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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Nation, Wall Street Journal in editorial revamp
PHUKET: Phuket Gazette national media partner The Nation has announced a global partnership, editorial and commercial, with the Wall Street Journal. In making the announcement yesterday, The Nation noted that rapid changes in technology and consumer behavior had deepened connections between its readers in Thailand and the world – particularly in technology, politics and business. Editorial content in The Nation,…
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Surin vendors upset over exclusion from 10-percent zone
PHUKET: A number of vendors working in the vicinity of Surin this morning submitted a letter to the Cherng Talay OrBorTor demanding a 10-percent zone to operate in, similar to the arrangement at other Phuket beaches (except Laem Sing which is now apparently private). Surin, which previously operated under the 10 percent rule, was converted to a ‘virgin beach’ in…
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Russian tourism to Phuket rising sharply
PHUKET: Last year, rebounding Russian tourism contributed an estimated 30 billion baht (approximately US$848 million) to Phuket’s economy, according to C9 Hotelworks‘ latest report on the segment. One clear-cut metric of the attraction of Phuket for Russians is that 51 per cent of the country’s travelers to Thailand now come here. Total 2016 Russian passenger arrivals on international flights to…
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Phuket cobra scare: one caught, one escapes
PHUKET: Rescue workers caught a 5-meter-long king cobra from a bamboo tree near a Rawai house on Saturday. “We found the 10kg snake at a soi in Baan Saiyuan. Ten Rawai Municipality Rescue workers took about two hours to catch it,” said one rescue worker. There were two of them up in a bamboo tree. The other managed to escape.…
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900kg of drugs nabbed at Phuket border
PHUKET: Police arrested a man with 900 kilograms of the illicit drug krathom, worth about 450,000 baht, at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint on Saturday night. “We were conducting a random check following the policy of keeping an eye on every vehicle entering Phuket. So we stopped a pick-up truck and asked to search the vehicle,” said Tah Chat Chai…
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Immigration sealed for fugitive monk
THAILAND: Immigration police have been ordered to prevent Phra Dhammachayo, the former abbot of Dhammakaya Temple, from fleeing to neighboring countries, Immigration Police Bureau commissioner Lt General Nuttathorn Proesunthon said yesterday. “The ‘modern’ system and technology of the bureau, which is linked to all exit points, will help block the fugitive monk from leaving the country,” he added. The monk…
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Swiss expat admits abusing more than 80 boys in Thailand
THAILAND: Swiss authorities yesterday confirmed that a man suspected of sexually abusing more than 80 boys in Thailand will be going on trial to face numerous allegations including molestation. It was reported that some of his victims were as young as nine years old. “The unnamed man has admitted to taking thousands of pornographic pictures of the boys, but denied…
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Mother of missing Russian tourist arrives on Koh Tao
KOH TAO: The mother of a missing Russian tourist has arrived on the resort island of Koh Tao, while DNA results on bones that were believed to belong to the woman have proved negative. Despite launching a full-scale land and sea search for Valentina Novozhyonova (story here), authorities have so far failed to find the 23-year-old tourist, who checked into…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Walking to business meetings
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Russian tourist dies soon after arrival in Phuket
PHUKET: A Russian tourist died hours after landing at Phuket International Airport yesterday afternoon. The 55-year-old, whose name has been withheld by police, was on holiday with his wife. “Shortly after landing, he told his wife that he had a headache,” said Lt Suporn Muangkai of the Thalang Police. “The couple checked into a hotel in Cherng Talay at about…
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Koh Tao bones examined for link to missing Russian tourist
PHUKET: Bone fragments found in the sea in Koh Tao yesterday are now being examined to check whether they belong to a Russian tourist who disappeared last month. Valentina Novozhenova, 23, disappeared from a Koh Tao hotel on February 16, a day before she was due to check out (story here). Amid concerns that she might have gotten into trouble…
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Opinion: Need timely decisions on tourist matters
PHUKET: The decision to allow beach beds and umbrellas back on island beaches was inevitable, but it is regrettable that it took so long for reason to prevail, now that the high season for tourism is behind us. Tourists need and expect certain amenities during visits to the island. As pointed out in this space in the past, Phuket beach…
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Cruise ships in Phuket inject over 30 million baht a day
PHUKET: The island welcomed two cruise ships from Singapore with almost 8,000 passengers yesterday at Patong, injecting an estimated 31 million baht per day day. Phuket Vice Governor Sanit Sriwihok, representatives from the Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket Office, Phuket Marine officers and others welcomed the international cruise liners Ovation of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas – both…
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Whales bathe in Phuket sunshine yet again
PHUKET: Another pod of false killer whales was spotted yesterday by Phuket-bound tourists around the Mu Koh Similan area. The false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) is the fourth-largest dolphin and lives in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. “We were on our way to Phuket when we arrived at an area called Hin Pusah and saw at least 30…
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One dead after drunk man stabs another in Phuket
PHUKET: Police walked into bloodbath after an alcohol-fueled argument resulted in the death of a migrant worker in Phuket near SuperCheap on Thepkrasattri Road. The perpetrator, identified by police as 38-year-old Htin Line, is on the run. “Tae Sor Ao, 21, and the suspect had had three bottles of alcohol between them. Witnesses told us that at about 10:40pm, the…
