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A foreign tourist was hospitalised after suffering a severe allergic reaction from contact with a Portuguese man o’ war at Naithon Beach in Phuket. Lifeguards administered first aid at the scene before the tourist was taken to hospital. The incident was reported on September 9 after the Phuket Times Facebook page published photographs from Naithon Beach in Sakhu subdistrict, Thalang district. The images showed what appeared to be a Portuguese man o’ war inside a container, wh

Phuket authorities are moving to speed up and improve the certification process for foreign student visas in an effort to reduce overstay cases and make the system more efficient. The first meeting of a newly established committee responsible for redesigning the student visa certification system was held at the Chanpanwa Conference Room at Phuket Provincial Hall. The session was chaired by Deputy Governor Romdon Hayiawa. The committee was established on the orders of Phuket G

Portuguese man o’ war have returned to Phuket’s west coast, prompting a warning from the Patong Surf Life Saving Club. The marine creatures were spotted on Patong Beach on September 7, with lifeguards cautioning that more may appear both in the water and along the shoreline in the coming days. Portuguese man o’ war belong to the genus Physalia and are technically not jellyfish. They are colonies of specialised hydrozoan organisms living together as a single floating unit. How

An American tourist was found dead inside his hotel room in Patong after staff had not seen him for around five days and he failed to check out as scheduled. Police have launched an investigation to determine the cause of death. Patong Police in Kathu district were notified at around 1:50pm on September 7 after the Patong police radio centre received a report about a hotel guest who had not left his room for approximately five days and had missed his scheduled checkout by one

Cannabis dispensaries across Phuket are facing tighter regulatory scrutiny after authorities revoked 35 licences and suspended another 112, according to figures presented at a recent provincial economic committee meeting. The figures were discussed during the sixth meeting of the Joint Public-Private Sector Committee for Solving Economic Problems in Phuket for fiscal year 2026. The meeting was chaired by Phuket Governor Chotinrin Kerdsum at Phuket Provincial Hall late last we

Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered the deportation of Israeli citizen Yaacov Ohayon after the Koh Samui Provincial Court convicted him of criminal intimidation under Section 392 of the Thai Penal Code. The case followed threatening messages allegedly sent by Ohayon that caused the victim to fear for their safety. The court found him guilty and initially sentenced him to one month in prison and a 10,000-baht fine. However, because he confessed

An eight-year-old girl was killed and her uncle injured in a collision involving a motorcycle and a six-wheel truck in Chalong, Phuket, on the evening of September 4. The accident happened at around 5:10pm on Chao Fah East Road near a section of the road where construction work was underway. Deputy Inspector Pol. Lt. Phubodi Narinrat of Chalong Police Station received a report of the serious crash, prompting rescue teams from the Ruamjai Phuket Foundation to be sent to the sc

Two diving boat operators were arrested at Racha Yai Island in Phuket on September 4 after marine officials found their vessels tied to mooring bases in a way that could damage nearby coral reefs. The inspection was carried out by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) at Ao Tue on Racha Yai following a complaint from a local resident. The complainant reported that diving boats had been left moored in the area for several days, with their sterns attached direct

A foreign man is suspected of spraying an unknown substance on a Thai pharmacist in Patong, Phuket, in what the victim believes may have been an attempted robbery. The incident happened at around 12:22am on September 2 at Mookda Pharmacy in the Patong area. The pharmacist, Pijet Intarakaset, who runs the store, later described the incident on Facebook and shared screenshots from the pharmacy’s CCTV system. According to the footage, the man arrived at the pharmacy on a motorcy

Four foreign tourists have drawn criticism after riding jet skis dangerously close to a large passenger boat near Ao Por Pier in Phuket, forcing the vessel to slow down and leaving people on board alarmed. The incident happened on September 3 in the sea between Ao Por Pier and Koh Naka Yai at around 11am. A video showing the incident was later shared widely on Thai social media. The footage shows four jet skis travelling at high speed and approaching the passenger boat. The r

