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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Day of danger on Phuket roads
WICHIT, PHUKET: In a chilling reminder about the need to drive safely during the current holiday season, a man on a motorcycle was killed instantly when he was hit by a six-wheeled truck and then pulled under its wheels yesterday afternoon. The accident occurred at about 1:30 pm near the entrance to Sukko Spa in Tambon Wichit, about 300 meters…
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New Government to continue free water project
PHUKET CITY: Consumers will be glad to know that a nationwide project that exempts most homeowners from having to pay water bills will continue under the new Government. The exemption, part of a six-month economic stimulus package introduced by ex-prime minister Samak Sundaravej, started in October. Sawong Sri-in, Director of the Phuket Municipality Water Supply Division, told the Gazette that…
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Two foreign tourists die in Rawai in two days
RAWAI, PHUKET: Two foreign tourists were found dead in their rooms in Rawai early this week. The first was identified by Chalong Police as American Martin Howard Schechter. Mr Schechter, 67, was found in the bed of his rented bungalow in Rawai Village 4. At about 11 am on Monday morning, the staff grew concerned because Mr Schechter, who they…
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Phuket remembers the tsunami
PHUKET: Today marks the fourth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, which was triggered by an earthquake that measured close to nine on the Richter scale. The tsunami hit Phuket on the morning of December 26, 2004. More than 5,000 people, mostly international tourists, were killed in Thailand’s six Andaman coastal provinces when the killer waves struck. Indonesia, India and…
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Komkai’s killer apprehended, but mastermind still at-large
PHUKET: After almost six months of investigation, police have arrested a hired gunman who confessed to the shooting murder of well-known Patong businesswoman Komkai Kositkoon on July 18. After his arrest at a construction site in Krabi on Saturday morning, 39-year-old Arun Chanma was brought in for a re-enactment of the crime, which took place on Wichit Songkraam Rd. He…
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Holiday road safety measures set
PHUKET: Nine major road checkpoints and 18 smaller “mobile units” will be in operation around Phuket from December 30 to January 5, 2009. The checkpoints form the final phase of a three-pronged effort to combat road accidents over the holiday period. This year’s strategy, coordinated by the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), started with…
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Pair nabbed for passing bogus bills
PHUKET / SRISOONTHORN: Thalang Police on Wednesday night arrested two men for passing counterfeit banknotes at local shops and restaurants. Thalang Police Duty Inspector Anukul Nuket identified the suspects as 24-year-old Nikorn Raksapol from Nakhon Sri Thammarat and Pattipong Nuea-nan, 31, from Chiang Rai. The pair were arrested at about 11 pm in the Fah Sai Restaurant in tambon Srisoonthorn…
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Crime crackdown hits city streets
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police have deployed 180 police officers to man six checkpoints around the city as part of a crime crackdown that began on December 17 and will end at 6 am on the morning of December 20. Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit told the Gazette police have already opened 10 new cases as a result of…
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Students, teachers and heroines: all survive smash
THALANG: Fourteen tired students and staff of Kajonkietsuksa School returning home from Haad Yai had a rude awakening Tuesday night, when the bus they were traveling on crashed into the Heroines Monument at about 10 pm. The bus, nearing the end of an eight-hour journey, was carrying seven of the school’s top students, seven teachers plus the driver. The clever…
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Youth loses face in explosive sex act
ANG THONG: Following on from last week’s report about the unfortunate Army private with the fish caught in his throat comes yet another sorry tale from a Thai youth about the perils of putting foreign objects in one’s mouth. This story came to light when an eighteen year old youth, identified only as Chai, was brought in to Wisetchaichan Hospital on December 7…
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Kids lifesaving carnival on Saturday
KAMALA: A “Nippers Mini Surf Lifesaving Carnival” will be held on Saturday morning, December 20, at Kamala Beach, near Kamala Park and Kamala Police Station. The competition, open to kids five to 15 years of age, is organized and conducted by the Phuket Lifeguard Club. Children from local schools and swim clubs are invited to attend the carnival, which is…
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Blackout tomorrow in city’s south end
PHUKET CITY: Residents of much of Phuket City’s Talad Neua sub-district will be without electricity from 9 am to 4 pm tomorrow, as the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) will cut the power to replace pylons along three main roads. The affected area starts from the Tha Kraeng three-way junction near Suan Luang Park in the south, runs north along Chao…
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Phuket’s Sukhumvit Rd complex boarded up
PHUKET (PATONG): Scores of publicans running beer bars at the Sukhumvit Road night entertainment complex on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd were locked out of their businesses on Thursday afternoon for refusing to sign new rental agreements with Moodies Entertainment, which has reclaimed the right to operate the complex. Kathu Police Inspector Sophon Borrirak told the Gazette that he received a…
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Phuket businesses seek debt moratorium
PHUKET (The Nation): Cash-strapped tourism businesses in Phuket are seeking debt relief in order to deal with the current downturn in tourist arrivals at a time when hotel occupancy rates are normally at their highest. Somchai Pathamakantin, founder of the Phuket Seashell Museum and representative of tourist business groups on Kata and Karon beaches, today proposed to Phuket Governor Preecha…
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Work on new Phuket City market almost complete
PHUKET CITY: Work on the new public market on Ranong Rd in downtown Phuket City is now 90% complete, according to officials at Phuket City Hall. City official Udom Tansakul yesterday told the Gazette that the only work left to be done involves installation of vendors’ stalls and other finishing touches. The city has already paid 14 of 16 installments specified…
