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.
-
Sponsored A World Kindness Day: Spread kindness, prevent illness - Get your 10% discount
With World Kindness Day just two days away on November 13, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how empathy and care can make a real impact, not just in our relationships but in our health, too. This day is...
-
Resort under investigation for alleged laundering
PHUKET: A four-star hotel in Koh Yao Yai has had it’s assets frozen, after officers from the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) began investigating whether the resort is being used to launder money and evade taxes for the embattled Tranlee Travel Co Ltd. During a joint task force raid on Saturday, AMLO officers said they were inspecting Blue Bay Resort’s land…
-
Car bursts into flames in Phuket Town
PHUKET: The owner of a 20-year old Opal Corsa Swing was forced abandon his vehicle in Phuket Town yesterday afternoon when it suddenly burst into flames outside the Expo Market on Soi Dilok Uthit near Chana-Charoen Road. Two fire engines took about 20 minutes to extinguish the blaze, reported the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket Office. A representative of…
-
Phuket V/Gov pushes Bangkok reps to buy disputed land
PHUKET: Phuket’s Vice Governor yesterday advocated national intervention in the ongoing land dispute between private property developer Baron World Trade Co and the sea gypsy community in Rawai. Vice Governor Prajiad Aksornthammakul encouraged the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) to convince Bangkok to buy up the disputed property near Rawai Pier from the developer. The ongoing land dispute surrounding the…
-
Thief defecates on victims’ doorstep
PHUKET: A thief in Chalong defecated on one of her victims’ doorsteps early yesterday morning. The perpetrator reportedly broke into four homes, primarily occupied by foreigners, at the Nga Chang villa complex in Rawai. Police reported that the crapper focused on stealing cash, although she clearly had access to other valuables. Jake Newton, 19, an Australian Muay Thai fighter training…
-
Kuwaiti father dies during swim at Patong Beach
PHUKET: A Kuwaiti man on holiday with his Thai wife and their child died while swimming at Patong Beach yesterday afternoon. Abudullam Haalmusawi, 71, was found floating face-down by other swimmers off Patong’s Loma Park. He was taken to Patong Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police confirm. Mr Haalmusawi’s distraught wife, Kamla Rungrueng, aged approximately 40 years old, said…
-
Gov pushes BKK to finalize light rail project
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada is fed up. After years of talking and planning a province-wide light rail project, Governor Chamroen is ready for officials to put up or shut up. The governor has called on the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) in Bangkok to sort things out in his office next week or dismiss the…
-
Phuket Lobster Festival now on
PHUKET: The Phuket Lobster Festival 2016 announced its arrival with a splash at a press conference held at the Tukabkhao Restaurant in Phuket Town on Tuesday. The restaurant was decorated with a giant lobster attached to the door to commemorate the event. The festival officially begins August 1 and will last throughout the month. More than 30 local eateries from…
-
Severe weather warning issued for southern provinces
PHUKET: Heavy rains and high seas are expected across southern and central Thailand, the Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has announced. DDPM officials have issued weather warnings for the weekend and into next week for Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Petchaburi, Prachuap, Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Suratt Thani, Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Chonburi, Rayong, Chantaburi, Trat and Ranong provinces. DDPM officials…
-
Probe launched into fierce cinema fire
BANGKOK: The fire at Major Cineplex Pinklao that caused part of Central Festival to collapse yesterday afternoon is being probed by investigators. Metropolitan Police chief Sanit Mahathavorn said an investigation team in cooperation with the local District Office is looking into the cause of the fire and the structural integrity of the building. The fire broke out in a theater…
-
Pair arrested for illegal weapons
PHUKET: Two men were arrested after a police raid on their Kamala house turned up illegal firearms and ammunition on Wednesday. Col Sirisak Wasasiri of the Kamala police said officers were tipped off by informants that the suspects possessed illegally obtained and homemade weapons. “Thitiwat Prateep Na Thalang,19, a Phuketian, was found in possession of two guns and two .22…
-
Foul-smelling fowl farm irks locals
KRABI: Krabi locals filed a complained about a less-than-sanitary chicken farm in Klong Hin sub-district, which led officials from the Krabi Livestock Office to inspect the premises on Wednesday. Dr Narong Benjakun led a team of officers to check the fly-infested, feces-covered facility. Farm manager Panthep Kanyuenyong helped with the inspection by showing officials around the farm and machinery control…
-
Body of baby found at construction site
PHUKET: A three-year-old boy is thought to have drowned in a ditch at a construction site in Kamala this afternoon. “The body of baby Weeraphol Taseedam was discovered at the site close to his house. Nobody knows what happened to him, but we believe he fell into a ditch filled with water about one meter deep, and drowned; then his…
-
Boat Lagoon director awarded marina certification
PHUKET: Wicky Sundram, executive director of operations at the Phuket Boat Lagoon, was yesterday awarded ‘Certified Marina Professional (CMP)’ status by the Global Marina Institute (GMI). He joins the ranks of six other CMPs across the Asia/Pacific region and is the first to receive the certification in Thailand. Mr Sundram was presented with his CMP by Andrew Chapman, President of…
-
Task force nabs four for working illegally
PHUKET: Two foreign tour guides and two photographers were arrested yesterday for working illegally in Phuket. The grand spectacle was led by Phuket Provincial Labor Office Chief Suttipong Saisakares and included a powerhouse of officers from the labor office, the tourist police, the provincial government office and civil defence volunteers, among others. The officials were acting on complaints from locals…
-
Elderly tourist falls to death at Kata Beach
