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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Phuket police, good Samaritans help ease traffic as another bus breaks down
PHUKET: Police officers and passersby banded together to help push a broken down bus to the side of the road in order to to avoid traffic a traffic jam in Rassada yesterday afternoon. Facebook user Wipongsak Mongkolbutr, who is also the Chief of the Andaman Tourism Association, recorded a video clip and shared pictures of the incident on his page,…
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Another foreign couple wanted for committing sex acts in public
SAMUI: Police are searching for an unidentified foreign couple who were seen ‘getting intimate’ at the side of the road at Nathorn Beach in Samui this morning. A video of the incident, about a minute and 45 seconds long, was posted on a Facebook page titled ‘Ruam Pon Khon Mui‘. The couple were seemingly unconcerned about making a spectacle, as…
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Serial coin thief wanted for swiping thousands from Phuket laundries
PHUKET: Police are searching for a serial thief suspected of stealing thousands of baht from washing machine coin slots in a series of at least 10 incidents over the past week. The thefts took place in Phuket Town, with a number of users posting warnings and details on social media. Facebook user Chon Pokaiyapat shared details of some of the…
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Ministry denies blocking Google services following connectivity issues
PHUKET: The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society denied that the government ordered the blocking of Google and YouTube after a technical issue with Thai internet provider 3BB meant that customers were unable to access Google services on Saturday, the Thai National News Bureau reported today. The issue seemed to affect anyone trying to access the sites from a Thai…
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Pregnant British woman killed in Phuket crash
PHUKET: A pregnant British woman was killed in a hit and run collision with an 18-wheeled truck on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang at noon today. “She was riding on a motorbike with her partner when they changed lanes to avoid a vehicle parked and blocking their path in the motorbike lane of the road. As they did this, the truck…
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Australian yacht crew rescues fishermen from sinking boat
PHUKET: Crew members of an Australian tourist’s yacht yesterday afternoon rescued three fishermen from a sinking boat in Vichit. Lt Wirach Pudpuang of the Marine Police received reports of the incident at about 4pm. “Two Thai fishermen, Adisak Kaewbamrung and ‘Phy’, and Burmese fisherman ‘Din’ were fishing at Koh Tapao Noi off Ao Makham when their boat started leaking and…
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Russian couple fined for sex in a Phuket tuk-tuk
PHUKET: Police have fined a Russian couple 500 baht each after a video clip of them appearing to have sex in the back of a tuk-tuk in Karon went viral. The 28-second clip was posted on Friday and shows a man and a woman moving suggestively in the tuk-tuk with the woman’s shirt lifted to expose her torso. Karon Police…
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One dead in Phuket after fatal overtake attempt
PHUKET: A man was killed last night after he crashed head-on into a minivan in Sakoo. Lt Thanakarn Uchanarasamee of Sakoo Police and rescue workers received the report at about 8pm. “Van driver Vitavat Jongsathichacorn, of PPKK Tour Service, told us that he was taking two Australian tourists to the airport while the motorcyclist, Panakorn Boonrong, was coming from the…
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Drug mule arrested in Phuket with 800,000 baht’s worth of pills
PHUKET: Police arrested a Phuket-bound man for transporting ya ba (methamphetamine) worth 800,000 baht at a Tah Chat Chai checkpoint yesterday afternoon. Lt Col Tawach Tansakul of Tah Chat Chai police and his team apprehended Anan Navarat, 39, at about 3pm. “Mr Anan was traveling by bus from Nakhon Sri Thammarat and looked suspicious to us during a routine check,”…
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Broken-hearted woman jumps off Phuket building
PHUKET: An agitated woman with relationship troubles was injured this morning after she jumped off the third floor of a building in Phuket Town. This is the second case of its kind within two days – the first incident took place early morning yesterday when another girl nearly drowned in the sea at Saphan Hin (story here). “Today’s incident took…
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Elderly couple returns lost British passport, bank book and cash
PHUKET: An elderly couple this morning returned a wallet containing a British passport, bank book and cash totalling more than 150,000 baht at Pakbang Beach in Rawai. Prayong Sukkaew, 79, and his wife were collecting bottles at about 6am to sell for money when they spotted the wallet, picked it up and handed it over to Rawai Police officers. “We…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Farang is always wrong
PHUKET: 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…
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His Majesty’s tunes to be played at jazz concert in his honor
PHUKET: Jazz lovers are in for a treat when the free concert ‘Jazz for King 2 – Andaman Jazz by the Sea’ kicks off in Phuket on May 20, featuring the music of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). The event will be held at Loma Park in Patong from 7-10pm, hosted by the Andaman Natural Resources…
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Army commander outlines new agenda for Phuket
PHUKET: The new Army Region 4 commander has announced his agenda for Phuket, ticking off a list of at least a dozen problems he feels need urgent resolution. During his visit last week, Lt Gen Piyawat Nakwanit said that he was “generally satisfied with the state of tourism in Phuket”, but that getting rid of ‘powerful people’ and officers who…
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Phuket Police search for missing 11-year-old boy
PHUKET: Police are searching for an 11-year-old boy who was reported missing by his family on Tuesday night. Panaphat Chumrak (‘Nong Nu’) disappeared from his home in Soi Pasak 4, Don Chom Tao Road in Cherng Talay at about 8:30pm. “Nong Nu is about 132cm tall, weighs 30kg and has short hair. He was last seen wearing a red and…
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Phuket Police try to identify injured elderly foreigner
