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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Vanity plates auction raises B14m
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Transport Office (PPTO) held its fourth annual vanity car-registration plate auction over the weekend, raking in 14 million baht from 301 special plates auctioned off at the two-day event.Bidding kicked off at 9:30 am Saturday in the Phrapitak Grand Ballroom of The Metropole hotel, where a line of professional presenters – attractive young women in…
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Food Fest draws big weekend crowds
SAPHAN HIN: The 11th annual Phuket Food Festival kicked off on Wednesday with an official ceremony presided over by Phuket Vice-Governor Smith Palawatwichai.Seventy food and drink stands from Phuket and neighboring provinces are serving food at the event, organized by the Phuket Food Vendors’ Club and the Phuket City Municipality.The first day featured a competition to find the tastiest “Hor Mok…
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Hanna Backlund memorial
MAI KHAO: About 50 people gathered at Mai Khao Beach this morning to attend a memorial service for slain Swedish tourist Hanna Backlund, who would have been 27 yesterday.Akkaradej “Chon” Tankae, 31, has confessed to stabbing Miss Backlund to death on the morning March 15, less than 500 meters from the Mai Khao Bungalows where she had been staying with…
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Patong to expand CCTV surveillance
PATONG: Kathu Police plan to install about 10 more closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in Patong to increase security and fight crime there, the police chief has announced.Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnak told the Gazette that more CCTV cameras are needed in Patong, as the 16 cameras that went into operation there in early 2007 are effective for traffic control,…
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Patong vendors nabbed in counterfeit goods raid
PATONG: Kathu Police on Wednesday afternoon arrested several vendors caught selling counterfeit goods, seizing 300 items of clothing and handbags illegally bearing designer labels including Chanel, Burberry and Prada.Kathu Police Crime Suppression Inspector Lt Col Worawat Sitthinoon led the sweep along the beach road and Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, accompanied by Pol Maj Serm Kwannimit and four officers from the…
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Hot-headed soldiers shoot up police station
NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Dealing with the police can be a frustrating experience in any country. Minor traffic offenses are often ignored and when a crime is reported, often nothing seems to be done. Weeks or months can go by with no apparent effort to arrest perpetrators and put them behind bars. Most people can do little but sit and fume at…
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Trash or treasure?
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: The heady days of “Jatukham Fever” last year, when sale of the over-sized Jatukham Ramathep medallions hit a record high, are clearly over.The large amulets – particularly beloved by tuk-tuk drivers, gunmen and others in dangerous professions – were reputed to bring good fortune. Some individual medallions sold for millions of baht and one woman was literally…
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Police arrest Hanna’s suspected killer
PHUKET CITY: After a regional manhunt for the killer of Swedish tourist Hanna Charlotta Backlund, 26, whose body was found at Mai Khao Beach on Saturday, police have arrested and charged with murder their prime suspect after he gave himself up in Ranong province early this morning.Region 8 Police Deputy Commander Maj Gen Tavat Boonfueng led a team to Ranong…
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Unsolved murders and drug arrests on the rise
PHUKET: According to monthly crime statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police, four murders committed in February remain unsolved, while the number of drug-related arrests was about 30% higher than the same period last year.There were also four attempted murders reported in February, with two related arrests made, and 15 reports of assault. One arrest was made for rape.There were 109…
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Blowout leaves Chalong in the dark
CHALONG: Many parts of Chalong bordering Chao Fa West Rd were without power for about four hours Monday evening after a transformer box blew out. Workers restored power at about 10:30 pm, after replacing power lines that had been damaged. Suthep Jitsiri, Manager of the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority, told the Gazette that the blowout happened because the box was outdated.…
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Candidates register for OrBorJor election
PHUKET CITY: Two of Phuket’s top political heavyweights yesterday morning registered their candidacies for presidency of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), along with 50 other candidates for the 24 council seats available.The two rival candidates for the presidency, Anchalee Vanich Tephabutra and Paiboon Upatising, both arrived at Phuket Community Hall before its 8:30 am opening with supporters estimated at…
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Police launch manhunt for prime suspect in Hanna murder
MAI KHAO: Police have been issued an arrest warrant for Phuket native Akkaradej “Chon” Tunkae, 31, a local resident in Mai Khao, for the murder of Swedish tourist Hanna Backlund, 26.Hanna was found stabbed to death on Mai Khao Beach about 300 meters from where she was staying. Her body was discovered by Emma Stenman, who Hanna was holidaying with…
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Staff protest continues at Blue Canyon
MAI KHAO: For the past three weeks, some 100 staff of the Blue Canyon Country Club (BCCC) have spent their mornings protesting in front of the golf course, claiming its new management has threatened them by placing them on indefinite, unpaid leave. The management refutes their claims, however, saying the work suspension is only temporary and part of management restructuring,…
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Police close in on prime suspect in Hanna murder
MAI KHAO: Police investigating the murder of Swedish tourist Hanna Charlotta Backlund, 26, whose body was found at Mai Khao Beach on Saturday morning, are waiting to speak to a key person before moving to arrest their prime suspect in the case, Phuket Police Deputy Commander Col Paween Pongsirin told the Gazette today.“We have received important information from villagers in the…
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No progress in Hanna murder investigation
MAI KHAO: The body of Hanna Charlotta Backlund, 27, who was found murdered on Mai Khao Beach yesterday morning, has been flown to Bangkok for forensic tests, Col Sakchai Limcharoen, Superintendent of Tah Chat Chai Police Station, told the Gazette this afternoon.“There is no news to report at this time, but police are working quickly to solve this case. We…
