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.

  • PM opens international terminal

    PM opens international terminal

    PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha arrived at Phuket International Airport this morning. The visit by the head of Thailand’s military government is billed to last only for today, as he headlines the opening ceremonies of the airport’s international terminal, inaugurates ‘Startup Thailand’ and meets with trade representatives at Phuket Rajabhat University. This morning, in an elaborate ceremony attended by…

  • Burmese laborer in fatal fall at Patong building site

    Burmese laborer in fatal fall at Patong building site

    PHUKET: A Burmese man reportedly fell to his death this morning while working on the 4th floor level of a building under construction in Patong. The man was found dead by co-workers around 10:30am. “Mr Tee, 56, was found lying face down in a pool of blood below the spot where he had been working at the construction site on…

  • Task force raids Coconut Island development in new encroachment case

    Task force raids Coconut Island development in new encroachment case

    PHUKET: Officers from a joint task force raided a Coconut Island (Koh Maprao) development yesterday, after locals warned authorities that the developer had already begun construction without proper land ownership documents. Police refused to name the property development company or the female suspect listed on the development’s tax documents, stating that they were in the preliminary stages of investigations. “After…

  • Krabi monks cough up cash to repair road

    Krabi monks cough up cash to repair road

    KRABI: Monks and other locals in Krabi took it upon themselves yesterday to finally fix a road that had remained damaged for over a decade. The Abbot of Suwan Thararam Temple, Luang Phor Prathuan Jitseelo, led a team of nine monks and locals in repairing the pot-holed road. The monks financed the operation by diving into their own pockets as…

  • Krathom peddling, foreigner-targeting bus gang apprehended

    Krathom peddling, foreigner-targeting bus gang apprehended

    PHANG NGA: Police detained three men yesterday accused of robbing a Belgian tourist aboard a Phuket-bound bus. Peter De Balabander boarded the bus in Surat Thani and said he had asked bus staff to load his bags, but after arriving at Khao Sok National Park in Surat Thani and hailing a taxi to his rented bungalow, he realized that he…

  • Wanted Aussie fugitive arrested in Patong

    Wanted Aussie fugitive arrested in Patong

    PHUKET: Police arrested an Australian fugitive in Patong at 11pm Tuesday night. Patong and Tourist Police, joined by officers of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), arrested 58-year-old Robert Gordon Pollybank Gee at Bar Funk on Bangla Road. Mr Gee is allegedly wanted in Australia for the possession and sale of drugs, possession of restricted chemical substances and falsifying documents for…

  • American man found dead in Patong apartment

    American man found dead in Patong apartment

    PHUKET: Investigations are underway into the death of an American man, whose body was found in a rented apartment in Patong Tuesday night. The body of 63-year-old Horace Nelson Higdon Jr was found after a housekeeping staff member noticed a foul smell coming from inside the third-floor apartment at the Fasai Apartment & Home on Pisitkoranee Road. “The owner of…

  • Wanted posters of bombing suspects go up in Phuket

    Wanted posters of bombing suspects go up in Phuket

    PHUKET: Wanted posters with photographs of the August 12 bombing suspects (story here) as well the suspects of the Samui bombing last year (story here) were put up in four hot spots on the island yesterday. The four 3×4 meter posters show pictures of the eight suspects. The general public is being urged to contact the 24-hour hotline on 191…

  • Transport co fined after biker killed in smash with unregistered bus

    Transport co fined after biker killed in smash with unregistered bus

    PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transport Office fined a transportation company 50,000 baht this morning after their unregistered bus killed a motorbiker attempting to make a u-turn yesterday. The accident occurred about 4pm on the southbound lanes of Thepkrasattri Road, in front of the Hongyok Bumrung School in Baan Suan Maphrao, northern Phuket (story here). “We called in Ratcharot Travel to…

  • Rider ripped to pieces in 4am horror crash

    Rider ripped to pieces in 4am horror crash

    PHUKET: A motorbike rider was torn to pieces in a fatal ‘ghost riding’ collision on Thepkrasattri Road at about 4am today. Piroon Aka, 44, was driving home to Mai Khao when he was in a collision with motorcyclist Puriwat Sukbanjong, 32. Mr Puriwat was dismembered in the smash and ended up in a grotesque heap on a grass verge –…

