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.
-
Sponsored Limited-time deal: Save 20% on Cigna's expat health plans forever
Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
-
Phuket Marine Police conduct boat safety raids
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Office conducted safety inspections of speedboats, dive boats and other vessels geared toward tourism at Chalong Pier yesterday. “It is our responsibility to continually check on the boats and strictly enforce regulations to ensure the safety of passengers,” Chatchai Sakdee of the Phuket Marine Police said. Police confirmed that the boats were not carrying more than…
-
Phuket mini-crepe maker saved from sharks, gets gift of a lifetime
PHUKET: A Phuket vendor who saw his only source of livelihood – a mini-crepe cart – go up in smoke was able to avoid going to loan sharks to replace it because of help from an unlikely source, a New Zealander who has been to the province only twice. Prayoon Inpuang, 44, was preparing to sell mini-crepes in Phuket Town…
-
Phuket speed cameras return to bypass road this week
PHUKET: Speed cameras on Phuket’s bypass road will be put back in position this week after officials removed them on Friday. “The pictures the cameras were taking at night were not clear or bright enough to identify license plates,” Lt Col Rungrit Rattanapagdee of the Phuket City Police told the Phuket Gazette yesterday morning. “We hired mechanics from Nextech System…
-
Urgent call for blood to save Phuket teacher
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is urgently calling for donations of A-negative blood in order to save the life of Dean Jackson, a teacher who was injured in a motorcycle accident. “We received a request from Phuket International Hospital for two units of A-negative blood to save the patient’s life,” PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak told the Phuket Gazette…
-
Phuket tuk-tuk blockade ousts Patong Police superintendent
PHUKET: A 200-strong tuk-tuk blockade last night ended with Phuket’s top cop agreeing to meet the drivers’ demands, which included transferring the Patong Police superintendent. The blockade formed after four tuk-tuk drivers were arrested yesterday afternoon for not allowing green plate taxi drivers to use public parking spots on Thaweewong Road, said Sakol Srisompoch, president of the Patong tuk-tuk drivers…
-
Woman saved from Phuket mob after fatal motorbike collision
PHUKET: Rescue workers saved a Phuket woman from the wrath of an angry mob in Pa Khlok early yesterday evening after her car struck a local man and dragged him to his death. The accident occurred in Baan Bangla, about two kilometers east of the Heroines Monument (map here), at about 6:30pm, Lt Chatree Chuwichian of the Thalang Police told…
-
Phuket Provincial Hall fails to re-open
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Hall did not re-open yesterday as anticipated after People’s Democratic for Reform Committee (PDRC) leader Suthep Thaugsuban announced the end of the Bangkok Shutdown. “As I told you on Saturday, the stage in front of Provincial Hall will remain standing until I receive word from Bangkok to dismantle it,” said Phuket protest co-ordinator Amnuay Kumban (story here).…
-
Phuket restaurant owner saves the month for woman in Cherng Talay
PHUKET: A Phuket restaurant owner saved the day for a woman who left behind her entire month’s living allowance in a motorcycle basket Sunday morning. The 47-year-old Kamala restaurant owner found 6,620 baht and an identification card outside CP Fresh Mart in Cherng Talay, said Peerasit Noopayan of the Cherng Talay Police. “Pradit Samohthong came immediately to the station and…
-
Phuket Police arrest man with counterfeit US$10,000 “Nan Francisco’ bank notes
PHUKET: Phuket Tourist Police last night arrested a man who tried to exchange counterfeit US$10,000 bank notes that read “Nan Francisco” and totaled more than 157 million baht. Wachirawich Janjaroenchaisin, 40, was arrested during a sting operation after police received a tip-off that someone was trying to exchange US$10,000 bank notes on the island. “Officers pretended to be exchange brokers…
-
Two Phuket tourist vans collide, injuring six
PHUKET: Two tourist vans collided last night near the main Tesco Lotus in Samkong, injuring six. One tourist and both drivers remain in the hospital today. A Maikhao Sakoo Co Ltd van driven by Sulaiman Udom had picked up tourists at the airport and was headed west on Phra Phuket Kaew Road to Patong when a Tez Tour Thailand van…
