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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Burmese body found in locked room
PHUKET TOWN: A 37-year-old Burmese fish factory worker was found stabbed to death and locked in his room on Thursday morning. Pol Lt Parichat Chaturonpan, from Phuket Town Police Station, named the victim as “Leesaw” and said a neighbor and co-worker of Leesaw called the police at about 10 am after he had failed to turn up for work. Officers…
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Phuket plans against Apec terrorism
PHUKET: Lertkiat Vongpuaphan, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Governor’s Office, today announced that a team of high-ranking provincial officers have drawn up plans to defend against terrorism during the 3rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting next year. Phuket will host a peripheral meeting of the summit from August 14-23, with senior government officials from 21 Apec member economies expected to…
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New website targets top-end tourists
PHUKET: In a campaign to target high-end tourists and the Mice (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) business, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Los Angeles design firm Ignition yesterday officially launched the website ExperienceThailand.com. Napasorn Kakai, Assistant Director of the local branch of the TAT, said, “We’re focusing on the Mice market, especially from America. Despite the current situation,…
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Governor’s foray closes noisy venues
PHUKET: Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi last night ordered the closure of 30 entertainment venues for trading without proper licenses or for creating excessive noise. Gov Pongpayome, with Vice-Governor Manit Wattanasen and 28 officers from the Provincial Defense Office and Phuket Town Police Station, began the “silent night” raids at 9 pm in Saphan Hin, Phuket Town. No less than…
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Immigration warns visa runs are DIY
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Immigration Office (PPIO) warned today that foreigners needing their visas renewed must complete the process themselves. Many non-Thais in Phuket have to leave the country every three months on so-called “visa runs” in order to obtain fresh visas and/or entry permits at Thai embassies and/or consulates. Assigning another person to perform the task is considered illegal…
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Police crack down on illegal aliens
PHUKET TOWN: Police plan to screen every Burmese in Phuket as part of a nationwide operation to rid the country of illegal workers. Pol Lt Col Samarn Chainarong, Officer in Charge of Investigating Aliens in Phuket, told the Gazette that he believes the number of Burmese coming to Thailand without papers is increasing every day. Officials attribute a disproportionate amount…
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Muslim drug war wins support
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has given his backing to a move by Muslim leaders to solve the problem of illegal drugs through community action. His support was expressed when leaders of Phuket’s Muslim community met at the S.T. Hotel in Phuket Town on September 3. “I am absolutely sure that the drugs problem will be reduced if…
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Governor warns on festival fireworks
PHUKET TOWN: Tourists and locals have been warned to be cautious with fireworks during this year’s annual Vegetarian Festival. In festivals of the past, scores of people have required hospital treatment. The warning came from Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi in advance of this year’s festival, to be held from October 5-15. Vendors traditionally sell firecrackers – some of them oversized…
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Navy nets Burmese on suspect boat
THALANG: The Royal Thai Navy intercepted a fishing boat off Bang Tao Beach today and found 12 suspected illegal Burmese on board. The Burmese are being held for probable deportation once their status is clarified. The ship’s captain says most of the men were legal workers who had simply changed employers. Lt Cdr Anusorn Sasutham, on a Chao Praya-class warship,…
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Talks boost China tourism market
PHUKET: More tourists from China are expected to come to Phuket as a result of talks between officials from the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce and local community bodies. Chen Jien Hua, Vice President of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, met Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi and private-sector representatives, including the Phuket Chamber of Commerce and the Phuket Tourism Association (PTA), yesterday…
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Man held for murder, stabbings
KATHU: Tung Tong police arrested a 22-year-old construction worker early this morning after he allegedly stabbed his wife and two men, leaving one man dead. Pol Capt Kittipong Klaykaew of Tung Tong Police Station named the attacker as Sitipol “Ta” Kotawan, from Nakhon Phanom, who worked at a construction camp near the Patong-Kathu intersection. Capt Kittipong said police arrived at…
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300 welcome Chinese leader
AIRPORT: Some 300 people were on hand today to welcome the Chairman of China’s National Assembly, Li Peng, when he arrived at Phuket International Airport as part of an official visit to Thailand. The greeting party included Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, members of the Chinese community in Phuket and students waving Chinese flags as Mr Li stepped from his plane…
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Headless body found on Kata beach
KATA: Authorities are at a loss so far to establish the identity of a headless, armless body that washed up on Kata Beach yesterday. “Uncle Farang,” a 60-year-old member of the cleaning staff at the Kata Beach Hotel, shouted to alert others when he came across the body on the beach about 8 am. Police believe the body had been…
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Get away from my pig, you swine
UDON THANI: Sunthorn Sornyoo couldn’t say why, but when he spotted the pregnant, but still very slinky, sow in Sompetch Samsibai’s pigsty, he felt the juices flow. “I climbed up into the pigsty and raped her until I had an orgasm,” he explained later. Passing the cage a week later, 42-year-old Sunthorn again felt an urge to consort with the…
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Pet roaches face ban
BANGKOK: Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyurapan has warned that cockroaches imported from Madagascar could face an import ban if research finds that they are dangerous to human beings. K. Sudarat’s warning follows the discovery that many vendors at the famed Chatuchak Market recently started selling the cockroches as pets. The imported cockroaches are unusually large, certainly bigger than any cockroaches…
