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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Monkey on your back
CHIANG RAI: Having a monkey on one’s back might sound like the very definition of hardship, but for a dog in Mae Sai it is a labor of love. Guests at the Kung Pao 38 Restaurant in Mae Sai are greeted by a rather unusual welcoming committee when they arrive: a four-year-old Labrador retriever and “Jockey”, an orphaned baby monkey…
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The young lad and the sea
PATONG: A 15-year-old German boy tried to drown himself at Patong Beach after his parents forbade him to see again a ladyboy he had met on Soi Bangla. On the evening of September 12, the boy – whose name was not released because he is a minor – was ordered to stay in his room by his parents, who feared…
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Wind of change
PHUKET: The cool, wet and windy conditions Phuket is currently experiencing as a result of tropical storm Damrey will end tomorrow, when normal monsoon conditions will prevail, Chumnong Chitpukdee, Director of Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) Meteorological Department, has told the Gazette.He said that Phuket would likely not experience any more heavy rain from the system, but windy conditions could…
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Phuket gets another “sister’
PHUKET CITY: Nearly three years after the idea was first floated, Phuket and Hainan Island, in China, are now “sisters”.The special status relationship was ratified on Sunday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura and Hainan Governor Wei Liucheng, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel.The MoU, which became effective immediately, states having the…
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Tentative steps toward ending airport taxi deadlock
PHUKET: The Phuket Vehicle Service Co-operative and Confederation (PVSCC) has held its first meeting to try to solve the impasse between airport limousine drivers and meter taxi operators.The committee comprises members of the Airport Limousine and Business Service Co-operative, Phuket Taxi Service Co-operative (green license plate car service), Phuket Small Four-wheel Co-operative (tuk-tuk service), and Patong Motor Taxi Service. The…
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Anti-terrorist drill “a success’
AO MAKHAM: Although admitting that there were some “communication problems”, Phuket Provincial Administration Officer (Palad) Vichan Busapavanich hailed today’s anti-terrorist exercise at Phuket Deep Sea Port in Ao Makham as “a success”.The hypothetical scenario involved of a band of terrorists taking hostages in a building at the port, where they detonate an explosive device. In the exercise, the building was…
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Woman found dead on Koh Sireh
KOH SIREH: The body of a middle-aged Thai woman was discovered by locals on a Pae Ong Beach on Koh Sireh on Friday.Pol Lt Patrawut Onchuay, of Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette that the victim, Ampai Yothapakdee, 46, had been killed no more than eight hours before her body was discovered at 10 am.Customers at the nearby Wangkung…
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“Too many mobile phones’ for tsunami SMS warning system
PHUKET CITY: Ministers and high-ranking officials are able receive a tsunami warning SMS from the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) but other mobile phone users are not yet able to receive messages because of delays.Dr Smith Thammasaroj, appointed to establish the NDWC, made his comments at a recent seminar held at the Phuket Royal City Hotel. The seminar was attended by…
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Samui property agent shot
KOH SAMUI: Samui property agent Gary Pearmain and his girlfriend, Sirinya Sansenao, 25, were shot and wounded by two gunmen at their house in Baan Thongkrud at about 8 pm on Thursday.Pol Maj Sompong Krutsuwan, Inspector of Samui Police Station, told the Gazette that Mr Pearmain, a British national, was shot in the left hand and chest, and K. Sirinya…
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Number plate auction hopes to top 8 million baht
PHUKET CITY: A total of 301 numbers will go on the block at Phuket’s second two-day auction of car license plates, starting at 8:30 am on October 15 and 16 at The Metropole Hotel Phuket.Theerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer of the Phuket Provincial Transportation Office (PPTO), told the Gazette today that there will be a variety of categories of numbers…
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Tsunami memorial design competition opens
BANGKOK: Registration for the competition to design the national tsunami memorial opened on September 15. The competition is open until November 15, and the five shortlisted proposals will be displayed on December 26, 2005 at Khao Lak Lamru National Park.. The 1.5 billion baht-project – the cost of which has been mired in controversy – is due for completion by…
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New luxury resort planned for Phi Phi
PHI PHI: A new luxury resort, built by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), is planned for Lanah Bay, Phi Phi Island, with another two resorts – one on Koh Samui and another in Pattaya – in the pipeline.The properties, slated to open in 2007, will be IHG‘s first resorts in Thailand, and will bring the total number of properties managed by IHG…
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Gov urges police to work harder on drug cases
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has urged local police to concentrate their efforts in the war on drugs. He was speaking at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday.The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) reported to the meeting that most teenage drug cases involved two main drugs – ya bah (methamphetamine) and cannabis – and that most teenagers were able to…
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Miss Teen Phuket 2005
PHUKET: Aroonrat Sakulchit, 18, gracefully edged out 29 fellow contestants to win the “Miss Teen Phuket 2005” on September 17 at Central Festival.The beauty contest was overseen by Wilak Lohthong, Chairman of Miss Teen Thailand 2005, and Chairman of Miss Teen Phuket 2005, Pamuke Archariyachai.The 30 contenders modeled products from the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) project before the judges selected…
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Vicente blows in good news and bad
PHUKET: The skirts of Tropical Storm Vicente trailed good news and bad across Phuket over the weekend, topping up the Bang Wad Reservoir with badly needed supplies of water but, at the same time, sending mud pouring into seven homes in Phuket City.The heavy rain added 288,000 cubic meters of water to Phuket’s only major reservoir, enough to keep the…
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Wet weekend ahead