  • PM’s Phuket speech venue changed

    PM’s Phuket speech venue changed

    PHUKET: The venue for the Startup Thailand 2016 seminar in Phuket, where the Prime Minister is scheduled to make a speech during his visit to the province on Friday, has been moved to the Duangjitt Resort and Spa in Patong. After presiding over the official opening ceremony of the new international terminal at Phuket Airport from 8:30 to 9:30am, Prime…

  • New Phuket governor named

    New Phuket governor named

    PHUKET: Thailand’s Council of Ministers announced this morning that Chokchai Detamornthan will replace Chamroen Tipayapongtada as the governor of Phuket. The announcement comes after the cabinet decided to transfer Governor Chamroen to Nakhon Sri Thammarat, effective October 1 (story here). Mr Chokchai, who has been governor of the northeastern Maha Sarakam province since last October, reportedly fired 32 Tambon Administration…

  • South Korea supports Phuket’s smart city endeavor

    South Korea supports Phuket’s smart city endeavor

    PHUKET: A Delegation from the South Korean city of Busan visited Phuket late last month to reiterate their support for Phuket’s ‘smart city’ endeavors. Busan’s special economic advisor, Gi-Ryong Jung, and an entourage of Korean agency representatives were at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on smart sustainable cities and e-government, held at Le Meridian Phuket. Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada welcomed…

  • Plans for 12-lane highway approved

    Plans for 12-lane highway approved

    PHUKET: Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada announced on September 6 that preliminary plans for a proposed 12-lane highway running the length of the island have been approved and may be completed by 2022. Although the exact route of the proposed superhighway has not yet been decided, the 22 kilometer project would reportedly start 1km away from Phuket International Airport and extend to…

  • Phuket Muslims celebrate Sacrifice Feast

    Phuket Muslims celebrate Sacrifice Feast

    PHUKET: Muslims in Phuket are today celebrating Eid ul-Adha, also called the ‘Sacrifice Feast’ or ‘Bakr-Eid’. The festive day is celebrated worldwide each year on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Zil-haj, marking the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Goats and cows are usually sacrificed for the day’s feasting and the meat is traditionally divided into…

  • Russian nabbed for failed gold shop heist

    Russian nabbed for failed gold shop heist

    PHUKET: Police have caught a hapless Russian robber who broke into a gold shop in Patong on Friday night but failed to snag any swag after discovering that all the gold had been locked away in the shop’s safe for the night (story here). Dmitrii Sevastianov, 32, admitted to breaking into Yaowarat Namchok Gold Shop on Phra Metta Road in…

  • Train services in deep South set to resume today

    Train services in deep South set to resume today

    PATTANI: Trains in the Deep South are to resume operations today, in time to serve the surge in Muslim holidaymakers celebrating Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice), following completion of repairs to railway tracks in Pattani damaged by a bomb blast on September 3. Thanongsak Pongprasert, deputy governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said yesterday that a train without passengers…

  • Test flights arrive at Phuket’s new international terminal

    Test flights arrive at Phuket’s new international terminal

    PHUKET: Phuket International Airport began testing the facilities of the new international terminal this week with a handful of flights ahead of the official opening of the terminal later this month. Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha is scheduled to preside over the grand opening of the new facility on September 16 (story here). Phuket Airport Director Monrudee Gettuphan said the…

  • Woman finds snake in her paste tin

    Woman finds snake in her paste tin

    PHUKET: A Phuketian Facebook user took to social media after finding a disfigured snake in her anchovy paste. Facebook user Wanida Pagamat yesterday posted an image of Thai anchovy paste (Pla-ra) with a black snake-like slough in it. She claimed to have bought the paste in a local Phuket store. “How do you sell this to someone? It looks like…