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Police nab alleged extortionists
PHUKET CITY: Two young men were arrested on the morning of December 8 in Tambon Rassada for beating up an off-duty sailor, stealing his safety helmet and walkie-talkie, and then allegedly using the equipment to pose as government officers to extort money from Burmese workers. At a press conference led by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong at the Phuket…
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A fish in the hand is better than two in the pond
ROI-ET: As the old proverb goes, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. As a young soldier in Isarn recently found out, the same holds true for fish in ponds. Late last month, Royal Thai Army Private Benchaphon Dangwibul told a reporter in a rather hoarse voice that on November 24 he was on a 10-day…
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Wife fatally stabs husband in clinic
PHUKET CITY: A man stabbed in the shoulder by his wife went into shock and died while receiving hospital treatment early Sunday morning.Phuket City Police Duty Inspector Sarit Butnongsang told the Gazette he received a report at 3:20 am on Sunday of a stabbing at Mor Term Medical Clinic Branch 2, a traditional Thai medicine clinic located in a commercial…
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Phuket business community pleads for stability
PHUKET: With it still unclear whether the Democrat Party or the Pheu Thai Party will form the next Thai government, top figures in the Phuket tourism and real estate sectors say a return to stability is the key to restoring the local economy. Tanan Tanphaibul, President of the Phuket Real Estate Club, says the Phuket business community is calling for…
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Fourth quarter airport arrivals down almost 50%
PHUKET (MAI KHAO): Passenger numbers at Phuket International Airport for the last three months of 2008 are expected to be down about 48% year-on-year due to global economic conditions and recent events in the Thai capital. Phuket International Airport Director Wicha Nernlop told the Gazette that around 65 direct international flights to the airport were canceled during the10-day political standoff…
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Quantum Racing snatches victory in King’s Cup Regatta
KATA: In fresh winds gusting up to 20 knots yesterday morning, Ray Roberts’ Quantum Racing team snatched victory from Neil Pryde’s Hi Fi and Winkelman and Dodd’s Island Fling to win the final race of the Racing class in the 22nd annual King’s Cup Regatta. In one of the tightest competitions ever in the King’s Cup, the win moved Quantum…
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Island Fling retakes lead in King’s Cup Regatta
KATA: Despite Ray Roberts’ Quantum Racing winning both races on Friday, December 5 in the Racing class of the 22nd King’s Cup Regatta, being held off Kata Beach, Winkelman and Dodd’s Island Fling has retaken the lead in the class with consistently good sailing. Before starting the day’s racing, the 94-boat fleet this morning staged a “sail-past salute” past the…
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Work on new bus station underway
RASSADA: Work is underway on Phuket’s new bus terminal, which is scheduled to open in early 2010. Phuket Provincial Land Transport Office chief Sompong Thosawat said the new bus terminal will occupy a nine-rai plot of land on Thepkrasattri Rd southbound, about 300 meters south of Supercheap. The site is suitable for the new station as it is located outside…
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Neil Pryde and Hi Fi move into first in Racing Class
KATA: Proving that this year’s 22nd King’s Cup Regatta competition is tighter than ever, today saw the third leader in as many days of racing. Neil Pryde and his crew on Hi Fi scored a first place in the Racing class as the fleet swept around the southern end of Phuket, powered by strong and steady headwinds in the morning.…
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Dead dugong thought victim of fishing gear
LAEM PANWA: More bad news for Phuket’s tiny dugong population came early yesterday morning, when the carcass of an immature female was found floating less than a kilometer offshore from Laem Ka, up the coast from the Sea Gypsy Village in Rawai. Dugong researcher Kanjana Adulyanukosol from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) said the carcass was recovered at about…
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Phuket Airport begs PAD to cease protest
MAI KHAO: Phuket International Airport Director Wicha Nernlop is begging the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) to end its siege of Bangkok’s two commercial airports, saying the revenue lost already dwarfs the amount lost through corruption during the Thaksin years.Speaking to the Gazette this afternoon, Mr Wicha said that the number of travelers stranded in Phuket has now reached…
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Phuket PAD: “No plans’ to close airport
THALANG: The Phuket branch of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has “no plans” to close down Phuket International Airport again, according to a spokesman. The number of unscheduled flights in and out of Phuket has been increasing in recent days, with foreign governments arranging special flights for people stranded in Thailand by the closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang…
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Phuket to host Suzuki Cup
PHUKET CITY: Phuket has been designated as the new Thai venue for Group B play in the AFF Suzuki Cup. Formerly known as the Tiger Cup, the tournament is the biggest in Southeast Asia and the only regional football competition to feature senior squads of all Asean nations. A spokesperson for the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) confirmed that Phuket…
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Double homicide claims 20-year-old girls
KOH KAEW: Phuket City Police are searching for a man who shot and killed two young women on a motorbike early on Friday. At about 2 am on November 28, Phuket City Police were notified that two women had been found murdered at the mouth of the access road to Laem Hin in Koh Kaew Village 7, Muang District. Police…
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Governor urges police to quash trade in sex, pirate goods
PHUKET CITY: Fearful that foreigners will view Phuket as a “sex tour” destination and center for trade in counterfeit goods, Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan has urged police to take a more serious approach in enforcing prostitution and intellectual property laws. At the monthly meeting of the Provincial Committee for Social Stability held at Phuket Provincial Hall on November 27, Gov…
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