executives announced the news before the start of a league cup match in Sa Kaeo province on Saturday. Marking the climax of a suspenseful roller-coaster year in which the club was overshadowed by looming financial uncertainty, the change,…
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Landslide fears prompt Phuket Governor to push for Patong Hill road repairs
PHUKET Governor Tri Augkaradacha is pressing the central government for an emergency 80-million-baht budget to shore up Phra Barami Road on Patong Hill, which is deemed at high risk of collapse from landslide due to heavy monsoon-season rain. A section of the road, just west of the Chinese shrine at the top of the hill, is already earmarked for repairs…
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Pickups spin out of control on major Phuket road
PHUKET: Two pickup trucks spun out of control and ended up on the median strip of Phuket’s busy Thepkrasattri Road in Koh Kaew last night after a third pickup truck screeched to halt after hitting a dog.Somchai Tankanya, 40, was driving in the right-hand lane when suddenly a pickup to his left, being driven by a 36-year-old who declined to…
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Suspects deny ‘execution’ of Phuket woman
PHUKET: The three men arrested for the shooting murder of 55-year-old Sumittra Namfak in Phuket yesterday have denied the charges. Ms Sumittra was shot in the head at close range at her home in Thung Thong, Phuket, yesterday afternoon. Savit Jongruk 28, Aroon Patan 28, and Sanguan Phu-]ngern 26, were arrested at Tah Chat Chai police checkpoint yesterday as they…
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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