Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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Thailand DSI seizes counterfeit luxury goods in Phuket valued at more than 50 million baht
Officers from Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation raided warehouses in Phuket on Monday, where they seized more than 100,000 counterfeit items valued at more than 50 million baht. The director of the Intellectual Property Department under the DSI investigated 5 warehouses that were reported to have stockpiled counterfeit goods. Authorities found fake luxury brand goods stored in 5 warehouses, including…
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Thai man and 78 year old foreign stepfather arrested over child sex abuse in Phuket
A Thai man and his foreign stepfather have been arrested for allegedly engaging in child sex crimes and sexual abuse in Phuket. Police say the Thai man pretended to be a swimming coach and lured male children less than 15 years old into swimming at his stepfather’s house for potential sexual exploits. More than 15 children were reportedly involved in…
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Hotel and bar staff protest on Phuket’s Bangla Road after viral video prompts crackdown
The disgruntled staff of a Phuket hotel that was being used for late night parties have staged a protest on Phuket’s Bangla Road Walking Street, after their hotel was ‘outed’ for violating Thailand’s alcohol sales laws under current Covid-19 restrictions. The hotel had been operating as a defacto nightlife venue, assumedly away from the hustle bustle and attention of Bangla…
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Patong Bay Hotel under investigation for late night parties, senior Phuket police sidelined
Five senior police officers at the Patong police station have been sidelined to ‘office duties’ at the provincial HQ after a video surfaced showing a popular hotel open way past the current curfew time in Phuket. The 11pm curfew in Phuket has been broadly ignored by the town’s nightlife which is battling to restart after nearly 2 year Covid hiatus.…
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Thailand deploys troops to Khao San Road to combat water splashing tourists – VIDEO
Call in the troops! That’s been the response from Thailand’s government after reports of foreign tourists (you get bet there were plenty of locals in there as well) engaging in “dangerous water splashing behaviour” spread like wildfire on social media at the start of the Songkran festival, well Songkran eve to be precise. Bangkok authorities deployed the military, in addition…
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Phuket tourists better stop splashing water, or else – PM Prayut
Some splash-happy tourists, and probably a few locals, in Phuket obviously didn’t get all the “dry Songkran” memos. Reports of foreign tourists splashing water in and around some of Thailand’s tourist hotspots these past two days has drawn the ire of Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. In the case of Phuket, and specifically Bangla Road, the local walking street, the PM…
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Phuket police set up 11 checkpoints to prevent road accidents during Songkran
The Songkran holidays, or the Thai New Year, is a time notorious for road accidents all over Thailand. During the long holiday, drunk driving increases and road accidents are even more common than usual on Thailand’s dangerous roads. Phuket police officers have set up 11 checkpoints around the island to catch anyone drunk driving or driving dangerously and to help…
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Phuket’s Vanderbilt Estate opens for local charity
The financial impact of Covid has been felt all around the world, with charities hit the hardest. Phuket Has Been Good To Us, who teach English for free to disadvantaged Thai children, is no exception. Desperately in need of funds, they were hugely thankful when friends of the Foundation Mohan Murjani and Sukanya Panyalert (Khun Yui) offered to open the…
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Phuket Soi Dog volunteer to brave Himalayas to raise money for foundation
A volunteer from Soi Dog Foundation in Phuket plans to brave a trek through the rugged Himalayan mountains to raise money for the foundation. The volunteer, 51 year old Yanisa, wants to reach the summit of the 6,419-metre Mount Chulu West with her husband in 21 days. Yanisa and her husband, 65 year old Rohun, will start from Kathmandu in…
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Phuket man confesses to spying on female hotel guest, still ‘temporarily released’
A Phuket hotel employee has confessed this morning to spying on a hotel guest last night while she was showering. Phuket police have already released the man, Noppadon, even though he admitted his crime and had been charged by police. The guest, Tong, posted on Facebook last night about the man, saying she spotted him staring at her through the…
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Phuket governor Narong plans road safety campaign ahead of Songrkan
Phuket governor Narong is planning a road safety campaign ahead of Sonkran with a goal of zero casualties during the holiday. The dates for the campaign, called Seven Days of Danger, have yet to be announced. Last year, the campaign focused on ending drunk driving, and inspecting “risk points” where accidents had happened. 21 people were injured, and one person…
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Police arrest two alleged gambling operators following Phuket robbery
Police in Phuket reported yesterday that two men in other parts of Thailand have been arrested for allegedly operating an online gambling website. Police have now reportedly seized more than 3.7 billion baht in cash and taken the website down. They also seized dozens of other items of evidence, including three land title deeds and four contracts, eight mobile phones,…
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Green sea turtle eggs hatch at Surin Islands National Park
A total of 97 endangered green sea turtle hatchlings made their way into the sea for the first time at Surin Islands National Park, 55 kilometres off the coast of southern Thailand’s Phang Nga province, on Monday. Park rangers had kept a close eye on the nest since the mother turtle laid the eggs two months ago. The eggs showed…
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Thailand issues stormy weather warning for Phuket, Andaman coastline
Residents along Thailand’s western coastline are bracing for stormy seas, after the Thai Meteorological Department, or TMD, issued a stormy weather warning for Phuket, Krabi, Trang, Satun and Phang Ng, as a large storm front blows in from the Andaman Sea. “More rain and isolated heavy rains are likely in the South. People in the South should beware of the…
