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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Sponsored Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management
Maximising revenue and profit–isn’t that the ultimate goal for every business in the hospitality industry? If you run a hotel, you might have heard that revenue management is an effective way to boost your top-line revenue. It involves using data...
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Norwegian expat Dokset jailed 9 years for Phuket murder
PHUKET: Norwegian national Stein Harvard Dokset, a long-term Phuket expat, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Rungnapa Suktong. The sentence, which was handed down this afternoon at Phuket Provincial Court, stipulates that Mr Dokset will serve 7.5 years for murder, six months for concealing the evidence of the crime and one year…
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Challenge Cup basketball showcases Phuket skill
PHUKET: The British International School Phuket (BISP) senior boys team fell just short of a back-to-back success over the weekend at the second annual Challenge Cup basketball tournament. The team had a strong run, winning all three of their games before facing off with last year’s finalists, Thai Hua. The hotly-contested, low-scoring game, 19-17, was fraught with solid defense by…
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ICC too strong for Thalang, maintain grip on lead in Phuket cricket league
PHUKET: The Island Cricket Club (ICC) held onto its top position in the league with a 8/192 to 6/190 victory over the Thalang Cricket Team in a sea-sawing contest at the Alan Cooke Ground in Thalang last Sunday. Both teams fielded strong sides, with ICC bringing in Vaigankar and Mydeen while Thalang named Buck, Culpan, McMillan, Thomatos and Murphy in…
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Mandatory phone SIM registration begins on Sunday
PHUKET: A plan is underway for all 7-Eleven and Family Mart convenience stores throughout Phuket to register prepaid SIM cards for mobile phones at point of sale, as a convenient way for people to meet the new requirement for registration of SIM cards on or before the July 31 deadline. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) announced last week…
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Phuket lifeguards gifted multi-language surf warnings
PHUKET: To break the communication barrier with non-English-speaking tourists, and hopefully save their lives, Phuket lifeguards have been issued multi-language cards that explain the dangers of the rip currents that lurk along the island’s beaches and entering strong surf. The cards are the brainchild of Simon Luttrell, a Tourist Police Volunteer who helps foreign tourists at Phuket International Airport and…
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Russian woman rescued from Phuket Town streets
PHUKET: The Russian consul to Phuket has arranged accommodations for a Russian woman who was found sleeping in the streets of Phuket Town this morning. Tourist Police were notified about the woman, who has a record of acting erratically and incoherently, at about 9:30am. “We were informed that she was only wearing a dress – no bra. The person who…
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Woman dies in collision with Phuket tour bus
PHUKET: A woman was killed after her motorbike collided with a tour bus in front of the Phuket Shooting Range in Chalong at 9:30am today. Police and rescue workers were called to the scene, where they found the body of 33-year-old Rapeepat Kanphutra trapped under the Authai Thurahan tour bus, which was carrying Chinese tourists to a souvenir shop in…
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Phuket FC outgunned as Yokohama level pre-season series
PHUKET: Yokohama FC eventually outclassed Phuket FC to run out 2-0 winners at Surakul Stadium on Sunday, claiming a respectable 3-3 on aggregate against the islanders over two friendlies played in the past week. The home side, who have officially taken on the nickname “The Ronins”, held out the visiting J-League squad for the first half, but the superior skills…
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Brit expat skull cracked for failing to pay Phuket bar bill
PHUKET: Police are investigating an attack on a British man who is lying in a Phuket hospital with a fractured skull after allegedly being beaten with a baseball bat for not having enough cash to pay his drinking bill. Christopher Stark, a 64-year-old English teacher at Phuket Montessori progressive school, told police that he was attacked by Sarawuth Kongphat, 37,…
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Bullet fails to penetrate skull, Phuket teen survives
PHUKET: A teenager was discharged from hospital yesterday after being shot in the back of the head with a homemade handgun near the entrance of Kathu Wittaya School on Sunday. Pongchanasit Amtaisong, 19, walked into the Thung Thong Police Station after he was shot. “We immediately called an ambulance to take him to Vachira Phuket Hospital,” said Lt Sawanya Eiadtrong…
