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 tourism official pushes against foreign tour guide registration plan
PHUKET: The island’s top tourism and sports official will ask for Phuket to be excused from the Tourism Department’s plan to allow foreigners to work as ‘tourism coordinators’, if the move is approved. Tourism Department is planning to ask Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to approve its plan to allow foreigners to work as tour guides under the position of…
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Phuket hit-and-runner surrenders
PHUKET: A Phuket hit-and-runner turned himself in to Chalong Police after leaving an unconscious teen motorbiker in his wake last night. Pick-up truck driver Thepsak Jinotan, 42, left Bussakorn Sengsuvann,16, unconscious with a broken leg and other injuries after they crashed on Chao Fa East Road in Chalong at about 7:30pm yesterday. Ms Bussakorn was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital…
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Light the house for Jimmy
PHUKET: Friends of American expat Jimmy Pearson are staging a fundraising party at Dickie’s Lighthouse in Chalong on June 24 to help support Mr Pearson’s recovery from a recent stroke. Mr Pearson, originally from Santa Barbara, California, suffered the stroke on June 10. Though he is recovering well, he now faces many months of physiotherapy to regain the use of…
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More pumps bound for underpass construction site
PHUKET: Flooding caused by routine seasonal rain at the construction site of Phuket’s second underpass this week forced officials to hold an emergency meeting at the Phuket Highways Office (PHO) on Tuesday. “We are planning to install more pumps at the Samkong Intersection site,” confirmed Samak Luedwonghad, director of the PHO. Two of the four pumps used to help clear…
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Royal Phuket Marina announces 5bn-baht investment plan
PHUKET: Royal Phuket Marina has announced a five billion baht investment plan for the next five years under the lifestyle destinations new campaign #DestinationRPM. “The 5bn baht planned investment over the next five years is part of my vision to make Royal Phuket Marina an iconic waterfront lifestyle destination,” said Gulu Lalvani, Chairman of Royal Phuket Marina. “Under our #DestinationRPM…
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Opinion: Phuket poised for superyacht glory
Andy Treadwell was the founder and CEO of Informa Plc’s Sports & Leisure Group (ISLG) and has been working with a number of the world’s most prestigious yachting and sporting industry events from 2007 until 2012. He is now based in Singapore, busy developing a portfolio of events specializing in the leisure marine sector, focusing on unlocking the huge potential…
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Consumer protection board battles Phuket condo developer
PHUKET: Nine Property (Patong) company was given two weeks yesterday to address compensation to pre-build purchasers in the Ace 1 condominium project in Phuket. More than 30 Thai and foreign customers have sought compensation after making down payments of about 400,000 baht on the project, which was scheduled to be completed in April this year, explained Ampol Wongsiri, Secretary General…
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Light-rail public meeting set for Thursday
PHUKET: Island-dwellers can have their say about the light-rail project in a public hearing at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town on Thursday. The news follows a meeting with Sirigate Apirat of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning yesterday about the light rail. It was decided yesterday that there would be an extra stop added in Mai…
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Thanyapura sings silver at SEA Games Singapore
PHUKET: Thanyapura’s top swimmers triumphed at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, winning a bounty of silver medals and breaking three Thai National Records. Peerapat Lertsathapornsuk, Patarawadee Kittiya, Kornkanjana Sapianchai and Tanakrit Kittiya competed in ten races at the 28th SEA Games in Singapore earlier this month. Patarawadee and Kornkanjana returned home to Phuket with two silver medals each, after helping…
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Superyacht chartering licence meeting delayed
PHUKET: Phuket will hold another public hearing this Friday to standardize criteria for foreign-flagged superyacht chartering licences before the proposal is submitted to the Ministry of Transport. The meeting is set for 1:30pm and aims to move forward legislation to help ensure Thailand becomes the maritime hub for the region. The meeting will be at the Phuket-based Department of Disaster…
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Phuket tour guide silent on catching clown fish
PHUKET: A Thai tour guide caught catching a clown fish so that tourists could hold it at Koh Khai Nai has refused to comment on his behavior after his tour guide licence was temporarily suspended. The clown fish, which has become incredibly popular with some tourist markets following the Pixar animation Finding Nemo, was in a plastic bread bag being…
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Turkish couple rescued after spending hours lost in jungle
PHUKET: A Turkish couple was rescued after spending nearly nine hours on their own in the jungle in Khao Phra Thaew National Park on Saturday. Bulent and Pinar Burak, both 34, were on their way to the Wildlife Sanctuary when they got lost in the park. They then called Palm Beach Hotel in Patong, where they were staying, to ask…
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Officials seize 100 rai of illegally possessed park land
PHUKET: About 100 rai of illegally possessed land in Sirinath National Park were seized by a team of park officials and Navy personnel on Friday. Seizure notices were posted on the five plots in Sakoo and Cherng Talay, which were being used for rubber plantations, after the owners were unable to present ownership documents for the land. “The owners are…
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Krabi waterspout excites tourists, fishermen
PHUKET: A waterspout put on a show for tourists and fishermen off Koh Pu in Krabi yesterday morning. “My friends and I were going fishing at Sri Boya Island when the waterspout emerged about 1 kilometer away from us,” said 50-year-old Samart Maikeaw, who was out on a fishing trip with friends. The spout caused sudden heavy rain, but no…
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Opinon: Life-saving lessons
Prathaiyut Chuayuan, 50, from Phuket, is the president of Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC). He graduated from Prince of Songkhla University, Pattani campus, with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He was involved in exchange programs in England and Australia related to life-saving services. He started his first job as a lifeguard at Le Meridien in Phuket in 1998. He has…
