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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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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Students injured in festival fireworks malfunction
KRABI: At least 24 people, including several teenagers, were injured when a fireworks display at an event organized by the Krabi Provincial Administration Organization malfunctioned. The event was titled ‘Legend of Krabi: City of 12 Zodiacs’ and held at Krabi Town yesterday. The opening ceremony for the festival was chaired by Krabi Vice Governor Somkuan KanNguen, with officials from the…
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7-Eleven robber caught at rented room in Phuket
PHUKET: A robber was arrested at his rented room in Thalang yesterday evening, 14 hours after he held up two cashiers at a 7-Eleven near the Heroines’ Monument and stole all the cash from the store’s register. Capt Kraisorn Boonprasob of Thalang Police provided details of the incident which occurred early yesterday morning. “Baragis Yamdibu, 24, and Ronpirun Chujai, 32,…
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Body of 21-year-old found in Phuket apartment
PHUKET: Police are investigating the cause of death of a ladyboy whose body was found in her room in Rassada this morning. “We received a report from an apartment complex near Rajabhat University at about 9:20am that a pungent smell was emanating from a room on the second floor,” said Lt Col Chao Phomna of the Phuket City Police. “We…
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Phuket district chief vows to crack down on illegal hotels
PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Jirawat Namatra issued an ultimatum to illegal hotel operators after locals and members of the business community filed complaints about unlicenced hotels operating in Patong. In February, more than a thousand unlicensed hotels applied for registration as hotels after a two-month ultimatum was issued at the end of November last year by then Phuket Governor Chokchai…
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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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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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Phuket police yet to uncover reason for toilet fight involving foreigner
PHUKET: The motive behind an attack on a toilet attendant in Patong by a group of foreigners remains unclear as the victim has refused to a file a complaint. On May 3, a Facebook user offered a reward of 5,000 baht to anyone who could help him find the foreigner who allegedly refused to pay a 10 baht fee 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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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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Facebook misses deadline to block sites deemed insulting to monarchy
PHUKET: Facebook (FB) has not blocked more than 100 sites deemed to have insulted the monarchy or to have threatened “national security”, as requested by Thailand’s telecom regulator. FB cites the need for official court orders from authorities to block such sites. FB users in Thailand can still access the sites despite the failed deadline to remove them. The National…
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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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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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New Zealander forgets electric kettle, suffers major fire damage to home
PHUKET: Fire-fighters rushed to put out a fire at a Kiwi expat’s house in Thalang yesterday, after he left an electric appliance switched on and forgot about it. The New Zealander’s carelessness had reportedly caused the fire. However, his associate nearby saw the blaze and alerted the authorities. “By about 5pm, two fire trucks had arrived at the home in…
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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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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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Major Phuket bust yields B2mn worth of drugs
PHUKET: A Phuket drug dealer was arrested in Chalong with nearly 2 million baht worth of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and ya bah (methamphetamine) by Border Patrol Police (BPP) this week. The suspect was found in possession of 8,658 ya bah pills and 15.02g of ya ice. “The arrest was made after we got a report from one of our…
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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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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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TAT, Phuket Tourist Police come to American tourist’s aid
PHUKET: A lost American tourist, who could neither recall the name nor the address of the hostel he was staying at, was safely returned there by tourist police this morning. Boyce Reid Brown, 48, was wandering around Phuket Town on foot when he happened to find the office of the Tourism of Thailand (TAT) and stepped inside to ask for…
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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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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 murder suspect blames constant bullying
PHUKET: A fishing boat crew member was arrested for stabbing a co-worker to death last night, claiming that “constant bullying” led him to do so. “The incident occurred at about 10pm at Rassada Pier on a fishing boat named Chok Veerachai. We found the body of Pornchai Wongkan, 42, lying inside the boat, covered with blood,” said Lt Col Rachan…
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