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Caught dead to rights
SAMUT PRAKAN: A 51-year-old undertaker at Wat Thongkung was arrested recently after he confessed to having sex with a dead woman. Filled with remorse, Sakchai Thumaseeda wrote a letter to the dead woman’s mother, spilling the beans on his nocturnal necrophiliac exploits with “Bee”, a 31-year-old woman who had recently died of Aids. Mum was not impressed and called the…
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Girl, 17, steals B50,000 from Gov’s house
PHUKET TOWN: A 17-year-old girl being held on a charge of stealing 50,000 baht from the Governor’s Residence yesterday tried committing suicide by slitting her wrists with pieces of her broken plastic bracelet. Pol Capt Akkanit Danpitaksasna, of Phuket Town Police Station, today said the girl was being held at the station after confessing to stealing 50,000 baht belonging to…
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Bike deaths keep climbing
PHUKET: Motorcycle accidents claimed 15 lives between June 20 and July 20, according to the latest statistics from Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. In the previous month, 14 people died in accidents involving motorbikes. The statistics also show that 950 people were injured on motorbikes during the period, compared with 35 injured in cars and 29 in other road…
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Chinese leader flying to Phuket
PHUKET: Li Peng, Chairman of China’s National Assembly, is flying to Phuket on Friday for a three-day official visit. With him on the special flight will be a delegation of senior Chinese officials. Mr Li holds the Communist Party’s No. 2 post. Observers attribute to him the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy dissidents in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. As a guest of…
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Falling cartons KO child in Big C
PHUKET TOWN: A five-year-old girl was knocked unconscious when three large cartons of milk tumbled off the shelves as her family shopped in the dairy section of Big C Supercenter. The girl, Napasawan “Fah” Aroonlimsawad, was knocked unconscious during the outing on Sunday and released from hospital today with a large lump on her head. A Big C staffer was…
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Immigration steps up controls
PHUKET TOWN: As part of Phuket Immigration’s plan to tighten immigration control, more than 100 hotel employees attended a workshop at the Phuket Immigration Office on Friday night. Speaking at the workshop, Pol Col Apirak Hongtong, Superintendent of Phuket Immigration Office, said, “The seminar is aimed at training hotel staff, especially front office staff, in what to do if they…
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THAI discounts internal fights
PHUKET: Thai Airways is offering special discounts on domestic flights from now until December 31 to Thais and, in some cases, foreign residents. The discounts are as follows: – Young people aged 12-24 years old who are traveling on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (except for public holidays or days in lieu of public holidays) receive a 25% discount. – Other…
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Police get tough on traffic offenders
PHUKET TOWN: In a crackdown on traffic offenders, police on Saturday night arrested 38 people at a checkpoint set up at the intersection of Yaowarat Rd and Thalang Rd. Pol Lt Col Weerasin Kwanseng, Deputy Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, said today that officers set up the checkpoint after receiving many complaints about people dangerously ignoring traffic laws in…
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Trade boost for “One Tambon’ scheme
PHUKET: Phuket has become a driving force behind moves to expand the One Tambon One Product scheme through trade agreements with other provinces. Surapol Suwankul, Chief of Phuket Provincial Commercial Office, said today, “While we have no plans at the moment to increase the number of products we make, we are now selling products to other provinces to enlarge our…
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Drug offenders keep prison full
PHUKET TOWN: More than 50% of the inmates at Phuket Provincial Prison are behind bars for drug-related offences, according to the latest statistics released by the prison. Of the 1,241 inmates, 503 men and 130 women are serving time for narcotics offenses. Of the remaining prisoners, 213 are being held for theft, 163 for murder or attempted murder, 46 for…
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Hotels pay only 30pc of provincial tax
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has collected about 30% of the much-reviled hotel room tax and plans to pursue the hotels that have failed to cough up the remaining 70%, which is worth close to 95 million baht. The 40 million baht collected so far is to be spent on various tourism-related projects, including the provision of lifeguards…
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Warning on wet-season power
PHUKET TOWN: The Manager of the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA), Sornchai Uparamai, has warned that wet and windy conditions during the monsoon season may cause electrical accidents. Anyone who sees broken power lines, poles, or other potentially dangerous situations is urged to call the PPEA on 076-210427/8.
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Convention center “benefits all’
KRABI: A regional improvement conference at Krabi has been told that an international convention and exhibition center (CEC) on Phuket would also benefit other provinces. Provincial Vice Governor Winai Buapradit told the conference on August 22 that the Thai Government was prepared to spend 800 million baht on the CEC and was in the process of choosing a site. Anupharp…
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Prostitution? Odds are against it
PHUKET: Latest police statistics reveal a big contrast between the crimes of prostitution and gambling in the period between August 1 and August 25. While 223 people were arrested for gambling in that period, up by 21 over the same period in July, there was not a single arrest for prostitution, compared with the 12 made between July 1 and…
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Surasak hits the campaign trail
PATONG: Mayor Surasak Maneesri on Monday got the jump on Pian Keesin, his main rival for the coming Patong mayoral election, by launching his campaign and introducing his team of preferred councilors. Standing in front of about 200 Patong residents gathered outside the old municipal offices on Phisit Gorani Rd, K. Surasak introduced all 23 members of his team. Together…
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