News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Queer News: Masturbator milks Doraemon dress for cover
PHUKET: Police in Pattaya have tracked down and arrested a man who donned a Doraemon dress and masturbated in public while parked outside stores in the bustling seaside resort town. Police were alerted to the man’s antics after a video posted on Facebook went viral. The video shows the man in his Doraemon dress, safety helmet and surgical mask, rolling…
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Czech busker on Bangla reunited with his family
PHUKET: The Czech father who was busking on Soi Bangla for money while his 6-year-old daughter lay in hospital after being hit by a car has been reunited with his family. Phuket Tourist Police officers visited Lucas Matena and his family at Bangkok Hospital Phuket on Tuesday, where Mr Matena’s daughter Rebeka was recovering from a broken jaw. The officers…
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Strategies for survival: Responding to the Russian tourist crunch
PHUKET: There was much talk last year of the protests in Bangkok and the ensuing coup striking at the heart of Phuket’s tourism and hospitality industries, with many key tourism figures on the island fearing the worst. Yet, it turns out, that while the island has survived the political turmoil in the country’s capital relatively unscathed, it is events unfolding…
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Sausage delivery truck rams logging trailer in high-speed crash
PHUKET: A delivery truck rear-ended a 10-wheeled trailer hauling felled rubber trees at high speed on Thepkrasattri Road yesterday, resulting in massive traffic tailbacks on one of the island’s busiest highways. Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called to the scene, in the southbound lane, at about 6:30am. The truck driver, 25-year-old Pongsak Inthong, admitted to having been speeding…
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US couple stand trial for grisly Bali suitcase murder
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US couple stand trial for grisly Bali suitcase murder Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An American man and his pregnant girlfriend went on trial on Wednesday for the murder of the woman’s mother, whose battered body was found stuffed in a suitcase on Indonesia’s resort island…
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Police ‘played a role’ in South Koreans’ abduction
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police ‘played a role’ in South Koreans’ abduction The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Twelve senior police officers and one civilian were involved in the kidnapping of three South Korean men, a high-ranking police source said yesterday. Ten of the police officers are attached to Metropolitan…
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‘Third gender’ will be acknowledged in the new constitution
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Third gender’ will be acknowledged in the new constitution The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) agreed on Tuesday to note the “third gender” or people of different sexuality in the new Constitution, a move likely to empower transgender people so they…
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Grenade lighter sparks bomb scare at Phuket health center
PHUKET: A cigarette lighter shaped like a grenade sent patients and medical staff scurrying for cover at a local health center in Phuket today. Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Chao Phomna called in the bomb squad at about 12:40pm after a patient reported seeing a grenade by the front door of the center, named as the Songserm Sukhapharp Hospital. “We…
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Police nail two drug dealers in Rassada
PHUKET: A team of Phuket City Police officers arrested two major drug dealers yesterday in possession of nearly 75 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and more than 200 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills. Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Santi Chai-niramai and an anti-narcotics team, acting under nationwide orders from the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and the Royal…
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Police silent on fatal Phuket tour bus crash probe
PHUKET: Police have closed the books on a fatal crash in Kamala that left nine Russian tourists injured after their tour bus collided with a Ford Fiesta (story here). The 37-year-old driver of the car, Tantima Thaworn, later succumbed to her injuries (story here). “The case was closed shortly after the death of Ms Tantima,” said Lt Col Nanon Pitakkultorn…
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Challenge of importing the food Phuket loves
PHUKET: What is the first thing most expats start to miss from their home country? Family? Maybe for some, but for most it’s food. Luckily, the days when all you could eat in Thailand was the local cuisine are gone. Today, buying a piece of Dutch cheese, a few slices of Italian ham or some French paté is as easy…
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Opinion: Phuket prejudice against the law
PHUKET: The fatal shot fired by Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, was not heard around the world, but the repercussions of slaying an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, were. The shooting, trial and subsequent similar situation in New York, focused all major American and international media on issues that economically depressed black communities face in the US. The war of…
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Teen shooters arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: The drive-by shooting that left a 19-year-old dead on the streets of Phuket Town on December 29 was a mistaken hit, the shooters have confessed to police. Police arrested two teens, given the pseudonyms “Joey”, 15, and “James”, 16, in a house near Kathu Temple yesterday for the shooting death of Chalong Netphetdang, 19, originally named by police as…
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Legal Phuket jet-ski operators threaten to join illegal cowboys
PHUKET: Fed up with illegal jet-ski operators serving tourists at Bang Tao Beach, the local legal jet-ski brigade yesterday threatened to abandon all legalities and join the jet-ski cowboys. Unregistered and uninsured jet-skis and parasail boats returned to the beach in November, said Surachai Yomdee, head of the Bang Tao Jet-Ski Club. “The illegal jet-skis and parasail boats do not…
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Water tanker crushes pick-up truck in Kamala villa estate
PHUKET: A water tanker rolled backwards down a hill and crushed a pick-up truck outside a residence at Jomchang Villa in Kamala yesterday afternoon, only moments after the pick-up driver got out of her vehicle. Kamala Police officers called to the scene were told by witnesses that the pick-up driver, who declined to be named, had escaped almost certain death…
