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 King’s Cup Regatta battles light winds
PHUKET: Very little early wind yesterday brought most of the fleet competing in the 28th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta off Kata Beach to a momentary rest, with racing action to resume today. Thursday is traditionally reserved as the “reserve day” to accommodate days of very light weather such as suffered yesterday, but today will be used as a full racing…
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Critical Phuket underpass intersection to close for three months
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have announced that the lanes of traffic flowing between Kathu and Samkong at the Samkong Intersection, the site of the Tesco underpass, will be closed from December 6 to March 1. During that time, motorists approaching the intersection from the east or the west will be forced to make a left turn, and then proceed to…
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Cambodian monks disrobed in Phuket, await deportation
PHUKET: A group of 19 Cambodian monks are awaiting deportation after they were arrested and disrobed for violating several rules of the Buddhist monkhood as practiced in Thailand. The monks were escorted by Wichit Police and Muang District officers to Wat Mongkol Nimit in Phuket Town to be stripped of their monkhood by Phra Kru Mettaphirom yesterday. The monks failed…
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No Phuket search for missing South African
PHUKET: Top island officers have yet to receive an official request to find a South African man who was last known to be in Phuket in June. Arayaphan Pukbuakao, a Phuket Provincial Police deputy commander, told the Phuket Gazette yesterday that he had not received a report about Ezra Jansen, 31, who is being treated by the South African Embassy…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta: Light winds lead to tricky, tight racing
PHUKET: Following Day One’s extremely close racing, Day Two of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta served up a trickier challenge to crews in the form of very light wind conditions. All of the classes were fought in close-quarters positions, reflecting well on this year’s revised class structure, which was designed to encourage very tight and visually impressive racing action. Karl…
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Live grenades found in Phuket residential area
PHUKET: A Burmese trash-burner discovered two live M26 hand grenades at a dump near a Phuket residential area in Rawai this afternoon. The man, named by police only as Mr A, identified the dangerous weapons of war and immediately informed his employer, who promptly reported the find. Phuket’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit arrived shortly thereafter. “The two standard M26…
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Phuket beach vendors protest with national anthem
PHUKET: Dozens of Phuket beach vendors gathered at the Patong Police Station and sang Thailand’s national anthem yesterday, after they were forced off the beach by police and municipality officers. “The Navy told us that we were allowed – that only umbrella vendors were prohibited,” one vendor told the Phuket Gazette. “We are just trying to make a living. Why…
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Father, son arrested for Phuket bag-snatch
PHUKET: Police arrested a father-and-son bag-snatching duo for robbing a woman in Phuket Town yesterday, allegedly in order to make payments for the motorbike used in the crime. Officers arrested Narongchai Aroonmek, 39, and his 15-year-old son at a rented room in Rassada at about 7pm. “We tracked them down after reviewing CCTV footage in the Vanich Road area of…
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Victories down to seconds at Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: Racing began in earnest in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta yesterday with a fleet of 93 keelboats and catamarans from 16 countries, jostling in close-quarters competition in honor of the birthday of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Neil Pryde’s HiFi team opened their account with a six-second win on corrected times over Team Beau Geste in light winds in Race…
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Australian terrorism warning for Phuket unfounded, say officials
PHUKET: Island officials yesterday denounced the Australian government’s warning of possible civil unrest and threat of a terrorist attack in Phuket. “We continue to advise Australians to exercise a high degree of caution in Thailand overall due to the possibility of civil unrest and the threat of terrorist attack, including Bangkok and Phuket,” said the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs…
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Phuket officials demand Uber vow against illegal taxi revival
PHUKET: Fears of technology company Uber, which provides an alternative way to catch a cab, thereby potentially allowing a resurgence in illegal taxi drivers operating in Bangkok and Phuket, led to the Department of Land Transportation (DLT) deeming the services illegal prior to a full investigation. The Phuket Land Transportation Office (PLTO) has suggested that Uber clarify its current role…
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Video Report: Swiss Olympian Reudi Wild wins Challenge Laguna Phuket
PHUKET: Swiss Olympian Ruedi Wild yesterday produced a clockwork performance once again at Laguna Phuket to secure his first half-distance win at 2014 Challenge Laguna Phuket (CLP) in 4:02:43. The win follows his debut title win at the 2012 Laguna Phuket Triathlon, which he successfully defended the next year. World champion Melissa Hauschildt of Australia defended her title in the…
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Facebook posts snare Phuket road rage thug
PHUKET: A man who appeared in photos and video clips on Facebook threatening two people with a gun in Phuket on Saturday has been arrested on drug charges. Prasopchok Somboon, 29, from Phang Nga, was caught on camera by people in passing cars intimidating a man and a woman with the gun near the Chinese shrine at the top of…
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Police suspect sex drug in death of Phuket man
PHUKET: Police believe a 72-year-old man who was found dead in a drive-in hotel yesterday morning may have died after taking a generic version of Viagra, an erectile dysfunction drug. Police were called to the scene on Komaraphat Road in Phuket Town and found the man, from Rawai, on the bed, and a shocked 44-year-old woman who said she had…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta: Youth dinghy racers lead the way
PHUKET: Promising young Thai sailors took to the waters in Optimist and Laser dinghies to mark the first competitive class racing action under the umbrella of this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, in the 5th Phuket Dinghy Series. Twelve back-to-back races ran in front of the Sailing Club at the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Command at Cape Panwa, on…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta shows appreciation to sponsors with grand opening ceremony