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Phuket introduces new seafood and gastronomy “Tastival” festival
Following Phuket’s Roi Rim Lay seafood festival last weekend, the island’s officials have come up with another seafood and gastronomy festival for the first time yesterday. The festival is called “Phuket Tastival Seafood and Gastronomy: Roi-Yok-Lo”. It will run until Monday, April 4. Phuket Deputy Governor Anupap and several other officials attended the opening at Saphan Hin, the huge public…
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Phuket man wins 18 million baht from lottery, plans to pay off debts
After praying at several temples with high hopes, one Phuket man’s dream of winning the lottery has come true! The man, who lives in Ratsada on Phuket’s east coast, won 18 million baht yesterday, which just happened to be April Fool’s day. The national Thai lottery is drawn twice a month. But the winning was no joke. The man, Panuwat,…
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Phuket anti-corruption director says corruption due to “lack of knowledge”
The director of the Phuket office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission reported yesterday that corruption in procurement from some local government organisations was caused by a lack of knowledge in supplies and procedures. He said this was based on 2020 survey results about corruption. The director said the most common complaints to the NACC were about corruption involving land. He…
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Phuket to become world class medical tourism hub by 2028
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha plans to turn Phuket into a world-class hub of medical tourism by 2028, according to a spokesperson for the prime minister. An international medical and public health service centre called “Medical Plaza” is planned, complete with an international elderly care centre, a palliative care centre and a rehabilitation centre. Thailand’s medical and public health services have been…
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Phuket officer allegedly threatens woman with prostitution charges for money
A woman in Phuket told the press yesterday that a police officer at Thalang Police Station threatened to charge her with prostitution if she didn’t pay 50,000 baht in monthly payments of 5,000 baht. The payment is allegedly for her car, which police threatened to seize as evidence of her committing prostitution. The woman claims the officer first contacted her…
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Phuket police find dead body floating, caught on mangrove trees
Local residents have found a man’s dead body floating in the waters off Phuket’s east coast, and caught in the mangroves off Koh Kaew. Phuket City Police, hospital staff, and a forensic expert rushed to the scene. After taking the body out of the water for examination, they identified the man as Sahat Bunchan. He was 59 years old, and…
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Wildlife officials uncover 5th turtle nest in Phang Nga
After finding four others earlier this month, officials at a national park in Phang Nga have discovered another turtles’ nest, complete with 73 fertilised eggs. The officials work for Khao Lampi Hat-Thai Muang National Park, and found the nest on Thai Muang Beach. Officials first saw the mother turtle’s on the beach early in the morning yesterday. They found the…
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Thailand, a yacht racing destination
It all started in 1986 when a select group from the elite Royal Varuna Yacht Club (RVYC) got together and decided to launch a regatta in Phuket in 1987 – as a special tribute for the 60th birthday of the then King of Thailand, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thus the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta (PKCR) was born. Royally connected…
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Vietnamese man tries to paddle from Phuket to India on inflatable boat to see his wife
A devoted Vietnamese husband attempted to row through the Bay of Bengal from Phuket to India on an inflatable boat to see his wife who he hadn’t seen in two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thai marines found 37 year old Ho Huang Hung yesterday around 80 kilometres away from the Andaman coast after he had been at sea…
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Upcoming seafood festival at Nai Yang Beach this Friday and Saturday, Phuket
Phuket’s Roi Rim Lay seafood festival will be hosted at Nai Yang Beach this coming weekend on Friday and Saturday. The festival will start at 4pm on Friday, and end at 11pm on Saturday, March 25-26. The festival will host over 100 food stands, live ‘Luk Thung’ Thai folk music, and cooking competitions with chili paste and grilled seafood. The…
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Phuket governor presents campaign to create 10,000 new minimum-wage jobs
As Phuket struggles to pick up its disheveled tourism economy, provincial Governor Narong has a plan for recovery. In a meeting with local government agencies yesterday, Narong presented his plans on a whiteboard. He said the provincial government will work with local government organisations to create 10,000 vacancies. The vacancies, he said, would pay the minimum wage of 336 baht…
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Phuket man paralysed by drunk officer seeks 15 million baht in compensation
The family of the noodle vendor who was shot by a drunk, off-duty police officer last year on Phuket’s Bangla Road is seeking compensation of 15 million baht. The 25 year old vendor was shot in the stomach with the bullet lodged in his spine, paralysing him from the waist down. The officer is now on trial for attempted murder,…
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Phuket Monopoly launched, not that you’ll recognise many of the squares
Welcome to Phuket and some of the most famous attractions like Utopia, BCIS, BIS, The Nai Harn (hotel), Blue Elephant and The Phuket News. All for sale with your Monopoly money when the game becomes available. Whilst you will see Mai Khao Beach, Phuket Town, Cape Promthep, the Karon Viewpoint and Kata Beach, the new Phuket Monopoly board game, due…
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Phuket man posts photos of teen girls in underwear on Facebook
A man in Phuket posted photos of teenage girls in underwear on an unnamed “popular Phuket Facebook page”. The girls allegedly ranged from early to mid teens. One girl wore shorts and a training bra, and another wore a bra and unbuttoned jeans. Online viewers accused the man of “deceiving” the girls into taking off their clothes, according to The…
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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