PHUKET: An injured, elderly foreigner ran amok shouting for help from passersby in Phuket Town last night. The man had head and back injuries, but officials were unable to identify him as he was incoherent. He had blonde hair and was wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts. Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers received reports of him by concerned locals at…
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Ex-security guard arrested for assault, theft in Phuket
PHUKET: An ex-security guard at a hotel in Pa Khlok was arrested and charged for assault as well as theft and possession of an illegal firearm and drugs, on Tuesday after he beat up a hotel staff member and robbed her last week. Thalang Police apprehended the suspect, Panya Jara, 28, at his rental house in Pa Khlok where they…
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Four injured as speeding car ploughs through motorists in Phuket
PHUKET: Four people were seriously injured after a car skidded off the road and slammed into two motorbikes, a pick-up truck and an electric pole early this morning in Chalong. Lt Sakarin Sangjaroen of Chalong Police and other officers arrived at the crash site on East Chao Fah road in the Kok Tanot area at about 2:20am. “We found a…
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Drug suspects escape police custody in Phuket
PHUKET: Police are hunting for two suspects who escaped custody and fled from a police vehicle at a traffic light on the way to the station early on Tuesday morning. “Suriya Lakpech and Wasurat Malikabutr, both 21, had initially been arrested in front of the Vijit Resort in Rawai after officers asked to inspect their belongings because they looked ‘suspicious’.…
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Illegal Chinese tour guide arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: A Chinese tour guide who abandoned a bus full of tourists at the side of the road in Phang Nga on Tuesday (story here) was arrested in Phuket yesterday. Ms Ammy, whose real name police later learned to be Huang Ling, was arrested for illegally working as a tour guide without permission. “After the incident in Phang Nga, we…
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Phuket-based Siam Real Estate to go head to head in Full Metal Dojo
PHUKET: Kingdom Co Ltd, drivers of Full Metal Dojo (FMD), a favorite Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion, has announced an innovative new sponsorship deal that pits two rival real estate firms against each other in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA). Competing agencies Siam Real Estate from Phuket and BKK BestLife will fight it out on FMD’s Facebook page…
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Russian tourist injured after falling off Phuket’s Promthep Cape
PHUKET: A Russian tourist was injured after he fell from the Laem Promthep promontory into the sea at Rawai yesterday evening. “The accident occurred at about 5:45pm. We found Kashirin Aleksei, 41, trying to swim toward a rock in order to avoid being washed away by the current, which was quite strong at the time,” said Lt Sakarin Sangjaroen of…
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Business Buzz: Email marketing missing the mark
PHUKET: Recently, my business partner and I have been analyzing email marketing and what came to light was quite a surprise. He is a systems engineer so it is fair to say his level of knowledge of IT far surpasses my own. We were collaborating on our latest project and the issue of email marketing and whether it was effective…
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American school teacher injured in Phuket collision
PHUKET: A newly-appointed American school teacher at Kajonkiet International School (KIS) Phuket was injured in a motorbike crash with a car in Kathu this morning. “The accident occurred at about 8:30am near the U-turn on Phra Phuket Kaew road. We found a damaged white Honda City and Yamaha Nuovo on the road,” said Capt Watthathorn Bumrungthin of Kathu Police. “The…
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Family man dead as pick-up ploughs into sedan
KRABI: One man was killed while three others were severely injured after a speeding pick-up truck and a Toyota sedan collided, sending both vehicles into a roadside waterway in Krabi yesterday afternoon. The car was carrying three people – driver Suphachai Limtrakil, 69, his wife Anchalee Sriwittayabancha, 42, and their 14-year-old daughter. Mr Suphachai was killed. The truck was driven…
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‘AD’vertorial: Buy one, get two free, plus lunch
PHUKET: There’s no such thing as a free lunch but you can easily buy one [sic] with the savings you get on Free Classifieds (what?) in both the Phuket Gazette and Nation newspapers this month. When you enter a basic text-only ad in the Gazette Online (560 baht), that ad runs also, word for word and free of charge, in…
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Plastic bottle blamed for Phuket Town car flip
PHUKET: In a crash that is being blamed on a plastic bottle, a car in Phuket Town flipped over onto its roof yesterday afternoon after the driver lost control at a traffic stop. “We arrived at the scene, on Komaraphat Roat near the Phuket City Municipality pawnshop, to see a silver Honda City sedan lying upside down on the side…
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Building catches fire in Patong, 100,000 baht in damages
PHUKET: A four-storey building caught fire last night on Rat-U-thit 200 Pi road in Patong, resulting in about 100,000 baht’s worth of damages. Police officers held back traffic and tourists as firefighters battled the flames for about 30 minutes. Lt Col Jongserm Preecha of Patong Police confirmed that only the first floor of the building had been damaged. “There were…
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Motorbike trio arrested for stealing from Chinese tourist, marijuana
PHUKET: Three men were arrested yesterday in Phuket town with assorted currencies amounting to at least 200,000 baht as well as electronics they stole from a Chinese tourist’s hotel room in Patong. The men were also in possession of marijuana. Lt Col Pongpichan Chayanonpiriya of the Patong Police confirmed to Phuket Gazette reporters that Thanakorn Akarabut, 24; Harich Dada, 18;…
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No refund for B6.7mn house in shambles
PHUKET: Dhamrongtham center staff and representatives of the Engineering Institute of Thailand on Thursday inspected a ‘questionable’ housing project in Koh Kaew. The house, backed by a well-known developer, has reportedly been in shambles for about three years. Sintichai Jitkam and Sunisa Jitkham in November last year filed a complaint after purchasing the house in the development for 6.7 million…
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