PHUKET: The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Organizing Committee, led by its president, Kevin Whitcraft, hosted the official opening ceremony of the 28th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta yesterday. The event was held at Kata Beach Resort & Spa, the spiritual home of Asia’s classic race, and was attended by VIPs, media guests and hundreds of sailors from around the world. Joining…
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Here they come! Big guns line up for Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: Neil Pryde’s Hi-Fi and Frank Pong’s Jelik, both out of Hong Kong, are lined up to go head to head in the leading racing division of the King’s Cup Regatta 2014, which begins in earnest on Monday. Looking to cause an upset are Karl Kwok’s Team Beau Geste and Ahern, Bailey, Wilmer’s Oi!, both from Australia. Fellow Aussie Ray…
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“Tourists, bring your own umbrellas,’ says Phuket beach town president
PHUKET: The chief of the local authority governing the beaches in Cherng Talay has called for tourists to bring their own umbrellas and beach mats to enjoy on the sands. “For now, tourists are allowed to bring their own umbrellas to the beach,” said Ma-ann Samran, president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor). “Mats are allowed too, but…
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Land-grab probe off Phuket mired in claims
PHUKET: A team of police officers from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED) arrived on Koh Naka, off the east coast of Phuket, yesterday to investigate a complaint of illegal encroachment on public land. However, the officers, led by Lt Col Sutthinan Kongchamdee, found themselves amid a confounding spat over private land leased out by the same…
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From Sweden with love: Cyclists on final stretch to Phuket tsunami orphanage
PHUKET: A group of cyclists raising funds for a post-tsunami orphanage are on the final stretch toward Phuket after having departed Sweden in March. Calle Wollgard and his team have already conquered 18 countries (including Iran), almost 16,000 kilometers of questionable roads, insane traffic, mountain passes, visa issues and countless other unexpected setbacks that lurk within the pages of an…
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Phuket Highways Office to target illegal roadside advertising
PHUKET: The growing number of unsightly roadside advertising signs illegally erected on government land will be pulled down, confirmed a Phuket official today. The news flies in the face of reports that all billboards along Phuket’s roadsides will be pulled down. “I have already discussed the problem of haphazardly erected signs beside Phuket’s roads with Governor Nisit Jansomwong,” Samak Luedwonghad,…
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Phuket man robbed of B1mn worth of amulets
PHUKET: A local resident is pleading with police to track down those responsible for stealing amulets and other valuables worth more than 1 million baht from his home in Chalong last week. Charoen Chamnanyon, 56, even put a large, vinyl sign in front of his house on Soi Chao Fa 45 addressing the thieves. It reads: “To my dearest thieves…
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Navy backs Patong jet-ski plan as model for Phuket
PHUKET: Patong’s management system for jet-skis will be the model for the rest of Phuket, the Royal Thai Navy announced yesterday. “Zones separating swimmers from jet-skis will be applied in Patong first, and then at other beaches on the island,” said Vice Admiral Sayan Prasongsamrej, commander of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command. “The order has already been signed…
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Phuket King’s Cup: The countdown is on (video)
PHUKET: The countdown to the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2014 is on, with official sail measurement for boats entering the annual beginning this morning. A total of 150 boats from 40 countries are registered to take part in the annual regatta, which will begin off Kata Beach on Monday and conclude on December 6. Competing sailors come from the USA,…
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Phuket sailors head for Platu Trans World Invitational
PHUKET: Fresh from his team’s 2014 Platu One Design Championship victory, Kingdom Property helmsman Scott Duncanson has announced his intention to compete in the Platu Trans World Invitational. Held from March 18-22 out of the Ocean Marina Yacht Club in Pattaya, up to 20 crews will compete for the internationally recognized trophy. Five European teams have entered, including current world…
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Phuket health officials: no need to panic over plague outbreak
PHUKET: Health officials are urging Phuket residents fearing bubonic plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, not to panic following an outbreak of the deadly disease in Madagascar. Krit Sakulpat, deputy chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that his office has not been alerted to the Madagascan plague endemic by the Ministry of…
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Video Report: Dutch diplomat poses tough questions to Phuket Governor
PHUKET: The Dutch Ambassador to Thailand posed some tough questions during a visit with the new governor yesterday, honing in on the island’s biggest problems and the future of Phuket’s tourism sector. Due to numerous complaints that have streamed in to the Embassy from Dutch tourists visiting the island recently, Ambassador Joan Boer focused mainly on the high cost of…
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Testing reveals “female’ body washed up on Surin Beach is male
PHUKET: The unidentified body initially reported to be that of a woman found washed up on Surin Beach in September has turned out to be that of a man, police revealed to the Phuket Gazette today. “DNA testing has now confirmed that this is the body of a man – not a woman,” Lt Jeerasak Sungwisut of the Cherng Talay…
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Australian cricketer Hughes dies after being hit by ball
PHUKET: Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes died in a Sydney hospital on Thursday, two days after being struck by a ball that led to a “catastrophic” injury which caused “massive” bleeding to his brain and ultimately proved fatal. The international batsman was struck on the neck by a short-pitched delivery when batting in a domestic match on Tuesday, with the force…
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Body of Caucasian man found floating off Phuket beach
PHUKET: Officers are attempting to identify the body of a Caucasian man found floating in the sea off Phuket this morning. The body was spotted by Chaimongkol Yaemaroonpattana, a Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) officer, while he was patrolling the waters near Kata Beach. “I saw the body floating about one kilometer from shore. My colleagues and I retrieved it,…
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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