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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The Thaiger key takeaways The most common medical emergencies for expats in Thailand include motorcycle accidents, tropical diseases, and food or water-borne illnesses. Air pollution and heat-related conditions like heatstroke also pose serious seasonal health risks, especially in northern and...
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Tranlee assets go up for auction
PHUKET: More than 150 assets of the embattled Tranlee Travel Co are to be auctioned off on September 6, Phuket’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) announced yesterday. The assets – 33 boats, 57 buses, parcels of land and millions of baht – were seized after investigators declared that the Phuket-based tour operator had been established illegally (story here). AMLO Secretary General…
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Opinion: Phuket’s growing reputation for ATM fraud
PHUKET: The recent hacking of Government Savings Bank automatic teller machines (ATMs) nationwide raises a host of troubling questions. These relate not only to the identities and whereabouts of the thieves, but also to the general state of security for ATM users in Thailand, the repeated failure of immigration police to keep known foreign criminals from our shores, and the…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Attracting the worst people
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 Stephff.…
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Darasamuth Underpass southbound lane closed
PHUKET: The southbound lanes of the Darasamuth Underpass have been temporarily closed and the traffic light system shut down. “We found out about a problem with the lane indicators this afternoon so we shut down the lanes to prevent any confusion that could lead to accidents,” Patiwetwottisak Sookhii, director of the Phuket Highways Office, told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon.…
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Volunteer diver hospitalized after being run over by speedboat
PHUKET: The driver of a speedboat is still at large, after running over a volunteer diver picking up trash yesterday. The diver, a fourth year student at Phuket’s Rajabhat University, is undergoing treatment at Vachira Phuket Hospital after having her right thumb amputated. Thirty-one year-old Patcharin Phetlorian was diving with fellow volunteers of the Phang Nga Provincial Natural Resource and…
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PEA holds bomb drill in Patong
PHUKET: Emergency services rolled into action at the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) office in Patong in a simulated bomb incident yesterday. Fire fighters and medical personnel, along with police and a bomb disposal squad, evacuated crisis actors on stretchers for the annual drill as part of the PEA’s Incident Management Plan. The drill began at 9am and went on until…
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DDPM warns of flash flooding, landslides on Thepkrasattri
PHUKET: The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has warned that parts of Thepkrasattri Road are threatened by landslides and flash floods in the coming few days. In an official letter signed by Phuket Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat yesterday, the DDPM told local government offices to prepare for landslides and flash flooding along the main route through Phuket. The…
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Koh Kaew construction delayed due to ‘mistake’
PHUKET: Construction work to widen a waterway and build a retaining wall along Soi Koh Kaew 33, behind the Isuzu showroom on Thepkrasattri Road, has been delayed due to a “mistake” in the setting the wall’s pilings. The 8.4-million-baht project to build a three-meter-high retaining wall along a 500 meter stretch of roadside was initially scheduled to be completed by…
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Landslide forces airport road closure
PHUKET: Motorists are being warned to stay off the small road that runs parallel to the runway at Phuket International Airport following a landslide. The slide occurred near the air traffic control tower and Aeronautical Radio of Thailand office there. “Continuous rain over the past few days loosened the earth on the 141-meter-tall hill (Khao Bo Sai) next to the…
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Former land official in Phuket DSI case found hanged in cell
PHUKET: A former land department official under investigation in Phuket land-title cases allegedly committed suicide while in official custody yesterday. Tawatchai Anukul, who was under investigation for illegal registration of land deeds for about 1,000 plots in Phuket and Phang Nga, allegedly took his own life. Custody officials said the suspect was found to have hung himself just hours before…
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Public outcry stops demolition of Vachira Hospital buildings
PHUKET: Vachira Hospital administrators have reached an agreement with concerned community members and employees over the proposed demolition of historic 100-year-old buildings and their surrounding mahogany trees. The plans to demolish the existing structures in order to make way for a new 298-bed hospital wing were halted after a public outcry from doctors and community members reached a fever pitch…
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Police blame Russian for theft of B3mn in ATM hacks
PHUKET: Police have asked for an international arrest warrant for a Russian national believed to be involved in the theft of more than 12 million baht from ATMs across Thailand, including Phuket. Chief investigator Panya Mamen said Rustam Shambasov, 29, was caught on surveillance video footage after stealing more than 3 million baht from over a dozen ATMs last month.…
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Pick-up slams into pole, splits in half
PHUKET: Police have charged a woman with reckless driving and damage to public property after she lost control of the truck she was trying to drive and slammed into a power pole yesterday. The driver, Pavalee Khamleang, 27, and her Indonesian passenger were injured in the accident. Ms Pavalee sustained injuries to her neck and back. The passenger, Tranggielia Lokon…
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Man in debt found hanged at temple
PHUKET: A 53-year-old Thai man was found hanged by his neck from a concrete pillar in a Phuket Town temple yesterday. Lt Surachart Tongyai of Phuket City Police received word that a body, later identified as Charan Nakhanat, had been found at about 4:30pm and accompanied Kusoldharm Rescue workers to the scene. “We found the body of Mr Charan at…
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Police: Europeans behind nationwide ATM scam