PHUKET: An elderly Chinese tourist was killed when he slipped and fell on rocks at Kata Beach on Tuesday. Beach lifeguards reported the incident to the Royal Thai Navy and police at about 2pm after locals found him lying on the rocks between Kata and Kata Noi beaches. Officers went out on jet-skis to retrieve him as it was too…
-
Reptile raids Krabi cop shop, ambushed by police
KRABI: The Krabi provincial police station was raided by a baby monitor lizard yesterday. Officers on duty managed to ambush the beast measuring 30cm in length after it hid under a table. Police believe the lizard entered the station looking for food. No charges were brought against the cold-blooded carnivore. After posing for a few selfies with the reptile, the…
-
Bangla shooter charged for attempted murder
PHUKET: A man wanted for shooting another four times in Bangla early yesterday morning surrendered to police that same afternoon, after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The shooter, Thanapon Pankaew, also handed over a 9mm pistol and magazine that he admittedly used during the altercation. The victim, Sayan Padungsap, 35, was shot four times and admitted to the…
-
Late night Bangla shooter hunted for attempted murder
PHUKET: Police are hunting for a man who allegedly shot another four times early this morning in Patong. Patong Police received reports of the incident at 3.41am, which took place at a parking lot behind the VIP Room nightclub on Bangla Road. The victim, Sayan Padungsap, 35, identified the shooter as 34-year-old Thanapon Pankaew before being rushed to Patong Hospital.…
-
Inspectors back at Jungceylon shopping mall
PHUKET: Inspectors from Patong Municipality examined columns at Jungceylon shopping mall today to determine whether it is safe to reopen areas of the complex to shoppers. Work to reinforce columns in the mall’s parking area has been underway since June 5, shortly after it was discovered that some pillars in that area were damaged (story here). Kathu District Chief Sayan…
-
Tsunami warning buoy out of action
PHUKET: A tsunami warning buoy off of Phuket’s west coast has been broken since at least March, officials confirmed yesterday. News of the buoy’s malfunction was reported on the public Facebook page ‘Phuket Quake Watcher (PQW)’, a group that monitors Phuket’s weather forecasts and seismic activity, on June 21. PQW members wrote that one of the buoys donated by the…
-
Tourist in ICU after snorkelling mishap
KRABI: A Chinese tourist is recovering in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Krabi Hospital after nearly drowning while snorkelling near Koh Hong yesterday morning. “At the scene, we found Chinese national Guobiao Guangdong, 26, in a very serious condition. He was choking after breathing in water, so officers applied first aid and then rushed him to hospital, where he…
-
Girl abandons baby in gas station toilet
KRABI: An 18 year-old Songkla student living in Phuket allegedly abandoned her newborn baby girl in a Krabi gas station toilet bowl yesterday. Police in Trang province were warned by officers in Krabi that the newborn’s mother was aboard a Songkla-bound bus from Phuket. Nayong District police in Trang reportedly checked passengers on every bus until they identified a female…
-
Phuket traffic nightmare: Number of island-based tour buses to double
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada announced on Saturday that a whopping 100 new tour buses will be added to the province’s transportation network next month. Speaking at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa in Karon, the governor said that the approval of these buses is the first step in a much larger tourism promotion endeavor that would see the…
-
Buses aim to compete with low cost airlines
PHUKET: THE Transport Company Limited has launched one hundred new 15-meter-long buses to compete with the rapidly rising number of flights on low-cost airlines, the company revealed on its 86-year anniversary earlier this month. “The new buses contain extra-comfortable seats; lockers above every seat; free wifi; and a modern entertainment service for watching movies and sports matches,” said company chairman…
-
Rose renews role as official TYS Ambassador
PHUKET: The Thailand Yacht Show (TYS) team has announced that Rose Maitland-Smith has renewed her role as the show’s official Ambassador. The second TYS, for which the Phuket Gazette continues as National Media Partner, is set to take place at Ao Po Grand Marina, December 15-18. The show will give visitors access to a large cross-section of exhibitors, including international…
-
Suspect in Phuket Town shooting surrenders
PHUKET: One of the perpetrators involved in the Phuket Town slaying of a hill-tribe woman surrendered to Phuket City Police on Saturday. Police are reporting that the man claimed he was only the driver and knew nothing about the shooting before the gun was fired. On July 8, two suspects shot a woman in the head in a souvenir shop…
-
Phi Phi fellatio puts couple in trouble
PHUKET: A farang couple surrendered to police yesterday after a video of them engaging in oral sex at a Phi Phi Island swimming pool went viral earlier this month. The Irish man and American woman were caught by locals at poolside on July 18. The video, which lasts about two minutes, shows locals asking the couple in poor English peppered…
-
Phuket disgrace: plastic pollution in the Andaman
PHUKET: My concerns over plastic pollution were stimulated anew by an excellent analysis in the China Daily called ‘Drowning in Plastic’, and also by the cover story in a recent edition of the Phuket Gazette in which a seasoned local fisherman expressed surprise at the decline in fish catches in our seas. The main contributor to that story – the…
-
Election Commission encourages turnout for referendum
PHUKET: A government-backed campaign is trying to raise public awareness in Phuket ahead of the August 7 vote on a new draft constitution. Phuket Election Commission (PEC) director Kittipong Thiengkunagrit said this week that his office is encouraging an estimated 297,000 voter turnout for the referendum, put forward by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) through the Constitution…
-
Bike crash at Bang Khu construction site
PHUKET: A Thai man is unconscious in Vachira Hospital after crashing his motorbike into a guardrail at the Bang Khu underpass in the early hours of the morning. Maj Somchai Nuboon of the Phuket City Police reported that officers received calls from locals about a motorbike that had fallen into a three-meter-deep ditch at 5:20am. Police found the driver, Kittikorn…
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.
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.