  • Bungling burglar sought after failed Patong gold shop robbery

    Bungling burglar sought after failed Patong gold shop robbery

    PHUKET: Police are hunting for a ‘farang-looking’ man who broke into a gold shop in Patong on Thursday night but left empty handed after failing to snatch any stash. However, the burglar did leave clues, including dusty finger prints on the door of the shop’s safe, where all the gold had been locked away. The owner of the Yaowarat Namchok…

  • Phuket Smart City Innovation Park launched

    Phuket Smart City Innovation Park launched

    PHUKET: The Phuket Smart City Innovation Park officially opened at Saphan Hin yesterday. “The four-storey building is a symbol that the pioneer smart city project in Phuket is becoming a reality. The venture is supported by the Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA),” Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada said at the launch. The building houses an ASEAN Tourism Software Excellence Center, IOT…

  • Officials plan to install 1,000 CCTV cameras

    Officials plan to install 1,000 CCTV cameras

    PHUKET: Ten more CCTV cameras are to be installed along Bangla Road, Patong police announced this week. The cameras are to be installed as part of a public-private sector partnership, Patong Police Col Chaiwat Auikam said. Managing Director of the Pisona Group and member of a well-known Thai family in Patong, Preechawut ‘Prab’ Keesin, said the project received support from…

  • Showers, high surf expected next week

    Showers, high surf expected next week

    PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Office confirmed they have issued no warnings for boats leaving shore due to the recent spate of weather yesterday. “The waves and wind are still stable and suitable for boating,” said Phuket Marine Chief Surat Sirisaiyas. “However, we have issued a notice urging all boats to proceed with caution as their vision may be impaired during…

  • Phuket hospital warns blood donors not to over react

    Phuket hospital warns blood donors not to over react

    PHUKET: Staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital’s blood bank have warned the public to be careful about reacting to requests on social media for urgent blood donations, after news went viral on Wednesday of a teenage motorbike accident victim urgently needing A-type blood donations. The hospital was inundated with blood donors who had seen the social media posts and believed that…

  • Opinion: Woes of a traveller

    Opinion: Woes of a traveller

    PHUKET: People say they love travelling, but what they really mean is that they enjoy spending time in other places, not the actual experience of travelling itself. Air travel is one of those unfortunate gray areas where regulations seem to vary from airport to airport. For a recent trip from Phuket to Bangkok, I booked and paid for my flight…

  • Ministry of Farang Affairs: How to ‘wai’ properly

    Ministry of Farang Affairs: How to ‘wai’ properly

    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 Stephff.…

  • 600,000 tons of trash weighs down Krabi

    600,000 tons of trash weighs down Krabi

    KRABI: Deputy Prime Minister Admiral Narong Pipatanasai was in Krabi today to see what can be done about 600,000 tons of untreated waste piling up in the province. Admiral Narong met with Krabi Governor Pinit Boonlert and other provincial agencies at Krabi City Hall to discuss waste management measures as well as to observe progress on other public works undertaken…

  • Tougher driving tests down the road

    Tougher driving tests down the road

    PHUKET: Thailand has the second worst death toll from road accidents in the world, according to the World Health Organization. With more than 20,000 people killed annually throughout the country, Phuket officials have announced their support for more stringent guidelines before issuing would-be motorists with a driver’s license. Earlier this month, the Department of Land Transport (DLT) announced an initiative…

  • PM Prayuth set to visit Phuket

    PM Prayuth set to visit Phuket

    PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha, who is scheduled to visit Phuket next Friday, has a number of items on his agenda, including the grand opening of the new airport terminal and the regional launch of Startup Thailand. The following is the itinerary for his visit (some details subject to change): 8:30-9:30am: Grand opening ceremony of the new terminal at…

  • Tranlee asset auction hailed “success’ with B166mn in bids

    Tranlee asset auction hailed “success’ with B166mn in bids

    PHUKET: The auctioning of assets seized from defunct Tranlee Travel Co by the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) raised more than 166 million baht, it was revealed today. AMLO Auctioneer Col Kovit Piromwong announced this afternoon that three days of auctions at Phuket City Hall from September 6 to 8 saw bidding on 34 boats and 83 tour buses for a…