PHUKET: Royal Thai Police believe a group of thieves that have so far stolen more than 12 million baht from ATMs around the country to be Europeans based in Phuket. Police believe that an ATM located in Wichit was used to perpetrate the nationwide fraud. Royal Thai Police’s General Panya Maman briefed reporters on the extent of the losses while…
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Biz Chat: The significance of ‘price’ in marketing
PHUKET: The second element of the ‘4 Ps’ of marketing is price. Price is what your customer pays you in exchange for goods and services received by them. There are many aspects to this deceptively simple element. In setting your price, you must first decide what is the value of the product or service to the buyer. If you set…
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Foreign suspects celebrated for rape, theft, debt default and smuggling
PHUKET: Seven foreign suspects were rounded up on charges of rape, tax fraud, smuggling and defaulting on debts last week in Phuket, Pattaya, Songkhla and Bangkok. The seven were then celebrated in a parade in front of the media at the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok yesterday. Three of the suspects were Chinese nationals: Wang Jianlan, 31; Zhang Jingjing, 30; and…
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Island View: Going over to the dark side
PHUKET: After about a year and a half of living in Phuket, I have finally taken the leap and upgraded from a scooter to a loud, notorious ‘big bike’. Cruising on my new ride, with an ear to ear grin plastered on my face, I feel an overwhelming sense of good fortune. The loud hum of the Yokishima exhaust does…
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Rise in Phuket’s troubled teens
PHUKET: The director of the Phuket Juvenile Observation and Protection Center (JOPC) said she believes teenagers across Phuket are becoming more aggressive. Rawee Kuhamooka told the Phuket Gazette that every year JOPC staff have to work harder to control their detainees. Ms Rawee’s comments come after a riot at the center earlier this month left the building’s grounds, cafeteria, therapy…
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Burmese busted selling hot phones
PHUKET: Police arrested a Burmese national at Central Festival shopping mall yesterday afternoon when he attempted to sell phones he had stolen from a shop in Karon to undercover police officers. Police cornered Moe Win Ko, 21, at the mall after tracking him down using CCTV footage that had captured him stealing 13 mobile devices from the Olay Phone store…
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Meth dealer pulls grenade on Krabi police
KRABI: An alleged Krabi “drug dealer” was shot dead last night after a police task force cornered him and he attempted to throw a grenade at the officers, the police say. The suspect, who was the target of last night’s joint task force raid in Krabi Town, is named as Chanchaiyuth Krainara, 29. Police are reporting that Mr Chanchaiyuth was…
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Labor minister applauds provincial efforts
PHUKET: Minister of Labor Sirichai Distaku urged Phuket’s officials to increase efforts to combat human trafficking, low wage rates and to increase the number of Thais working in skilled labor positions during his visit to the island on Thursday. Gen Sirichai’s visit comes after a period of escalating tensions between the provincial government and local employers of migrant laborers (story…
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Annual SEACAT 2016 to come to an end tomorrow
PHUKET: Navies from the United States, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Malaysia will conclude their training and conference tomorrow, after spending two weeks at the Royal Thai Navy’s base in Phuket. The drills and conferences are part of the annual Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism 2016 (SEACAT16) and are being held at Cape Panwa. This year’s exercises…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Why are they here?
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 Stephff.…
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Phuket International Hospital launches new services, expat card
PHUKET: Phuket International Hospital announced the launch of three new departments, as well as its ‘Expat Privilege Card’, last week. Wassana Tipayapongtada, chairwoman of the Provincial Red Cross Phuket Chapter, presided over the grand opening event, that was held under the theme ‘We’re Family’. BDMS Southern Group management and staff, Thai and foreign dignitaries, local authorities and local business representatives…
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Opinion: Youth deserves a second chance
PHUKET: The rioting by inmates at the Phuket Juvenile Observation and Protection Center (JOPC) earlier this month is a reminder of the need to try and steer troubled youth back onto the right track before they reach adulthood. The body of scientific research on what leads youths astray is enormous. But, like most social science research, there always remains that…
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Thai Olympic medalists parade for the people
BANGKOK: Thai Olympic medalists are taking part in a parade today in Bangkok. The parade started at 3pm from Hua Mark Indoor Stadium and will go past Rama 9, Din Daeng and the Victory Monument before coming to an end at the Government House. Sukanya Srisurat and Sopita Tanasan won gold medals in the weightlifting competitions, Tawin Hanprab and Pimsiri…
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Phuket biz: Save our Gov
PHUKET: Eight of the island’s local business organizations have appealed to the central government to reconsider moving the Phuket governor a month from now. The statement, issued in Thai language, was released on August 22 after the announcement to transfer Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada to Nakhon Sri Thammarat on October 1 (story here). The organizations issuing the plea to keep…
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Misleading headline sends police on a mad scramble for explosives across the island
PHUKET: Provincial police are seeking to reassure residents of their safety after a popular Thai-language newspaper claimed that there were more than 30 bombs placed across the province on Tuesday. The front-page claim caused public panic as police scrambled to check possible bomb drops in hot spots around Phuket. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Teerapol Thipjaroen confirmed with the Phuket Gazette…
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Wichit marijuana dealer apprehended, bought stash through Facebook
PHUKET: Provincial police arrested a 28-year-old man yesterday after a raid of his home turned up 1.3 kilograms of marijuana. Nopparut Tongserikun was arrested after police found the category 5 drugs, along with drug paraphernalia at his house on Wirat Hong Yok Road in Wichit sub-district. Police received a tip from an informant that Mr Nopparut was allegedly selling marijuana…
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