News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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One reported dead, at least two injured in road accidents
PHUKET: A Russian woman has been reported to have died in an accident in Thalang late last night and a five-vehicle crash on the bypass road yesterday afternoon caused damage to several cars and left an American man in hospital.Pol Lt Sathawat Srirattanapong, duty officer of Phuket City Police, told the Gazette that the accident in the southbound lane of…
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Limo drivers vow to fight AOT over airport service
PHUKET CITY: Representatives of the Phuket Limousine and Business Services Cooperative (PBC) yesterday said they would continue to fight the Airports of Thailand (AOT) decision to slash the number of PBC vehicles operating at Phuket International Airport from 150 to 90.Following a meeting with Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit, PBC Secretary Niphon Piromrit said, “We have 110 saloon cars and 40…
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German dies in head-on smash
PHUKET: German national Werner Josef Theisen died after the Nissan NV he was driving and a pickup truck collided on Airport Rd about midday last Saturday.According to Pol Lt Col Jamroon Plaiduang from Thalang Police Station, three vehicles were involved in the accident, which occurred as Mr Werner was driving from Phuket International Airport towards Phuket City.“Mr Werner swerved left…
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Security guards arrested for theft
KATA: Police arrested four employees of a private security firm for stealing valuables from the same people they were hired to protect: guests and staff at the Club Med Phuket resort in Kata.Chalong Police Superintendent Col Samarn Chainarong presented the four guards to the media at a press conference at Chalong Police Station yesterday morningThe first two presented were Nakhon…
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Key areas hold first Municipal elections
PHUKET: The first-ever municipal elections in Rassada, Rawai and Wichit, all upgraded from tambon administration organization (OrBorTor) to municipality (tessabaan tambon) status in August, were held November 17.In Rassada, large crowds amassed at the vote-counting center at Phuket Rajabhat University. Suratin Lian-udom, leader of Raksa Rassada, won 3,264 votes to defeat Preecha Jai-ard of Rassada Prongsai party, with 3,241 votes.Somchai…
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Teen stabbed to death in Phuket City
PHUKET CITY: The latest casualty of teenage gang violence in Phuket was 14-year-old Theeraphong Thongklam, stabbed through the heart in downtown Phuket City early Monday morning.Phuket City Police Sub Lt Jakrapong Suchol said that Theeraphong, a resident of Rassada Village 7, fell off his motorbike near the Montri Rd-Phang Nga Rd intersection at 2:30 am after being stabbed by a…
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Rotary International awards One-Two-Go hero
THALANG: Rotary Club of Patong President O.B. Wetzell on November 20 presented a Rotary International “Family and Community Service Award” to Paiboon Papan, the One-Two-Go flight OG269 passenger who heroically saved the life of expat resident Robert Borland and other survivors of the crash on September 16.The ceremony was held at the offices of Thalang Trading Co Ltd , where…
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Great gobbler hunt now closed
(PHUKET): The Disaster Prevention departments of the following Phuket restaurants have now stepped in to announce traditional turkey feasts for Thanksgiving 2007 – Thursday, November 22. (See our earlier story here.) BYD LoftsPatong Beachfrom 8pm850 bahtReservations requiredTel: 076-343024/7 Don’sRawaifrom 5 pm320 bahtReservations recommended076-289314 Les AngesRoyal Phuket Marinafrom 12 noon til 9:30 pm1,500 baht076-360803 Tavern on the HillPatong Beachfrom 7:30 pm475…
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Turkey emergency prompts appeal for help
(PHUKET): American pilgrims on Phuket are up in arms at what appears to be a conspiracy by the island’s restaurateurs and F&B managers to deprive them of a basic gastronomic right: their annual indulgence in a feast of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce….Wesley Gobbler, head of the Special Investigations Unit of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, told…
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Bars closed in Rawai, Wichit and Rassada
PHUKET: Municipal elections underway in Rawai, Wichit, and Rassada today have resulted in a closure of all entertainment venues selling alcohol, according to Election Commission law.Initial reports reveal that turnout has been strong at Rassada’s seven polling stations, two of which are located near Supercheap on Thepkrasattri Rd.“It has been very busy and we expect [voter] turnout to exceed 70%…
