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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Another jump: Man safely rescued in Phuket Town
PHUKET: A man was safely rescued after he climbed up an electric pole with intent to jump in Phuket Town last night. “The incident occurred in Poonpon. We found a man walking on electric wires outside the fourth floor of a building. A big crowd of people had gathered underneath and were watching him in shock when he stopped on…
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HRH Princess Sirindhorn inaugurates museum in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the grand opening ceremony of the Peranakannitat Museum in Phuket Town on Wednesday afternoon. Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong and Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana, along with other officials and hundreds of Phuket citizens, were present to welcome the Princess. The museum building, erected a hundred years ago in traditional Phuket…
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Video: CCTV captures foreigner stealing tourist’s bag in Phuket
PHUKET: Police are hunting for a suspect, believed to be a foreigner, who stole a bag from a diner at a restaurant in Phuket yesterday. A Facebook user named Tanaphat Nuansakul posted a CCTV video of the incident on his page. The theft occurred at Tukabkhao Restaurant in Phuket Town. The clip showed a foreigner wearing a pale yellow shirt.…
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Krabi officials remove dozens of illegal fishing nets
KRABI: The Krabi Provincial Fisheries Office yesterday removed 58 illegal fishing nets (‘poh’) from the waters of Krabi. The nets were also in violation of spawning season restrictions. Sakda Sukkasem led a team of officers to hunt for illegal fishing activities after several locals filed complaints with the office. “It is illegal to use this type of fishing net to…
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Barge wrecked after crashing into underwater rock
PHUKET: A barge crashed into a submerged rock and sank near Ao Yun on Tuesday. Phuket Marine Office Chief Surat Sirisaiyas revealed details of the accident. “The boat was 23 meters long and was travelling from Similan islands to Krabi. The crash swamped the engine and the vessel sank about a mile away from the coast of Ao Yun,” said…
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Free jazz concert ready for Phuket in honor of His Majesty
PHUKET: Everyone is invited to attend a free concert being held in honor of, and featuring the compositions of, His Majesty King Rama IX this Saturday evening (May 20). ‘Jazz for King 2 – Jazz by the Andaman Sea’ is organized by the Andaman Natural Resources Conservation Foundation (ANRCF) in association with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and will be…
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Foreigner seen beating young child after dispute over 10-baht fee
PHUKET: A Facebook user has offered a reward of 5,000 baht to anyone who can help him find a foreigner who fought with a toilet attendant and refused to pay a 10 baht fee to use a toilet on Bangla road. Videos and photographs of six foreigners – three men and three women – were recorded on CCTV cameras installed…
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One hospitalized, another injured in early morning Phuket crash
PHUKET: Two people were severely injured after their motorbike crashed into a pick-up truck on Patong Hill yesterday. A police car travelling behind the riders captured a video of the collision with a dash cam, which showed the motorbike speeding down the hill, crossing over into the oncoming traffic lane and colliding with the truck, which was travelling uphill toward…
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Finance: Market pullbacks make great opportunities
PHUKET: Pullbacks are great opportunities to see where the strongest stocks are, allowing investors to make a watch list of potential leadership stocks or sector ETFs that are holding up in the face of bad news. Since early March, we have been seeing the S&P 500 undergo some consolidation involving a pullback. A 2-8 per cent pullback is perfectly healthy…
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Three minors among gang of nine arrested for cable thefts in Phuket
PHUKET: A nine-member gang was arrested with 500kg of stolen copper cables and cutting tools at a construction site in Phuket this morning. The suspects included three minors, while the rest ranged in age from 28 to 46. The leader of the gang was named by police as Suriya Talad, 28, chief of the construction site in Pa Khlok where…
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Kusoldharm Foundation awards scholarships to Phuket students
PHUKET: In the spirit of giving back to the less fortunate, the Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation held a ceremony to award scholarships to deserving students in Phuket. The ceremony, titled ‘Tay-Kra-Jat’, was held at the Kusoldharm Center on Saturday and presided over by Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong. Food and necessities were distributed to more than 1,500 needy families and scholarships were…
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Phuket police hunt for ATM skimmer
PHUKET: Police are hunting for an ATM skimmer after at least 15 people last week filed complaints again about unauthorized withdrawals from their Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) accounts. The complaints were lodged at Thung Thong Police Station about ATM withdrawals made in Songkhla from Phuket-based accounts. Lt Col Ampolwat Saengrueng of Thung Thong Police revealed the details of the ongoing…
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Phuket Gazette to stop print edition of newspaper locally, reorienting hard-copy production for wider market in The Nation
PHUKET: It’s like Grandma’s little drinking problem. Everyone knows, but people don’t much talk about it. And so it goes with the publishers of hard-copy newspapers these days – worldwide. We know where print is headed, so the only real choices are whether to get out now or, say two years from now. We’ve opted for the former, meaning that…
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Middleman rips off 150 million baht’s worth of land from owner
PHUKET: A ‘disgruntled’ land owner claiming to have been cheated out of 150 million baht in the sale of land at Freedom Beach is now calling on authorities to resolve the matter. Peetharat Hootchai, 38, with her lawyer Pradit Chuaythani, held a press conference at the Phuket Merlin Hotel yesterday, explaining to the media that she was never paid in…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Holding the mototaxi lady
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: Tour guides must be fined