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Serial seafood robber arrested in Phuket Town
PHUKET: A serial seafood thief was arrested last night in Phuket Town, claiming that he had to steal to pay everyday expenses. The suspect’s latest seafood heist, from Baan Kalim, a seafood restaurant in Patong, yielded 15 lobsters, tiger prawns, fish, crabs, shellfish and numerous other items. “We have been following this case since February 27. The owner of the…
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Eight arrested in three Phuket raids
PHUKET: Six men and two women were arrested in three separate incidents for possession of drugs and weapons last night. “Saripha Poksa, 30, and Yamila Mayo, 29, were arrested with 177 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) and 23,000 baht in cash. They were apprehended after undercover police officers pretended to buy drugs from them,” said Lt Col Worapong Prom-In of…
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Russian tourist’s Phuket ordeal comes to a close
PHUKET: A Russian tourist who was ‘caught’ feeding a fish on Phuket’s Racha Island last month flew back to her home country yesterday after being cleared by the Phuket Provincial Court on Monday. Olga Smirnova, 53, was arrested on the island on February 19 (story here), and jailed for two nights in Phuket while her bail money was being arranged…
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Phuket bus operators allegedly scammed for millions
PHUKET: A group of ten bus operators in Phuket yesterday filed a complaint at the Damrongdharma Center, saying they had been cheated out of millions of baht by a company acting as a middleman in a rental contract. Two bus operator representatives, Suthin Chandauykit and Thanapon Permpoonchonchart, told officers that a company named ‘Chill Duay Kan’ had rented 20 buses…
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Unidentified Russian woman wanted for using fake US dollars
KRABI: Police are searching for an unidentified Russian woman who used fake currency to swindle a Krabi shop owner on Sunday night. Capt Sarawut Kittiruangrayab of Ao Nang Police received the report yesterday after the owner of the herbal shop, Sanchai Khaonoi, 25, tried to exchange a 100-dollar bill and was told it was fake. “Mr Sanchai described the suspect…
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Family tragedy: Two killed, three injured in Phuket accident
PHUKET: Two members of a family were killed and three others injured after a car driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into an electric generator at the side of the road early yesterday morning. “The accident occurred on Thepkrasattri Road, at a construction site near Phuket International Airport. At the scene, we found a black Honda Civic stuck…
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Phuket Police search for relatives of crash victim
PHUKET: A unidentified big bike rider died after crashing into a tree and electric pole near Phuket International Airport early this morning. “The accident occurred at about 3am near the Airport junction in Sakoo sub-district. The victim was male, and appeared to be aged 18 to 20 years. There was blood all over his face and body,” said Lt Col…
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His Majesty strips fugitive monk of patriarch rank
THAILAND: His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun has signed a royal command to strip Phra Dhammachayo of a senior monk rank, equivalent to a patriarch. The royal command, which was signed on Saturday, was published in the Royal Gazette yesterday. The command stripped Phra Dhammachayo of the rank of Thep Yarn Mahamunee on grounds that he is wanted on a…
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Another thieving airline employee arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: An AirAsia baggage handler was arrested on Friday afternoon for stealing jewelry worth 80,000 baht from a passenger’s luggage at Phuket International Airport the day before. Thasayu Boonsop, 26, confessed to theft following a complaint lodged at Sakoo Police Station by Amika Maha, a passenger on AirAsia flight FD3015 from Bangkok to Phuket on Thursday night. “Ms Amika checked…
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Aussie tourist dead after visit to his Phuket hotel room
PHUKET: The body of an Australian tourist was found in a Phuket hotel room at about 4pm yesterday. The deceased was believed to have died of a sudden cardiac arrest. Peter John Bright, 55, was staying at the ‘Hello Yaya Residence’ hotel on Phra Baramee Road. He had been there since February 23 and was due to check out yesterday.…
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Finance: Securing your financial future
PHUKET: It really doesn’t matter if you make a little money or tonnes. If you can’t master this very important step you will never achieve financial freedom. It sounds all too simple in theory, yet in practice so many people have trouble staying disciplined. The step I am referring to is committing to setting aside a minimum of 10 per…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Thais have bad taste
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Opinion: Protecting Phuket’s image as a tourist destination
PHUKET: The recent incarceration of a Russian tourist for the heinous crime of feeding breadcrumbs to a fish is just the latest in a long-running series of embarrassments for Thai law enforcement and our tourism industry. The story made international headlines, including such mass media heavyweights as TASS and the UK’s Daily Mail, re-reporting after it was first reported by…
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Deputy PM visits Phuket to talk tourism
PHUKET: Lifeguards and entertainment venues were some of the issues under discussion during the Deputy Prime Minister’s one-day visit to Phuket yesterday. Deputy PM Gen Thanasak Patimaprakorn and Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul were greeted by Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan; Monruedee Gettuphan, director of Phuket International Airport; Lt Gen Piyawat Nakwanich, commander of the Royal Thai Army’s Region 4;…
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Russian tourist ‘found’ in Phuket after 10 hours at sea
PHUKET: A Russian tourist, hell-bent on snorkeling despite warnings, was rescued and brought to shore this morning after being lost at sea for at least ten hours off Koh Racha Noi. “Four Russian tourists, named by police as Artem Tarasenko, 45; Sergey Larichev, 40; Valeruu Iakunin, 40; and Dmitrii Somov, 48, rented a speed boat with Thai captain Rittiron Saleeka,…
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