COVID-19 continues to circulate in Phuket and across Thailand, but the illness caused by the currently dominant variant remains generally mild, with most patients experiencing symptoms similar to those of a common cold, according to the Department of Disease Control (DDC). As of August 31, Phuket had recorded 514.85 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents, giving the province the third-highest incidence rate in Thailand. Bangkok ranked first with 643.65 cases per 100,000 people,

A sea turtle weighing more than 50 kilogrammes was found stranded and in a weakened condition on Patong Beach in Phuket on September 3. The turtle was discovered on the shoreline in Patong subdistrict, Kathu district, early in the morning. Jiraporn Wijit was walking along the beach at around 6am when she noticed the turtle lying on the sand. According to Khaosod English, she immediately alerted lifeguards stationed at Patong Beach. The lifeguards moved the turtle away from th

Phuket provincial authorities have carried out a coordinated inspection of cannabis shops in Rawai following public complaints about widespread regulatory violations. The operation was aimed at checking whether cannabis businesses were complying with regulations, with particular attention paid to the ban on smoking cannabis on shop premises. Under Ministry of Public Health regulations, businesses found violating the rules may face suspension or revocation of their operating l

A dispute over a barber shop bill turned into a physical confrontation in Patong, Phuket, on August 31 after a Jordanian tourist allegedly refused to pay an additional charge for hair services. The incident attracted attention on social media after a Facebook post claimed that a foreign tourist had refused to pay for a haircut and then punched a barber. The man was initially described online as Israeli. Patong Police later responded to a report of a fight near the end of Soi

A 19-year-old food delivery rider died in Phuket after his motorcycle crashed into an exposed drainage pipe at a road construction site in Wichit. Police are investigating whether negligence by the contractor responsible for the work contributed to the fatal accident. Wichit Police Station received a report of the crash at around 5pm on September 1. The victim, identified as Teeraphat, was reportedly a university student who worked as a food delivery rider during his free tim

Thai AirAsia is preparing to increase the number of domestic flights to Phuket from Bangkok and several provinces in northeastern Thailand starting October 1. The move comes ahead of the high season and follows reductions made during the low season. At least part of the upcoming change is expected to restore domestic services that the Thai subsidiary of the Malaysian low-cost airline reduced during the low season amid higher aviation fuel costs and weaker demand for travel. H

A Russian man was found dead inside his condominium room in Kathu district, Phuket, on August 30. Police are investigating the circumstances and cause of his death. Officers from Kathu Police Station received a report concerning the death of Russian national Maksim Tarasov at around 9pm on August 30. According to Amarin TV, Tarasov was found lying face down beside the bed in room 24/89. Police found no apparent signs of a struggle or other unusual circumstances inside the roo

A drug investigation in Phuket expanded after the arrest of three teenagers led police to another suspect and resulted in the seizure of more than five kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine on August 30. Border Patrol Police arrested three suspects aged between 17 and 19 after finding approximately 2.68 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine and 131.9 grammes of ketamine in their possession. Officers also confiscated drug paraphernalia, a digital weighing scale and four mobi

Six people were taken to hospital after an interprovincial bus travelling from Hat Yai to Phuket crashed in Phang Nga early on August 29. The bus struck a power pole near the final section of its journey, shortly before reaching Phuket. Emergency responders received a report of the accident at around 4:42am. The crash occurred at a traffic-light intersection in Khok Kloi, opposite the new bus terminal. According to Kusoldharm Loma rescue workers, 22 people were on board the b

Authorities in Thalang District have begun enforcing a Supreme Court ruling concerning the alleged occupation of public land at Bang Tao Beach. Official notices ordering the disputed area to be vacated were installed on the site, requiring the defendants in the case, along with their employees, contractors and other associated persons, to leave the beach. Authorities have not publicly released the names of all individuals covered by the order. The notices were put up on Augus