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Russian hitchhikers spared dangerous nighttime jungle trek
PHUKET: Two Russian women were spared the ordeal of becoming lost in the Phang Nga jungle after a police officer realized that they were heading for potential trouble last night. Named by police only as Ms Susan, 21, and Ms Vilka, 23, the women were spotted heading into the jungle at Khao Nang Hong, a 400-meter-high mountain eco-tourist site. The…
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Police probed for opening fire on suspected human-trafficking boat off Ranong
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police probed for opening fire on suspected human-trafficking boat off Ranong The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police yesterday confirmed they were investigating an incident last Wednesday in which a Ranong police boat opened fire on a fishing boat in the Andaman Sea. National police spokesman…
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Former Pheu Thai MP on B11mn fraud charge
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Former Pheu Thai MP on B11mn fraud charge The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former Pheu Thai Party MP Chaowarin Latthasaksiri was arrested yesterday for allegedly trying to cheat a Cambodian firm out of 11 million baht. Immigration Police arrested Chaowarin at Suvarnabhumi Airport at noon,…
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Police accused of kidnap, Bt2m ransom from Korean gambling ring
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police accused of kidnap, Bt2m ransom from Korean gambling ring The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Seven police officers will be summoned to explain their role over allegations that they demanded Bt2 million from South Koreans who have illegally operated online gambling services. Investigators are also…
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Divers retrieve AirAsia ‘black box’, explosion theory questioned
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Divers retrieve AirAsia ‘black box’, explosion theory questioned Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Indonesian navy divers retrieved the black box flight data recorder from the wreck of an AirAsia passenger jet on Monday, a major step towards unravelling the cause of the crash that killed all…
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Rohingya woman dead, dozens of children among 98 trafficking victims
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rohingya woman dead, dozens of children among 98 trafficking victims Reuters / The Nation PHUKET: One woman was found dead in the back of one of five vehicles being used to traffick 98 Rohingya through Phang Nga, north of Phuket, and were intercepted by police in…
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Phuket tourism business crackdown nets four companies
PHUKET: Officers have shut down four tour companies within the last two weeks, as the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) Phuket office cracks down on illegal tour practices. Sub Aqua Dive Center on January 5 was forced to stop providing snorkeling and diving excursions following the closure of Hou Hai Diver Co Ltd on December 31 (story here). “The…
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Siblings drown off Krabi on Children’s Day
PHUKET: A pair of siblings drowned after they were swept out to sea off Nopparat Thara Beach in Krabi on Children’s Day. Vimvipa Keawyai, 14, and her 12-year-old brother, Vongvut, were swimming with friends in the Son Canal, about 20 meters from their parents, when the accident occurred. “My wife and I stayed on the beach while the children went…
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Phuket cyclist arrested for robbing store with lighter gun
PHUKET: Police tracked down and arrested a known cyclist early this morning after he robbed his local Family Mart convenience store with a lighter gun to buy some beer a few hours earlier. Key to finding the suspect, Narin Gamegaeman, 26, was that he made his getaway on his bicycle, said Maj Col Thitirat Arsakij of the Thung Thong Police.…
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Man slain, body dumped in Phuket mangroves
PHUKET: Police are attempting to identify a man whose body was found in a mangrove swamp in northern Phuket late last night. A local fisherman discovered the body among mangroves in Tah Chat Chai, at the northern end of Mai Khao, at about 10:30pm. “The body is of an Asian male, dressed in a black t-shirt and purple shorts. He…
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Rows over energy issues heat up
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rows over energy issues heat up The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Several energy issues are threatening to trigger serious conflicts between the government and communities this year. Just as activists, conservationists and local communities have expressed their firm intention to protect their environment from potentially…
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Bull elephant causing strife at Khao Yai
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bull elephant causing strife at Khao Yai The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: In just 10 days, a wild bull elephant has damaged four vehicles and caused alarm among tourists at Khao Yai National Park. Fortunately, no one has been harmed in the two shocking encounters…
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Millions, world leaders, join Paris protest against attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Millions, world leaders, march in Paris to protest attacks Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: World leaders including Muslim and Jewish statesmen linked arms to lead more than a million French citizens through Paris in an unprecedented march to pay tribute to victims of Islamist militant attacks.…
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Safety, hygiene at Phuket worker camps to be regulated: Gov Nisit
PHUKET: A special committee will be set up to manage and oversee security and safety at Phuket’s numerous construction worker camps following a spate of violent clashes, Phuket Governer Nisit Jansomwong announced yesterday. The move follows a massive gang brawl on January 1 between construction workers from Cambodia and Myanmar at a camp for workers involved in the expansion of…
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Minivans bound for nearby provinces back at Bus Terminal 1
PHUKET: Those catching minivans from Phuket to nearby provinces now need to go to Bus Terminal 1, the old bus terminal, the Phuket Gazette was told this week. The change took place on December 15, after the National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) received complaints from Phuket passengers. “Customers said that because Bus Terminal 2 is situated outside of…
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