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.
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Phuket father’s cash-quest was for wrong kind of drugs
PHUKET: The man who claimed he was stealing an air-conditioning compressor to buy medicine for his sick son tested positive for drugs after his arrest on September 12. The owner of the garage where the bus was parked first told police that he did not want to file a complaint against 28-year-old Chaiwut Kongkhaoriab. “He told us that he didn’t…
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New threat claims from Central Festival Phuket taxi drivers, new denials
PHUKET: Five taxi drivers at Central Festival Phuket claim that they were threatened and suspended from working there by the leaders of the taxi organization that operates at the popular shopping mall. The witnesses said they were verbally threatened and forbidden from working in the Central taxi queue, reported Karn Doonyalit of the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) on September…
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Phuket lifeguards save drunk Singaporean from drowning
PHUKET: A Singaporean tourist who spent hours relaxing and drinking on the beach at Cherng Talay yesterday afternoon was rescued by Phuket lifeguards after he attempted to go for a swim.Lai Yeohchai, 23, was pulled from the water conscious, but drunk, at about 3:55pm, one of the lifeguards at Surin Beach told the Phuket Gazette.“He sat on the beach and…
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Phuket protest rails against bridge name, rubber rights
PHUKET: About 200 villagers rallied at Phuket Provincial Hall on Tuesday to push for a bridge name change that is already on its way and for the right to plant and farm rubber trees on land that is deemed to be within a protected forest. Protest leader Utai Suksirisampan of the Phuket and Phang Nga Co-operative Network handed the villagers’…
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Phuket motorbike driver with axe to grind arrested
PHUKET: A friendly argument took a serious turn yesterday morning when a Patong motorbike taxi driver took out an axe and struck a colleague twice, sending him to the hospital. When police arrived at the motorbike taxi queue in Soi Kebsap (map here) just before 10am, they found only a pool of blood, said Maj Jakkrapong Luang-aon of Patong Police.…
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Motorbike dumped in pond mystifies park-goers
PHUKET: Police and local residents are scratching their heads over a motorcycle found dumped in a pond at Rama IX Park (King’s Park) in Phuket Town (map here) yesterday morning. The abandoned bike – apparently in good condition – was first noticed by park users doing their morning exercises. “The bike, with a Ratchaburi license plate, Kor Mor Ror 407,…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Iran to swear off nuclear; Mexico storm looting spree; Heartbroken mom of DC shooter apologizes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rouhani says Iran willing to forswear nuclear arms Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed on Wednesday that his government would never develop nuclear weapons, his strongest signal yet that he may be seeking a diplomatic thaw with the West after decades of acrimony.In an…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Swede bombmaker jailed; Rubber hoarders warned; House set for Bt2tn row; Same-sex marriage advances
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bomb-making material earns Swedish man jail term The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Bangkok’s Ratchadaphisek Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a Swedish man of Lebanese descent to two years and eight months in jail for possessing without permission almost three tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which could be used for…
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Phuket’s legal tuk-tuk drivers warn against officials’ inaction in Patong
PHUKET: A group of legal tuk-tuk drivers have presented the Phuket Governor’s office with another formal complaint – the third so far in their campaign to stamp out the illegal tuk-tuk trade in Patong. As on the two previous occasions (stories here and here), the tuk-tuk drivers were led by Sakol Srisompoch. Their urgent concern is that illegal tuk-tuk drivers…
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World News: US Navy was warned; France, Russia squabble; Mexico’s Acapulco in chaos
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Navy was warned that Washington shooter ‘heard voices’ Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Rhode Island police warned the U.S. Navy last month that Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis had reported “hearing voices,” raising further questions about how he gained security clearance at the complex where he…
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Thailand News: Asean not ready – yet; Cig warnings; Special law for rubber protests; Kingdom told to prep for old age
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Asean is not yet ready for integration, Mahathir says The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Singapore is the only Asean member that will be completely ready for economic integration under the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by 2015, and some of the group’s poorer members should be allowed to…
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Russian body found off Patong Beach
PHUKET: Beach guards recovered the body of a Russian man at Patong Beach late this morning.The body of Tsymbalyuk Alexey, 45, was brought back to shore at about 11am. Police suspect that he died about three hours earlier.“He was only wearing black trunks when he was found, he might have gone swimming alone, as nobody witnessed him drowning,” said Teerasak…
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Phuket Police on standby to counter rubber protests
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on standby for deployment to Nakhon Sri Thammarat to reinforce officers there working to contain protests by palm oil and rubber farmers. Many protesters were injured when tensions flared at the protests at Nakhon Sri Thammarat’s Cha-uat District yesterday. One protester was shot in the leg as a mob set a police detention truck on fire…
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Phuket Tourist Court to open next Tuesday
PHUKET: Phuket’s Tourist Court is set to open on September 24 with a budget of 1.5 million baht. Phuket’s tourist court is the second such court to open in Thailand; the first opened in Pattaya on September 5. Five more courts will open across the country by year’s end, said Sitthisak Wanachakij, spokesman for the Court of Justice. The opening…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Police crack down in Nakhon Si Thammarat; Ghost trains due to repairs; Bangkok Gov wants fire engine deal extinguished
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police crack down on rubber protest The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: More than 10 vehicles were smashed and set ablaze and people injured when clashes broke out between hundreds of rubber growers and security officials at the Kuan Nong Hong Intersection in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Cha-uat district…