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Construction worker killed in Patong landslide
PHUKET: A landslide at a construction site in Phuket killed one worker and injured five others this morning. Myanmar national Set Lai, 20, was crushed by the dirt and rebar. The other five workers were rushed to Patong Hospital, four have since been discharged, confirmed Lt Col Weerapong Rakhito of the Patong Police. The fifth worker is still in hospital…
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Navy continues Rohingya “helping on’ mission
PHUKET: The mission of ‘helping on’ Rohingya and Bengali migrants by providing medical services and translators, as well as food and water supplies will continue until further notice, confirmed the Royal Thai Navy. The mission was launched with a tentative two-week deadline last month (story here). “Our vessels, HTMS Saiburi and the HTMS Angthong, and aircraft are continuing to search…
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Stash of ID cards found in Kata
PHUKET: The Navy requested that the Karon Police investigate whether or not a bag of legal Thai National ID cards, dirver’s licences and ATM cards found in Kata yesterday had any links to criminal networks. The bag of cards was discovered by a local resident, who then informed the Navy of the find, confirmed Taksin Puklim of the Royal Thai…
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Jet-skis make waves at luxury resort off Phuket
PHUKET: The Naka Island, A Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, based on the small island off the east coast of Phuket, is battling against local jet-ski operators. “The jet-skies are dangerous. They are always coming too close to customers swimming at the beach,” said The Naka Island representative Sureeporn Roongreung. “They have yet to hurt anyone swimming or diving, and…
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Opinion: A stone’s throw
PHUKET: It is imperative that you have excellent defense driving skills in Phuket, especially if you are a daily commuter on some of the island’s busiest roads, such as Thepkrasattri. Drivers stop in front of you and park without warning, and people switch lanes without signaling and open car doors without looking. And, as I found out on my way…
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Business Buzz: Defining your perfect customer
PHUKET: One of the first things you should be focusing on in business is deciding what your niche is and who your perfect customers will be. Most people, in theory, will have done this as part of the initial planning and deciding what business to go into, but sometimes businesses change and go through significant metamorphosis over time, so it’s…
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Finance: Cycling the bull market
PHUKET: As the bull market in global stocks continues in the worst economic environment for a bull market within my lifetime, I find it reassuring to turn to those with some of the most impressive track records in the world of investing and trading. Have things changed this time? Is the new era of central bank money printing going to…
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Opinion: Too good to be true
PHUKET: The recent proposal to launch a potentially free shuttle service for tourists transiting at Phuket International Airport is an excellent idea. However, islanders should not be optimistic about such a service being available any time soon. Until the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) came to power just over a year ago, Phuket’s tourism economy suffered brazen abuse…
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Heavy rain floods underpass construction site
PHUKET: Heavy rain today caused the second flash flood this month at Samkong Intersection, the construction site of Phuket’s second underpass. Though the deep waters caused tailbacks in the afternoon, it has since drained, confirmed Chalermpol Wongkiattikun, project manager from the Department of Highways. “I had to order our staff out into the rain with a digger to start clearing…
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BISP strikes gold at SEA Games
PHUKET: It was an absolutely incredible night for British International School Phuket (BISP) in the pool on Sunday at the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. In one evening, the school’s student athletes – representing Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand – brought home one gold, one silver and one bronze medal, in intense competition against the finest swimmers in Southeast Asia. Year…
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OAG to tackle corruption in Phuket
PHUKET: The Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) two-day public forum designed to raise the public’s awareness of the negative effects of corruption and what issues are faced in combating it started yesterday at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. “This is about raising people’s awareness of the need for anti-corruption efforts. People need to see why corruption is bad and…
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Superyacht licence registration coming soon
PHUKET: Registration for foreign-flagged superyacht chartering licences is expected to begin next month, Marine Department Director-General Chula Sukmanop revealed to the Phuket Gazette. “Officials have been discussing how to standardize criteria for the licences. We are pushing hard on what needs to be done, in terms of laws, to allow foreign-flagged superyacht charters in Thailand,” said Mr Chula. A public…
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Boy crushed to death by cement truck
PHUKET: An 11-year-old boy was killed after he fell off the back of his mother’s motorbike and under the wheel of a cement truck yesterday. Rescue workers arrived at the scene at the traffic light in front of Makro in Kathu to find Thanaphat Songserm severely injured underneath the truck. Patchanee Songserm, 42, had just picked up her son from…
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Boat propeller slices British diving student’s leg near Koh Tao
PHUKET: A British diving student is in hospital in Koh Samui after her leg was nearly severed by a boat propeller while diving near Koh Tao. Alice Louise Davies, 20, had just completed a dive with Scuba Shack near Koh Hin Sam Kon on Tuesday afternoon and was about to exit the water when the accident happened. “A motorboat, Thanicha…
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Hundreds protest alleged police brutality in Phuket, officer transferred
PHUKET: More than 100 Patong nightlife employees protested on Phuket’s famed party street, Soi Bangla, last night after a Hollywood Discotheque security guard was allegedly beaten by a Patong Police officer in the early hours of yesterday morning. The rally formed outside Hollywood Discotheque at about 8:30pm, drawing much attention from tourists and passersby, with protesters demanding justice from police…
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