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Australia-Asia program to combat trafficking in persons
PHUKET: Thailand’s criminal-justice response to human trafficking received a boost from the Australian government yesterday, as an arrangement to commence the Australia-Asia Program to Combat Trafficking In Persons (AAPTIP) in Thailand was signed at a ceremony in Bangkok. This signing marks a milestone in the implementation of AAPTIP – a program through which the Australian government has made a five-year…
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Man to stand trial for attempted rape of Australian tourist
PHUKET: The Office of the Phuket Public Prosecutor has confirmed that it will prosecute a man for the attempted rape of an Australian tourist on Koh Maphrao, east of Phuket, in November. The man, who has yet to be named by police, surrendered to officers after staff at a resort on the island notified police of the incident, and officers…
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Phuket Town lights up with LED streetlamps
PHUKET: More than 1,000 low-energy LED lights have been installed on the streets of Phuket Town to replace last-century sodium streetlamps, Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana announced over the weekend. The LED lamps – numbering 1,176 in total – were installed last week as part of the nationwide “Road to LED” project that aims to cut down on public electricity…
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Myanmar nationals nabbed at Phuket cockfight
PHUKET: Despite seeing more than 30 people run off as police raided a cockfight in Thalang yesterday, officers managed to arrest only four Myanmar nationals for gambling in the bloodsport. Officers raided an unregistered building near the Baan Lipon substation on Thepkrasattri Road at about 2pm, said Deputy Superintendent Amnuay Kraiwutanan of the Thalang Police. “We had been informed that…
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Nightclub security guard dies in motorbike crash
PHUKET: A security guard at Hollywood Discotheque on Soi Bangla, Patong, died in a motorbike accident this weekend in what police believe was a case of “falling asleep while riding”. Anuchat Phoemphun, 37, died after sustaining severe head injuries when his motorbike slammed into a tree near the Go-Kart track at the bottom of Patong Hill at about 8:20am on…
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Tourist dies during snorkelling tour off Phuket
PHUKET: A 38-year-old Chinese tourist died during a snorkelling tour at Koh Racha, a popular day-trip island about 25km south of Phuket, yesterday. He Hua was with his family and friends when the tragic incident occurred, explained Phuket Tourist Police Chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit. “The other tourists were enjoying their lunch on a beach at Koh Racha when Mr He went…
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No change in alcohol vending hours, despite new order from PM Prayut
PHUKET: A top-ranking police officer and a leading Phuket health official today both confirmed that there has been no change in the hours that alcohol may be sold, despite a new order signed into effect by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. PM Prayut signed the order on January 6, to be noted in the Government Gazette as coming into effect…
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Phuket named Thailand’s poster child for tourism
PHUKET: Phuket was named as the poster child of tourism for Thailand by Tourism and Sport Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul in an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette this week. “Phuket is the image of Thailand. Therefore, if Phuket has a good image, so does Thailand,” Ms Kobkarn said. Minister Kobkarn has become a regular visitor to the island following her…
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Beach chair leniency ends in Phuket (video)
PHUKET: Recent leniency concerning beach loungers on Patong Beach has come to an end to prevent further confusion, Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup has told the Phuket Gazette. The mayor was originally allowing beachgoers to bring onto the beach their own smaller, collapsible sun loungers, as well as other chairs, during the three-month beach-management trial run (stories here and here). “There…
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Danish tourist, 70, injured in Krabi bus crash
PHUKET: A 70-year-old Danish tourist was injured this morning when the Phuket tour bus he was travelling in hit a central road barrier north of Krabi Town. Suwit Suthimon, the driver of the Pulsiri Travel bus involved in the accident, told police that he swerved to avoid a motorbike that had entered his lane. The emergency maneuver forced him to…