PHUKET: Island residents can expect a wet and overcast weekend, thanks to slow-moving tropical storm Vicente, which at 7 am today was centered in the South China Sea about 600 kilometers east of the Vietnamese city of Qui Nhon. Maximum winds speeds recorded near the center of the storm were about 75 kilometers an hour. Chumnong Chitpukeed, Director of the…
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ATM cash thieves arrested in Phuket
BANGKOK (Kom Chad Luek): Crime Suppression Division detectives announced at a press conference in Bangkok yesterday the arrest in Phuket on Wednesday of two Krung Thai Bank employees who allegedly stole a massive 28.8 million baht from ATM machines in the capital.The suspects, identified as Chatchai Jongsirirat, 32, and Pichet Kraibutra, 29, were employed by Krung Thai Business Service Co.…
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Shrimp farmer and mule netted in ya bah sting
PHUKET CITY: A joint sting operation carried out yesterday between Phuket City Police Station and Phang Nga police officers netted 1,100 ya bah (methamphetamine) tablets and two alleged dealers.Phuket City Police Superintendent Col Paween Pongsirin told the Gazette that undercover officers met with shrimp farmer Sanan Pandej, 50, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, outside the Imperial 2 Hotel on Luang Por…
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Work continues on rebuilding Kamala
KAMALA: More than eight months after Kamala was hit by the December 26 tsunami, Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) is continuing to clean up the beachfront village.Jirachai Suebsod, Chief of OrBorTor Kamala’s Public Works department, told the Gazette that the Department of Local Administration has approved 42 million baht for Kamala OrBorTor to complete two main projects.“We are widening the…
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National lottery draw to be held in Phuket
PATONG: The October 1 draw of the government national lottery, which will be televised live round the country, will take place at the Graceland Resort & Spa in Patong.Wallapa Pajareepong of the Government Lottery Office said that the lottery will be held in Phuket in order to promote tourism to the province. During the show, footage of popular tourist spots…
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Phuket Air cuts more routes after accident
BANGKOK: Phuket Air has canceled its services between Bangkok and Mae Sot, and Bangkok and Buri Ram, after one of its aircrft skidded off the runway at Tak Airport while landing the day before yesterday. None of the 30 passengers on board was injured.The decades-old Japanese YS-11 twin-turboprop aircraft, which can carry 64 passengers, barreled into the airport’s perimeter fence,…
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Crackdown on land officials imminent
BANGKOK (The Nation): The top money-laundering examiner yesterday sounded an alarm that rogue officials in Phuket, Phang Nga, Ranong and Krabi were behind scams to issue land-right documents unlawfully for plots overlapping forests.“From confidential investigations by the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), [we have ascertained that] rogue officials in four southern provinces have abused their office to issue false documents for…
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Bad news for booze
PHUKET: The Excise Department’s tax increase on distilled spirits, which went into effect September 6, is gradually being reflected on store shelves across the island as retailers replace old stock with new. The increase, which ostensibly has the twofold goal of cutting down on alcohol consumption and boosting government revenue, applies to all distilled alcohol products including brandy, whisky, “special…
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Two singers sought for rape
PATONG: Two Thai singers are being sought on charges of sexually assaulting a young woman from the Netherlands in the early hours of Saturday morning.Pol Lt Weerapong Rakhito of Kathu Police Station said that, at 3:30 am on Saturday, Patong Hospital reported that two women tourists, one apparently the victim of a sexual assault, had arrived there by tuk-tuk.Eighteen-year-old “Anna”…
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Bangkok resurrects casinos plan
BANGKOK (The Nation): The government has revived its plan to introduce casinos to Thailand as a way to boost the sagging tourism industry amid increased competition from rival Asian destinations, the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Pracha Maleenont, said yesterday.K. Pracha said the “one region one casino” initiative was proposed in response to the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland this…
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Don’t forget us – Phi Phi
PHI PHI ISLANDS: Phankam Kitithorakul, the Chairman of the Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), which is responsible for the Phi Phi Islands, yesterday called for greater government support because, he believes, the islands are being overlooked in favor of Phuket and Khao Lak.K. Phankam said that, eight months after the tsunami, the central government had still to help boost…
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Students to clean up Kamala Beach
KOH KAEW: After reading the recent Gazette article [August 20] about the sorry state of Kamala since the tsunami, students from The British Curriculum International School (BCIS) decided to do something about it. On Saturday, September 17, at 10 am, some 400 students will converge on Kamala Beach to clean it up as the focus of their sixth annual Clean…
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Phuket FantaSea bounces back
PHUKET: Phuket FantaSea will be open six days a week from October 1. The “ultimate nighttime cultural theme park” attracted 3,000 to 6,000 visitors daily before last year’s tsunami, but opened only intermittently in the following months. In July it shut its doors two days a week in order to save costs.Sirikul Amaramorn, FantaSea’s Public Relations Director, told the Gazette…
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Governor to promote Phuket in Japan
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura will arrive in Japan tomorrow for seven-day visit to promote Phuket as a safe holiday destination.Gov Udomsak told the Gazette that he was invited by the Japanese government to verify that Phuket’s tsunami warning system is operational and ready to protect tourists in the coming high season.“I am traveling to Japan in order to confirm…
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Ruby Goddess arrives in Phuket
PHUKET: A large turnout welcomed the 2005 Phuket Vegetarian Festival’s main invited guest, the Mazhofu statue – otherwise known as the Ruby Goddess – at Navamindra Memorial Square last night.Mazhofu is a well-known Chinese deity originating on Meizhou Island in Fijian Province. Devotees believe that Mazhofu protects followers from the dangers of the sea. The deity has about six million…
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