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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What’s not covered by health insurance in Thailand?
Health insurance in Thailand has important limits that everyone should know. Many policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, motorcycle accidents, extreme sports, or specific treatments. These gaps can lead to unexpected costs during emergencies. Coverage for outpatient care and hospital...
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Million-baht-a-month lottery ring busted, three arrested
PHANG NGA: Police yesterday arrested two women and a man for allegedly running an underground lottery operation in Phuket’s neighboring province Phang Nga. The arrests were made at a staff housing unit at Banglam ‘Health Promoting Hospital’ in Takuathung District. The three suspects are Kamol Tongdeeying, 48, a palm oil farmer; Cholthida Makkhum, 35, an accountant;; and Pornthip Jankham, 31,…
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Thailand 4.0, Smart City main focus of TCEB conference in Phuket
PHUKET: The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) in cooperation with the ‘Southern Thailand MICE Cluster’ organized the ‘4th Thailand Domestic Mice Mart’ event at Duangjitt Resort & Spa in Patong yesterday. More than 200 participants attended the proceedings, which featured Thai Airways, Thai Smile, Air Asia and Bangkok Airways among the exhibitors. “This is a great opportunity for buyers…
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10kg monitor lizard found in Phuket home
PHUKET: A 10kg monitor lizard was released into a forest after it was found in a foreigner’s house in Thalang yesterday. “We received a request from the owner of the house to help catch the lizard in Baan Suan Neramit 5, Srisoonthorn sub-district. When we arrived, it was hiding somewhere in the house,” said Pongpan Juanan of Kusoldharm Foundation. “It…
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Carcass of 10-meter whale washes up at Phuket beach
PHUKET: The carcass of a 10-meter-long whale in a state of advanced decay washed ashore at Surin Beach yesterday morning. Officers are trying to identify the cause of death and find a place to bury it. “We received reports that the body of an unidentified marine animal had washed up at about 11am. We have identified it to be a…
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Finance: Using monthly charts to analyze trends
PHUKET: Monthly charts are among the first buy signals I look for when selecting stocks because they show bigger time frames where long term trends can be seen. As we enter the summer months, a short term pull back could still happen and this would be a perfectly normal price action. Lately we haven’t yet seen any price action to…
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Phuket fishermen protest closure of community seafood restaurant
PHUKET: Local fishermen and representatives from fish processing groups yesterday morning gathered at the Damrongdharma Center to ask for help after the Phuket Fisheries Office ordered the closure of the Sarasin Seafood Restaurant in Tah Chat Chai. The group of 30, led by Ronnakorn Hongsa, president of Fish Processing Group Baan Tah Chat Chai, submitted a letter to Damrongdharma Center…
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Three top cops transferred out on alleged corruption charges
PHUKET: Three top-ranking officers of the Phuket City Police were transferred out yesterday following a raid on a large illegal ‘casino’ in Phuket Town. The officers are now under investigation for alleged corruption and malfeasance. A joint team of Army and police raided a house in Phuket Town on Saturday and arrested 63 gamblers with 2 million baht (story here).…
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Phuket City museum officials give 30-day deadline for reopening
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality officials have confirmed that the Peranakannitat Museum launched earlier this month will be ready and open to the public within a month’s time. Last week, officials announced that the museum would temporarily remain closed until exhibitors could return all the items borrowed from Phuket residents to display during the grand opening ceremony, but could not give…
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Two Phuket fires cause B400,000 worth of damages
PHUKET: Two fires broke out in Phuket yesterday and early this morning, both of which are believed to have occurred from short circuits. The total damage from the two incidents is estimated at 400,000 baht. The first fire started at ‘Mahanakorn’, a popular local bar in Phuket Town, at midnight yesterday. Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation officers, Kusoldharm Foundation rescue…
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Opinion: Need to revise drug laws