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New Cherng Talay top cop promises crackdown on animal touts
PHUKET: The newly instated Cherng Talay Police superintendent, who took up the position last week, has vowed to crack down on animal touts on Phuket’s beaches. The promise to act follows a report from a concerned Phuket Gazette reader who spotted men on Laem Singh Beach offering tourists the opportunity to be photographed with different animals, including a snake, parrot…
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Phuket Yacht Show postponed, government support on horizon
PHUKET: The organizers of the new yacht charter show for Asia have announced the postponement of the first edition of the Phuket event. The Phuket Yacht Show was scheduled to take place on February 12-15 at Phuket Yacht Haven Marina, which is being extensively re-developed to make it the biggest superyacht marina in Asia. In a joint statement, the marina…
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Police warn of car robberies through hacked remote controls
PHUKET: Police are warning motorists throughout Phuket not to leave valuables in their vehicles after a bizarre incident in Surat Thani left about 20 cars immobilized by what police believe was a “hacking” of the remote control signals. Surat Thani Police on Monday were called to the Central Plaza shopping mall in Wat Pradu, where about two dozen people could…
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Phuket Police palm off gender-bender payoff
PHUKET: A man was arrested for attempting to pay Phuket police officers a bribe to free three lady boys busted for stealing a gold necklace from an Australian tourist last night. Piyaphan Wongyai, 24, was taken into custody after officers turned down his 30,000 baht bribe. Admittedly looking for money to pay for cosmetics and to party with, Suriyon Supohnok,…
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Thailand, Malaysia to face off at Aussie Rules match in Phuket
PHUKET: It has been 19 years since the first international match of Australian Rules was played in Thailand, between the Thailand Tigers and the Hong Kong Dragons at Bangkok’s Kasetsart University. Since then, the sport has grown significantly in the Kingdom, and it is now coming to Phuket. Saturday, March 7 will see the first-ever Aussie Rules football match played…
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Visa, yacht-charter law changes necessary: Tourism Minister
PHUKET: Changes in visa and chartering legislation to secure the island’s position as the top yachting destination in the region are necessary, Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul told the Phuket Gazette in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. “Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha wants to make Thailand a world-class hub for yachts and cruise boats in Southeast Asia – and…
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Super Bowl XLIX: Seahawks vs Pats in the “Duel in the Desert’
PHUKET: The defending Super Bowl champs and NFC champs the Seattle Seahawks (12-4 regular season) will square off against the New England Patriots (12-4) in Super Bowl XLIX (Super Bowl 49 for those of you whose knowledge of Roman numerals is rusty) at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. [Monday, Feb 2, 6:30am Phuket time on NBC]. The…
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Suspected Phuket ATM-heist getaway truck found dumped
PHUKET: Police believe they have found the pick-up truck used to flee an attempted ATM robbery in Thalang on January 16. The truck was found yesterday abandoned at the entrance of a rubber-tree plantation on the border of Srisoonthorn and Pa Khlok, Lt Suporn Muangkhai of the Thalang Police told the Phuket Gazette. Police began their search for the suspects…
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Lifeguard warns of dangerous conditions at Surin Beach
PHUKET: Surin Beach lifeguards have warned beachgoers to exercise caution during the next two days, as a storm system in the Indian Ocean combined with king tides is generating unseasonal waves and dangerous shore break conditions. “Conditions will be especially dangerous near high tide for the next two days, between 10:00am and 2:00pm. Swimmers should stay well away from large…
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Surin Beach plagued by dangerous jet-skiers
PHUKET: The dangerous jet-ski antics that continue to plague Surin Beach have forced local officials to consider installing roped-off swimming areas, despite a complete ban on jet-skis already in place at the beach. “Four jet-skis came to Surin from Bang Tao. They came into the surf line, zig-zagging and driving recklessly in the designated swimming area,” a regular beachgoer, who…
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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