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Swedish tourist slain at Mai Khao
MAI KHAO: The body of a Swedish tourist was found at Mai Khao Beach, at the north end of Phuket, this morning.Lt Col Somkid Khaosang of Tah Chat Chai Police Station named the deceased as Hanna Charlotta, 27.Her body, dressed in a one-piece swimsuit, was found at about 11:30 am on the beach around 300 meters from Mai Khao Beach…
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Kidnapped baby turns up in Krabi
THALANG: Police are searching for two people suspected of snatching a newborn baby from Thalang Hospital after a two-day ordeal ended with mother and baby being reunited in Krabi yesterday.Thalang Police have issued arrest warrants for Sunantha Sangarun, 28, and her unidentified accomplice, said Phuket Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima at a press conference today.Burmese native K. Fah, 20, gave birth to…
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Smith denies resigning as NDWC chief
BANGKOK: Dr Smith Dharmasaroja late this afternoon denied reports in the Thai media that he had resigned his position as Director of the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC), which is responsible for issuing tsunami warnings.In a telephone interview with the Gazette, Dr Smith said that he told a press conference in Bangkok yesterday that he was only considering resigning –…
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Well-known Phuket resident dies
RAWAI: Long-term Phuket resident Erika Perschbacher was found passed away in her Rawai home on Sunday. She was 69 years old.Erika, a retired German nurse affectionately referred to by locals as “Mama”, was described by those close to her as wonderful, selfless and caring.During her nine years in Phuket, Erika took it upon herself to provide a home for stray…
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Samkong shortcut to become one-way
PHUKET: In a bid to relieve traffic congestion at the Wor Kor Intersection, the Rajabhat-Samkong road, which runs from the Wor Kor Intersection, past Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) and ends at Yaowarat Rd, will be one-way from Monday.Phuket City Police Traffic Inspector Maj Teerawat Leamsuwan said that the one-way system should ease traffic bottlenecks at the Wor Kor Intersection, where…
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Aborted fetus found on Koh Sireh
RASSADA: Villagers on Koh Sireh made a gruesome discovery on Monday, finding the corpse of an aborted fetus partially buried by the side of the main road to Koh Sireh.Pol Maj Nanon Pitakkulthorn of Phuket City Police said that on the afternoon of March 10, a villager alerted police after he found the corpse of a fetus, probably in its…
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Brush with death
WICHIT: Female motorcycle rider Arisara Srimaung sustained only a cut eyebrow after colliding with a pickup truck on Chao Fa West Rd outbound near the House and Home building supply center, just before 9 o’clock this morning.Level-headed bystanders administered first aid and ensured that K Arisara remained motionless until a Phuket Ruamjai Foundation ambulance arrived about 10 minutes later to…
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Mother pleas for return of missing daughter
PHUKET: Maria Elfversson, mother of missing six-year-old girl Alicia Elfversson, has offered a US$10,000 reward to anyone who comes forward with information that leads to finding the missing girl. According to Interpol’s website, Alicia was allegedly abducted by her father, Norwegian native Torgeir Nordbo, from her home in Sweden on June 4 last year. Swedish authorities have since charged Nordbo…
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7-baht wage hike had “no effect’ – Labor chief
PHUKET: The seven-baht increase in the minimum wage in Phuket to 193 baht a day, which came into effect on January 1, has not negatively affected businesses on the island, Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima announced on Monday.Before the rise from 186 to 193 baht, bestowing Phuket with the second-most-expensive minimum daily wage rate in the country – and just a baht…
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Date set for OrBorJor elections
PHUKET: Phuket Election Committee (PEC) Director Supap Akkam has announced that the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) elections – one specifically to elect a new OrBorJor president and another to elect a new OrBorJor council – will be held on April 20.K. Supap explained that the election date satisfied statutory requirements for elections to be held within 60 days of…
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Phuket roads leave 2 dead, 15 injured
PHUKET: At least two people are dead and many more injured after a truck overturned in Kamala this morning and a tour bus slammed into a house in Patong yesterday evening.About 9 am today, a 10-wheeled truck carrying mattresses from Bangkok to Phuket overturned on a hill in front of the Kamala Falls condo project site.Lt Col Warit Jado, Duty…
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Wounded tuk-tuk driver still missing
PHUKET CITY: Police have yet to hear back from a tuk-tuk driver who appeared at Phuket City Police Station early Friday morning drunk and bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound – and told to come back later.Pol Lt Saran Redeng, Duty Officer at Phuket City Police Station, said that Somkid Huangsrapram, 42, arrived at the station about 2:50 am, complaining…
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Case closed on Korean drowning
PHI PHI ISLANDS: The drowning of a Korean tourist while on a Hana Tour to Phi Phi Don Island last month is not being treated as suspicious, the Gazette has learned.Sen Sgt Maj Suwan Tuamsri of Krabi Tourist Police told the Gazette the drowning death of 35-year-old Kang Kyong while she was swimming with her tour group at Loh Dalam Bay…
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4 charged, 566 pills seized in ya bah busts
PHUKET CITY: Four people have been charged and more than 500 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills seized in two separate cases in Phuket City on Thursday.Maj Wichan Suwannasit of the Phuket City Police told the Gazette that about 6:30 pm police arrested Thanat “Ped” Soithong with 10 ya bah pills at the home of 23-year-old Chamaiphon “Ann” Kanrit on Luang Por…
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Forest fire on Karon hills
KARON: Yesterday at dusk, Karon Municipality firefighters were called in to fight a forest fire in the Nakkerd Hills, upslope from the desalination plant on Siriraj Rd.Firefighters tried to gain access to the blaze for two hours before giving up.Fortunately, the fire burned itself out during the night.No injuries or property damage were reported.
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