-
Breaking News: Swede gets life for stabbing murder
PHUKET: Swedish national Tommy Soderlund was today sentenced to life imprisonment for the stabbing murder of Maxim Schantz in Phuket two years ago.He was also ordered to pay compensation to the victim’s family. However, the court has yet to verify the amount.Tommy Viktor Soderlund, 28, stood accused of the murder along with Johan Sebastian Ljung, also 28. Mr Ljung recieved…
-
Phuket Provincial Hall may open Monday as protesters pack up Bangkok Shutdown
PHUKET: Protesters are considering allowing government officers to re-open the doors to Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday after nearly two months of closure. Provincial Hall shut its doors on January 13 after anti-government protesters rallied outside in support of the Bangkok Shutdown (story here), an attempt to reform the government and topple what People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) leader Suthep…
-
6-year-old, aunt killed in Phuket motorbike crash
PHUKET: A 6-year-old girl and her 17-year-old aunt died in a motorbike accident after a pickup truck allegedly cut across multiple lanes of traffic in Pa Khlok yesterday. Rescue workers and Thalang Police rushed to the scene of the crash on Pa Khlok-Muangmai Road near Baan Bangla Mosque at about 3:45pm. “We found Rachada Pongpongsuwan, 17. Sunisa Nontri, her niece,…
-
Phuket Vice Governor orders stop to Big Buddha construction
PHUKET: Construction on Phuket’s Big Buddha was halted yesterday after villagers filed a complaint alleging that it had caused landslides last year, and could potential do so again when the rainy season returns. Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak led 20 officers in an inspection of the construction site yesterday morning. He was joined by Suporn Vanitchakul, President of Phraphuttha Mingmongkol Sattha…
-
Phuket Sports: We Freedive Suunto series begins
PHUKET: The We Freedive Suunto Series saw contestants holding their breath last Sunday at Phuket Country Home in Chalong as they faced off to gain international points and improve their ranking for the Association Internationale pour le Developement de l’Apnee (AIDA). Five competitors participated in the static apnea, one of the eight AIDA freediving disciplines. In static apnea, “the freediver…
-
Former Diamond Beach Club DJ dies in Phuket motorbike crash
PHUKET: A former resident DJ at Diamond Beach Club was killed in a motorbike accident after an encounter on a curve with a Phuket tour bus this morning on Srisoonthorn Road. The 42-year-old American, Josh Christian Ezell, announced on his Facebook page earlier that day that he would be retiring from his career as a disc jokey. Mr Ezell’s body…
-
Smoke clears from Myanmar’s first dive boat sinking
Special Report After being questioned for four days in Myanmar, the trip leader for MV Blue Star which went up in flames on February 9 about 100 nautical miles from civilization returned to Phuket to set the record straight. The Gazette‘s Isaac Stone Simonelli reports. PHUKET: The Finnish-owned liveaboard Blue Star departed Thap Lamu Pier on February 6 with 33…
-
Last witnesses for prosecution in Dokset murder trial take the stand
PHUKET: The prosecutor in the Stein Harvard Dokset case concluded his arguments on Wednesday after asking the confessed killer’s girlfriend and the case investigator to take the stand. The long-term Norwegian expat is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Rungnapa Suktong, concealing the evidence of the crime and illegal possession of a firearm. Though Mr Dokset, now 51 years old, has…
-
“Milkman’ armed robber hunted by Phuket Police
PHUKET: Police believe that two convenience stores held up at gunpoint within an hour of each other early yesterday morning were robbed by the same suspect. Patong Police were notified of the first robbery at about 4:40am. “The man came in to buy a bottle of milk. While he was waiting to pay, he pulled out a gun and told…
-
Safer Phuket initiative saves a life at Nai Harn Beach
PHUKET: Large swells and changing seas at Nai Harn Beach have led to a recent spate of rescues, said Prathaiyut Chuayuan of the Phuket Lifeguards. “The swell is big and people need to be aware,” Mr Chuayuan said. One of the recent victims of the rough seas at the popular Phuket beach occurred at the same time the marine safety…