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Italian tourist dies in bathroom fall
PATONG: An Italian tourist died on Thursday from head injuries sustained after an accidental fall in the bathroom of his hotel.Pol Maj Vicharn Suwansit of Phuket City Police identified the deceased as Mr Luca Magozzi, 47.Mr Magozzi was rushed to Patong Hospital after he slipped on the bathroom floor of his hotel in Patong early Thursday.After slipping into a coma, he…
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Man drowns at Kata Beach
KATA: An elderly German tourist on holiday with his wife drowned at Kata Beach late Thursday afternoon.Chalong Police duty officer Capt Parichat Jaturonpan identified the deceased as Rudolf Breidach, 67, a guest at the Thavorn Palm Beach Hotel in Karon.Mr Breidach, his wife and a female friend, also German, went swimming about 5 pm. There were no Phuket Provincial Administration…
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Teenage ladyboy slain in Patong
PATONG: Kathu Police are investigating the grisly murder of a teenage ladyboy whose strangled and beaten body was discovered near the road to Tri Trang Beach on Monday morning.Kathu Police Superintendent Pol Col Grissak Songmoonnark identified the victim as 19-year-old Thanawoot Wiriyananon. A native of Phatthalung province, K. Thanawoot worked in the Patong nightlife industry, he said.“About 11:30 am, we…
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Boomtown or bust!
PATTANI: With bombings in the Deep South regrettably almost a daily occurrence, it comes as little surprise that some might refer to the region as a “boomtown”. In fact, the Deep South is also in the middle of its own little “gold rush”, though the object of the hopeful prospectors desire isn’t gold, but a mysterious black ore thought to…
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Police baffled: Burglary or buggery?
NAKON SRI THAMMARAT: When villagers in Chawang District heard the abbot of a local temple shouting he was being assaulted by a thief on October 14, they naturally rushed to assist. When police, led by Lt Samphan Wathanasong, arrived, they came upon a throng of more than 10 people happily beating the suspected thief and abbot assaulter. Police put a…
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Knife-wielding burglar arrested
PHUKET: Police have arrested a burglar who broke into a home near Tesco-Lotus Sunday night and repeatedly slashed its female occupant with a knife before fleeing.Pol Capt Supachai Petchsakul of Phuket City Police said that the attack happened about 11 pm in a residential area off Songkhla Rd in Tambon Rassada, near the Tesco-Lotus intersection.The attacker, later identified as Rawai…
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Former Phuket Governor jailed for 36 years on child-sex charges
BANGKOK (Nation, Kom Chad Luek, TNA): Chalerm Phromlert, who was Phuket Governor from 1987 to 1991, was sent to Pathum Thani Prison yesterday after the Supreme Court upheld his 36-year jail sentence for multiple counts of statutory rape.Judge Samart Ardnarong handed down the verdict against Chalerm, who was accused of having sex with four schoolgirls aged between 13 and 16…
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Phuket prepares for national elections
PHUKET CITY: Crowds of supporters turned out to cheer Phuket’s national political party representatives as they registered their candidacies and drew lots to be assigned their ballot numbers at Phuket Community Hall on Monday.Eight candidates representing four of the five political parties running in the December 23 national election turned out on the first day of registration.Registration closes on Friday.The…
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International rugby returns to Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Back after a one-year hiatus because of the 2006 coup, 80-80 rugby returns to Phuket November 16 – albeit downsized from what organizers had hoped would be a large-scale, international tournament. The King’s Cup Rugby-80 tournament, ro be played at Sanaam Chai in Phuket City, will run until November 23. Although teams from nations including Wales, England…
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Case closed on Korean’s death plunge
PHUKET CITY: Police investigations following the death of Korean tour guide Kim Kyoung Hoon, 39, who fell to his death from the roof of The Metropole hotel in downtown Phuket City on November 2, have concluded that Mr Kim’s death was a suicide.Phuket City Police Capt Krerkrit Ritnuang told the Gazette that Korean embassy officials initially suspected that Mr Kim’s death…