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Phuket dengue numbers critical, says public health chief
PHUKET: The chief of Phuket’s Public Health Office has admitted that the “333” anti-dengue campaign launched in April (story here) has failed and called for support to re-apply the program with more manpower after dengue cases in Phuket reached their highest number in 26 years. “Everyone needs to be concerned about this,” Dr Bancha Kakhong told a meeting held yesterday…
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Rayong’s Wild Stallions prevail over Phuket FC
PHUKET: Allegations of match-fixing and crooked referees have become rampant in the Facebook fan club forums of many Thai football teams, including Phuket FC, as the Yamaha League One enters its final stretch of the 2013 season. Although no concrete ties have been made between match-fixing and the shooting earlier this month of controversial Thai referee, Thanom Barikut, there is…
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Phuket officials bag six kratom, dope peddlers in 24 hours
PHUKET: A Rassada village headman busted five men for possession of kratom and marijuana on Saturday – and yesterday, in concert with the Phuket Internal Security Office (PISO), arrested a man bringing kratom leaves to Phuket by bus. PISO deputy chief Thammarong Chuayaksorn and Baan Bang Chi Lao village chief Sangkom Sinthupradit, acting on a tip-off that kratom would be…
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Uninvited little cobra evicted from Chalong residence
PHUKET: When a resident of Ban Maneekram, Chalong, realized he had unwittingly hosted a visiting 40-cm cobra for the weekend, he knew what to do. “When I noticed the juvenile cobra, I immediately remembered your article headlined, ‘Snakes in the house: who you gonna call?’ (story here) and remembered you suggested calling the number of the Kusoldharn Foundation. So this…
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Phuket gold thieves out of gas, out of luck
PHUKET: Thieves attempting to cut open a safe in a locked strong room at a gold store in Patong on Saturday night most likely ran out of gas for their blowtorch, forcing them to leave empty-handed, say police. Nuchapha Jetsadaruk, the 49-year-old sister of shop owner Sasithorn Jetsadaruk, arrived to open the Yaowarat Gold Shop 9 on Sainamyen Road (map…
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Phuket Tourist Court to open late this month
PHUKET: The Phuket Tourist Court will open late this month, while another five such courts will open across the country before year’s end, Court of Justice spokesman Sitthisak Wanachakij has announced. The specialized court, set up to expedite cases involving foreign holiday-makers – about 20 million tourists visit Thailand every year – will encourage negotiations between parties and will video…
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Two Phuket cop-kickers caught
PHUKET: Police have arrested two of the four suspects they believe are responsible for assaulting police officers trying to make an arrest of a suspect wanted for attempted murder and other charges (story here). “I was trying to arrest Wirat ‘Kam’ Prabpet, 36, wanted for attempted murder, possession of illegal firearms and mugging,” said Cherng Talay Deputy Superintendent Sommai On-khum,…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Cambodia police unleash teargas on protesters; Assad Victory; Colorado death toll climbs; Sudan sinks in fear
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cambodian police unleash teargas, water cannons on poll protesters Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Police fired teargas and water cannons to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who had rallied in Cambodia’s capital on Sunday to push for an independent investigation into a July election they say was fixed to…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Fears rice scheme will break budget; Taxi CCTV on the radar; Singles say no to more taxes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fears rice scheme will break budget The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Finance Ministry’s sub-committee assessing the cost of the rice-pledging scheme plans to finalise figures for the first year of operations next week, with or without the latest information on inventories, a ministry source said yesterday.The…
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Greek claims Thai girlfriend swindled him out of Phuket property, two million baht
PHUKET: A distraught Greek was found lying in the middle of the road in front of a property that he claimed his girlfriend had cheated him out of, along with about two million baht. When Konstantinos Vardas’s mid-road protest caused a traffic jam in the vicinity of Tha Reua Temple, Thalang Police and Kusoldham rescue workers were called to the…
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Phuket Opinion: Beauty is only skin deep – even in paradise
PHUKET: The emergence of Phuket as an important regional center for plastic surgery is great news for the local economy, but raises some important ethical concerns about elective surgeries in general. Throughout history, people – especially women – have wanted to look their best. Until very recently, however, the only certain way to achieve this came, like everything worthwhile in…
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Thief snatches 5,000 baht from 7-Eleven cash till
PHUKET: Police are searching for a snatch thief who stole 5,000 baht from a cash till at a 7-Eleven in Wichit late last night. “The store’s staffers looked very frightened when we arrived, ” said Wichit Police Superintendent Chaowalit Petchsripia. “The thief was a dark-skinned man who looked about 20-to-30 years old. He was between 1.60 and 1.65 meters tall,…
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VIDEO REPORT: Phuket police stick it to luxury-car owners
PHUKET: Police dished-out parking tickets to about a dozen luxury cars that were illegally parked along Phuket Town’s Dibuk Road yesterday afternoon. A video of the mass-ticketing of the vehicles obstructing traffic flow was posted yesterday on Youtube and has already attracted over 10,000 hits. Many viewers commented to praise Phuket police for observing the same standard for both evidently…
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Phuket Opinion: The 90-day hassle
PHUKET: Having completed the bureaucratic rigmarole of obtaining a one-year work permit and a one-year non-immigrant B visa, I am soon to embark on my first quarterly “visa run” to have my passport stamped at the Ranong border control office. As a consequence, I have been mulling over the reasons why such a trip is necessary and I confess, I…
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Phuket Opinion: Providing a safe haven for abandoned pets
Dr Suchon Jittanon, 58, is a Krabi native. After earning a degree in Veterinary Medicine from Kasetsart University, he ran his own veterinary clinic in Bangkok until 1997. After that he moved to Phuket and opened another veterinary clinic, the Phuket Animal Hospital in Chalong. Here, he talks about caring for abandoned pets and urges people to think carefully before…
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