-
Phuket Airport Express Bus still in the red
PHUKET: The Airport Express Bus lost 800,000 baht in its first seven months of service due to taxi drivers poaching customers and lack of support from the Airports of Thailand (AoT), the owner of the transport business told the Phuket Gazette yesterday. The much-heralded inaugural run of the service, which offers rides between the airport and Patong for 120 baht,…
-
Phuket vehicle rental operators warned of passport scam
PHUKET: Patong Police warned vehicle operators in Phuket to carefully scrutinize renters’ passports following a report from Samui that a rented bike had been stolen. Krabi restaurant owner Jurgen Weber reported that two foreigners used a third party’s passport to rent a motorbike from his sister-in-law’s shop in Samui. And they never returned it. “I always tell rental operators that…
-
Gardening for layabouts
PHUKET: I’m sure you have heard the expression, beloved by florists the world over, “Say it with flowers”. Here’s an interesting slant on the expression. An elderly couple employed a “nice” German prisoner of war to tend their garden during the Second World War. I remember the practice – my English parents did likewise. But this POW was different. When…
-
Russian tourists unharmed in 10mn baht resort fire east of Phuket
PHUKET: Flames engulfed a resort in Krabi Tuesday night, dislodging 60 Russian tourists as it burned 35 bamboo bungalows to the ground. Damages were estimated at 10 million baht. Koh Sriboya villagers informed Subdistrict Chief (Kamnan) Samran Raden of the fire at about 8pm. He rushed to the scene, where he found villagers and resort staff collecting sea water to…
-
Phuket governor says Karon Beach water safe, clean
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut washed his hands on Tuesday in Karon Beach canal water, which had run black and rancid on Monday. “The water itself is clear,” Governor Maitri said. “The black color is just sediment that had gotten stirred up. I want everyone to know that the water is clean and won’t harm you.” Just a day earlier, locals,…
-
Cycling: the spice of life
PHUKET: WITH surprising speed given the temperature, the amorphous speck approaching in the distance gradually revealed itself to be a group of 14 cyclists. Maybe it was the promise of a cold beer and big plate of food at Bill Bentley’s Pub and Restaurant in Mai Khao that provided the final surge of energy, or maybe they were downright tough…
-
Aussie helps disabled Phuket cigarette vendor get a leg to stand on
PHUKET: A Phuket cigarette vendor who was born with a deformed leg and no hands is on her way to getting a new prosthetic limb, thanks to an Australian visitor and an aluminum recycling project. Wilaiwan “Wan” Damnui, 33, has been selling cigarettes and chewing gum on Bangla Road for 17 years. In 1999, she received a plaster leg, but…
-
Phuket’s X-Terminal officially opened
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport’s X-Terminal was officially opened yesterday, after a successful trial period serving Chinese and Russian charter flights. “From now on, all international charter flights will check in at X-Terminal,” said Makin Petplai, president of Airports of Thailand (AoT). “The check-in system works well. Passengers check in at the X-Terminal, then take the shuttle to the main terminal…
-
Phuket police chase down snatch-theft duo
PHUKET: Phuket police quickly scooped up a pair of bag-snatch operators working in Patong late last night.“We received a report at about 11:40pm from a witness saying that a female foreigner had her bag stolen in front of Patong Hospital while she was walking with a friend,” Sutthichai Thianpho of the Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette this morning.From the…
-
Phuket Cricket: Laguna make it five in a row
PHUKET: In match 11 of the Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) cricket league, on Sunday, February 23 at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG), Laguna were matched up against the Island Cricket Club (ICC). In their last encounter, Laguna snatched victory by just one run, and coming off the back of a humiliating defeat in their last outing versus Thalang, ICC were…
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.