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Tour agent’s throat slashed
KATHU: Tung Tong Police are investigating the death of Sommai Chumee, 37, a travel agency representative found with his throat slashed in his home at the Irawadee Ketho residential development on Friday afternoon.Tung Tong Police Inspector Lt Col Kittipong Klaikaew confirmed reports in the local and national press that the victim had been stabbed repeatedly in the neck but had…
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New Chalong Police chief announces robbery arrests
CHALONG: The new Superintendent of Chalong Police Station, Col Samarn Chainarong, yesterday announced that Chalong Police officers on Thursday arrested two of four people involved in a series of robberies and had recovered 67 stolen items.Col Samarn said in a press release that Chalong Police had been monitoring the gang and pulled over Kaewjai Sooksabai, 35, as she was driving…
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Customs seize B5m of fake goods
PHUKET CITY: Thai Regional Customs Bureau 4 and the Phuket Customs Office at 10 am yesterday held a press conference at the Phuket Customs House on Phuket Rd to announce the seizure of counterfeit goods worth 5 million baht from a wholesaler in Patong.Regional Customs Bureau 4 Director Rakop Srisuppa-at and Phuket Customs chief Jakson Kitarmorn showed the media the…
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Patong porn director caught red-handed
PATONG: A Kathu Police investigations unit early yesterday morning arrested an Indonesian adult-film producer in his hotel room after he was caught conducting a photo shoot with one of his starlets – a Thai ladyboy.Pol Sub Lt Nitikorn Rawang, duty officer of Kathu Police Station, said the bust took place at 4:20 am.After receiving a tip-off that a video shoot…
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Man stabbed in karaoke brawl
TALAD YAI: A 25-year-old man was stabbed at a karaoke bar early Monday morning after an argument broke out over which song to sing, said Pol Sub Lt Jakkrapon Suchon of Phuket City Police.Komson Kampan, 25, was drinking with four friends at Phaithong Karaoke on the road to Koh Sireh when three younger men entered the bar, said Lt Jakkrapon.“The…
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Woman arrested, 2,550 pills seized in ya bah bust
THALANG: A 33-year-old woman was arrested early Tuesday morning for possession of 2,550 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills, according to a press release read by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit at Phuket Provincial Hall on Tuesday.A team from the Phuket Provincial Police drug suppression unit and Border Patrol Police 425, who are based in Takuapa, Phang Nga, set up a sting operation.Undercover…
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Deadline for local ‘yellow pages’
PHUKET: Businesses wishing to appear in the 2008 Gazette Guide, Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’, have until 6pm on Monday, 12 November, to enter (or update) their listings. New listings and updates received before the deadline will appear online within 48 hours and will be included in the hard-copy book for 2008, due out mid-January. New listings or updates received after the…
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Prominent architect Tucker Bishop passes away
PHUKET: One of the island’s most prolific architects, Tucker Bishop, passed away last night at the age of 57 at Bangkok Hospital Phuket.Although he had been suffering from long-term kidney complications, Mr Bishop continued to work on many high-profile jobs up until his death.Bill Barnett of C9 Hotelworks, who had worked with Mr Bishop on several projects, said, “With a…
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Global pub crawl to tour Phuket
PHUKET: A group of fun-seeking Australians will be quenching their thirst on the island next year as part of the first Round-the-World Pub Crawl organized by Australian tour company Thirsty Swagman. The group of 25 drinking travelers will enjoy a month-long party, traveling “Around the World in 60 Pubs”, starting from London on March 24, 2008. They will be draining…
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Thalang woman hangs herself
THALANG: Police discovered the body of Benjawan Rakkarndee, 30, at her home in Village 1 Srisoonthorn, near Soi Bangkham, on November 1 after she hanged herself, police said.Maj Prakorb Boonkwan of Thalang Police said, “I was informed about the body by the village chief at 10 am. I then called the Kusoldharm Foundation and a doctor from Thalang Hospital to…
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