PHUKET: The recent arrest by Region 8 Police of two men for posing as officers of the law and trying to extort money from the families of teenage boys found drinking krathom leaf extract is just the latest reminder of the need for Thailand to reconsider and revise its draconian drug control laws. It might strike some as futile to…
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Major Phuket ‘casino’ raid: 63 arrested, B2mn confiscated
PHUKET: A joint team of Army and police raided a large illegal ‘casino’ in Phuket Town and arrested 63 gamblers on Saturday night. Officials also confiscated about 2 million baht in cash, a shotgun, four pistols, 39 bullets, 22 cars, 34 motorbikes and gambling paraphernalia. The joint team included officers from Infantry Division 5 (Artillery 25) and Phuket City Police.…
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Belgians wanted for shoplifting in Phuket
PHUKET: Police are hunting for two foreigners who allegedly stole mobile phone accessories from an electronics store in Phuket on Friday. A Facebook user named Maii-Ly Chaiviriyawong (whose real name is Nichapa-orn Chaiviriyarong and is the owner of the shop) shared pictures and CCTV footage of the incident on social media. Ms Nichapa-orn owns a shop named ‘Remax’ in Samkong.…
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PEA says electricity cables not to blame for overhead disgrace
PHUKET: Governor Norraphat Plodthong met with officials from the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) yesterday to discuss possible solutions to the messy overhead cables in Patong. The plan to bury the mess in Patong began two years ago, with a 230-million-baht project to cover the three kilometer stretch of Thaweewong Road (story here). After receiving a horde of complaints about the…
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Phuket City museum “temporarily’ closed after grand opening
PHUKET: Officials have announced that the newly-launched Peranakannitat Museum is temporarily closed until exhibitors return all the items borrowed from Phuket residents to display during the grand opening ceremony held in Phuket City last week. However, they could not give an estimated date as to when that might be. The issue came to light after dozens of people complained on…
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New P-REA president highlights plans for developing Phuket
PHUKET: Boon Yongsakul, Phuket-born businessman and Deputy Managing Director of Boat Development Company, was chosen as the new president of the Phuket Real Estate Association (P-REA) in a ceremony held at the Phuket Boat Lagoon earlier this month. Mr Boon will hold this position for two years. “It is a great honor to be chosen as the president of the…
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Heavy downpours damage property in Phuket
PHUKET: Heavy rain and strong winds caused a large tree to fall over and damage houses in Chalong this week, causing about 100,000 baht worth of damage. “The incident occurred at Soi Bangre, Moo 1 at about 2pm on Wednesday. A fallen tree, about 70cm in diameter, wrecked the wall of a guesthouse and damaged another house and a car…
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Bad 1stQ for Thai Media and Telecoms
BANGKOK: With but two exceptions, listed telecom and media companies in Thailand continued in the doldrums in the 1stQ this year, with stagnant revenue growth resulting in continued or worsening losses. According to Nielsen Thailand, ad spending in the first four months of 2017 dropped almost six percent, to 35 billion baht, from the same period last year. Analog TV…
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Patong transport operators protest reduction in taxi stands
PHUKET: Patong public transport operators will continue to utilize 84 taxi stands for now until the Phuket Governor and Army 4 commander announce their final decision about the number of stands on the island. The public transport management committee had announced on May 18 that Patong was to see a 75 per cent reduction in taxi stands (from 84 to…
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Phuket police recapture escaped drug dealers
PHUKET: Police yesterday recaptured two suspects who fled custody after being arrested for possession of drugs on May 2. Suriya Lakpech and Wasurat Malikabutr, both 21, had been found with 7kg of ya ice (cystal methamphetamine) and 10 ya bah pills (methamphetamine) in their possession. On the way to the police station, they had “managed to unlock their hand cuffs”…
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Nation Analysis: High defense spending at expense of education, welfare
THE CONTROVERSIAL submarine deal has sparked public debate about the way the Thai Defense Ministry spends tax money on military hardware and other national-security projects. Many question whether such projects should take priority over education, public healthcare or improving the lives of the country’s millions of poor. Since the coup in 2014, the budget allocated to the Defense Ministry has…