PHUKET: The recent fine levied on a tour guide for removing a starfish from the sea in a marine national park has once again drawn international attention to how erratic Thai law enforcement appears to be when it comes to issues involving mass tourism, environmental conservation and foreign guests. The latest uproar in social media came after a Thai tourist…
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Phuket hospital denies refusing treatment to injured British traveller
PHUKET: The management of Phuket International Hospital (PIH) has denied reports that they refused treatment to a British national injured in a motorbike accident after the victim’s mother claimed they denied assistance until payment had been guaranteed by the insurance provider. The hospital held a press conference yesterday to clarify that even though the insurance company did not guarantee payment,…
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Company land under investigation after hundreds of trees destroyed
KRABI: A walled, 100-rai tract of land on Koh Lanta Noi is under investigation after the title holders ordered that hundreds of trees be cut down. More than 30 officials from the Wetland Development Office (WDO) inspected the site yesterday. WDO chief Laywisit Baripan said that machines were used to fill up the land after the trees were destroyed. “A…
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One injured in single-vehicle Phuket crash
PHUKET: A 51-year-old man was injured after he crashed his pick-up truck into an electric pole on the side of the road in Mai Khao yesterday. Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers arrived on the scene and administered first aid before transporting the victim to Thalang Hospital. “The driver’s side of the truck was tight against the pole, so rescue workers had…
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Serial thief apprehended in Phuket
PHUKET: A serial thief was arrested in Phuket early this morning, after at least ten incidents of coin theft from washing machine slots were reported by laundry shop owners in the span of a week (story here). “The suspect, Supachok Sudin, 36, is originally from Phang Nga. Over the last week or so, he has been driving around with a…
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Marine officials return confiscated coral to the ocean
PHUKET: More than 800 kilograms of coral was returned to the ocean this week, officials at Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park have revealed. “This is the amount that was seized from tourists at Krabi International Airport from April 2016 to date,” said Sarayuth Tantian, chief of the park. “This highlights the misconduct of tourists who take coral…
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Three migrant workers arrested in Phuket piracy raids
PHUKET: Police arrested three migrant workers and seized more than 300,00 baht worth of pirated goods from shops in Patong yesterday. Maj Korapon Liangboonchinda of Patong Police provided details of the arrests of two Vietnamese women and a Burmese man, all three of whom were arrested and charged for forging a registered trademark, as well as for entering, living and…
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Chinese tourists avoid charges after being caught with coral
PHUKET: Two Chinese tourists were let off with a warning after they were found taking coral out of the sea yesterday evening at Chalong Pier. “While passengers were coming ashore from a boat on the way back from Coral Island, I noticed that two Chinese tourists were carrying pieces of cloth wrapped around something that looked like coral. So, I…
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Alleged Phuket rapist arrested, denies charges
PHUKET: A woman who jumped off a Phuket Town building on Friday after having an argument with her girlfriend told police that she was raped. The 21-year-old, named by police as ‘Rat’, wrote a letter prior to the incident, in which she incriminated a man named ‘Ton’ in the alleged rape. “Upon questioning, Ms Rat gave us details of the…
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Phuket police, good Samaritans help ease traffic as another bus breaks down
PHUKET: Police officers and passersby banded together to help push a broken down bus to the side of the road in order to to avoid traffic a traffic jam in Rassada yesterday afternoon. Facebook user Wipongsak Mongkolbutr, who is also the Chief of the Andaman Tourism Association, recorded a video clip and shared pictures of the incident on his page,…
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Another foreign couple wanted for committing sex acts in public
SAMUI: Police are searching for an unidentified foreign couple who were seen ‘getting intimate’ at the side of the road at Nathorn Beach in Samui this morning. A video of the incident, about a minute and 45 seconds long, was posted on a Facebook page titled ‘Ruam Pon Khon Mui‘. The couple were seemingly unconcerned about making a spectacle, as…
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Serial coin thief wanted for swiping thousands from Phuket laundries
PHUKET: Police are searching for a serial thief suspected of stealing thousands of baht from washing machine coin slots in a series of at least 10 incidents over the past week. The thefts took place in Phuket Town, with a number of users posting warnings and details on social media. Facebook user Chon Pokaiyapat shared details of some of the…
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Ministry denies blocking Google services following connectivity issues
PHUKET: The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society denied that the government ordered the blocking of Google and YouTube after a technical issue with Thai internet provider 3BB meant that customers were unable to access Google services on Saturday, the Thai National News Bureau reported today. The issue seemed to affect anyone trying to access the sites from a Thai…
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Pregnant British woman killed in Phuket crash
PHUKET: A pregnant British woman was killed in a hit and run collision with an 18-wheeled truck on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang at noon today. “She was riding on a motorbike with her partner when they changed lanes to avoid a vehicle parked and blocking their path in the motorbike lane of the road. As they did this, the truck…
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Australian yacht crew rescues fishermen from sinking boat
PHUKET: Crew members of an Australian tourist’s yacht yesterday afternoon rescued three fishermen from a sinking boat in Vichit. Lt Wirach Pudpuang of the Marine Police received reports of the incident at about 4pm. “Two Thai fishermen, Adisak Kaewbamrung and ‘Phy’, and Burmese fisherman ‘Din’ were fishing at Koh Tapao Noi off Ao Makham when their boat started leaking and…
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