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Citizens call for action to fix dangerous road
PHUKET: Officials responded to complaints about a “dangerous and uneven” road after social media users posted pictures of Sakdidej Road in Wichit, urging authorities to take immediate action to fix it. The pictures were shared on a Facebook page titled Siang Prachachon Khon Phuket (‘The Voice of Phuket Citizens’). Frequent users of the road told the Phuket Gazette that it…
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Finance: Track price action, not pundits’ talk
PHUKET: As I am writing this, I haven’t turned on a TV in more than 10 days. So I am not getting any news from a verbal source about nuclear confrontations with North Korea, Trump uncertainty or whatever else is going on in the world. However, I have been reading the news and it’s different when you read news versus…
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21-year-old biker killed in Phuket pick-up collision
PHUKET: A 21-year-old biker was killed after he crashed into a pick-up truck in Wichit yesterday afternoon. Maj Narong Muangduang of Wichit Police provided details of the accident that took place in Moo 3, Kwang Road. “We found the body of Chalermchat Podok, 21, covered in blood and lying on the road. We also found a severely damaged big bike…
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Alleged murderers injured in car crash after shooting teen
PHUKET: Five suspects were injured in a car crash in Krabi last night after fleeing a murder scene in which a teenager was killed and another injured. “We first received reports of the shooting at about 6:30pm in Pru Din Na. We found the body of a 16 year-old teen identified only as ‘Jak’ on the ground with two bullet…
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Phuket police commander dispels bomb threat rumors
PHUKET: Officials have warned the public to be careful about sharing unconfirmed reports on social media after a bomb threat warning created panic among Phuket vendors last week. The original source of the message is unknown, but it was widely circulated on line. It read: “Stop going to walking street market, Chilva market or any other weekly markets in Phuket.…
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Illegal cock-fighting, gambling ring busted, 15 arrested
PHUKET: Fifteen people were arrested while 15 others are on the run after Thalang Police raided a cock-fighting ring in Moo Baan Para yesterday afternoon. Lt Col Prasarn Toworn of Thalang Police led a team of officers to inspect the area after receiving complaints from locals about illegal cock-fighting and gambling there. “The suspects included both Thais and Burmese. They…
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Fake passport suspects recaptured after escaping police custody
PHUKET: Officers from Phuket Provincial Police, Saku Police and Patong Police joined forces to capture two Indian men who escaped police custody after being arrested for using fake passports. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Teerapol Thipjaroen held a press conference at Phuket Provincial Police Station to provide details of the case yesterday afternoon. “The two suspects are Raj Kumar, 36, and…
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Three arrested for extortion, impersonating police officers in Phuket
PHUKET: Three men were arrested for impersonating police officers and trying to extort money from two teenagers in Phuket yesterday. The arrests were made by a joint task force of Region 8 and Cherng Talay Police officers at a PTT gas station in Cherng Talay. The suspects, Thongchai Katthong, 30; Ittipol Kranara, 32; and Pathompong Rattanasuvan, 51; had Civil Defense…
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Opinion: Phuket hospital deserves credit, not blame
PHUKET: Recent reports in the British media over the plight of British motorbike crash victim Jacob Tonkin here in Phuket (story here) once again paint the Thai healthcare industry in an unfair light. Although it is common around the globe, the British tabloids are particularly notorious for running sensationalist headlines that pull at the heartstrings, sometimes without much concern for…
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Phuket gov’s social media imposter sparks security concerns
PHUKET: Cyber security and Facebook seem to be the hot topics this week as Phuket police hunt for a Facebook user who made a fake profile with a name closely resembling the Phuket Governor’s and used his picture to impersonate him. The suspect also asked several high-ranking Phuket officials to transfer money to his account. The Facebook account was set…
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