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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Malaysia arrests Anwar’s daughter for sedition
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Malaysia arrests Anwar’s daughter for sedition Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Malaysian police arrested opposition politician Nurul Izzah Anwar, daughter of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, for sedition on Monday, prompting the U.S. State Department to express concern over the freedom of expression in Malaysia. The…
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Underboob selfies ban brings threat of jail
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Underboob selfies ban brings threat of jail Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand’s military government warned women on Monday against posting ‘selfie’ photos of the lower half of their breasts – a social media trend that has gone viral – saying their actions could violate the…
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Phuket flight denied landing as smog shrouds Chiang Mai
PHUKET: A flight from Phuket was forced to abort landing at Chiang Mai International Airport today after smog reduced visibility over the northern city to 800 meters, reported The Nation. Air Asia Flight FD3161 departed Phuket on time at 10:35am, but was unable to make its scheduled landing at Chiang Mai at 12:30pm for safety reasons. Bangkok Airways Flight PG241…
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Phuket sailors warned of falling space-launch debris
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy issued a warning today for ships to steer clear of an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) debris-fall zone in the Andaman Sea between March 9 and April 8. The area marked in the warning, about 400km northwest of Phuket, is within the following coordinates: 9°15’00″N 94°45’00″E10°05’00″N 95°05’00″E9°45’00″N 96°00’00″E8°55’00″N 95°40’00″E “All ships, please be careful…
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Phuket masseuse suicide sparks manhunt for brutal boyfriend
PHUKET: Police are looking for a man wanted for beating his masseuse girlfriend who was found dead by apparent suicide in Phuket Town yesterday morning. Friends discovered the body of Taweepat Boontawee, 33, at her apartment at a four-story complex on Phun Pol Road Soi 7. She was found hanged by a bathrobe sash tied to a light fitting. “The…
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Experienced diver’s death at Similans baffles park officials
PHUKET: Officials have yet to learn what was the catalyst for the death of an experienced diver who fell unconscious during a mass-diving volunteer project at the Similan Islands on Saturday. Suthat Suktuk, a 45-year-old businessman from Songkhla province, went into shock while diving beyond recreational depths to 47 meters at a site south of Koh Miang, also called Koh…
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German expat on top after robbed over iPhone sex swap
PHUKET: Two women have been charged for robbing a German expat after he allegedly reneged on a deal to buy one of them an iPhone and clothes in exchange for sex. Rattriya Sirijumpa, 25, and Nongluck Homhuan, 26, were arrested at Tina Salon in Thalang on Saturday, after police spotted the German’s stolen car in front of Ms Rattriya’s salon.…
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Spanish sailor recovering in Phuket after attempted suicide
PHUKET: A Spanish national working on an Indonesian fishing boat is recovering in Phuket International Hospital after slashing his arms yesterday morning. Phuket Marine Police were notified of a medical emergency on the fishing boat Taishan, moored near Koh Tapao Noi, at about 2am. “The original report we received said that the man had cut off his own arms,” Phuket…
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Mastermind of court attack reportedly in Australia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mastermind of court attack reportedly in Australia The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police will seek the extradition of a man suspected of masterminding the hand-grenade attack on the Criminal Court last week, who is also wanted for allegedly committing lese majeste and failing to report…
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Opinion: Always put safety first
Jetsada Chanpen, 27, from Ranong, has been a Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker for eight years. Last year, he almost lost his life doing what he loves. On March 26, Jetsada was the first to respond to an accident in which four workers had passed out in a sewer in Phuket Town. Wasting no time, he plunged into the sewer to…
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Opinion: Promote the sport of jet-skiing in Phuket
PHUKET: Jet-skiing is a sport. It’s a real sport that deserves a great deal more respect than it is given in Phuket. Banning Phuket as a water-sport tourism destination for jet-skiing is ridiculous. Banning the current operations and tourist hooligans allowed on them, however, is understandable. Given the history of violence, death and extortion via the well-protected jet-ski operators it…
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Finance: Making realistic retirement assumptions
PHUKET: The first step when making a retirement plan is to have realistic assumptions about your retirement. Unfortunately, I have found that many of my clients, regardless of whether or not they are expatriates – still working or already retired – have at least one or more of the following unrealistic retirement assumptions: I will retire some place cheaper: Retiring…
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Millions of Krabi crabs to host eco-tourists
PHUKET: Krabi officials are moving to create a new eco-tourism destination out of a Krabi tidal plane that millions of tiny orange-clawed crabs call home. Locals were amazed to see a horde of crabs suddenly appear and migrate across the sands of Ao Tang Len at low tide, prompting them to notify Ao Luek district officials last week. “The stretch…
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Bay Regatta a sailing success – results
PHUKET: The 18th Bay Regatta set sail on the morning of March 5, after an opening night party and buffet the evening before at the Chandara Resort & Spa at Ao Po. The 29 racing yachts, carrying over 200 competitors, flew the flags of 11 nations. Affectionately known as the ‘Fun Regatta’ to all participants, countries represented included Thailand, the…
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Opinion: Phuket – ATM skimmers’ paradise island
PHUKET: Despite efforts nationwide to upgrade automatic teller machine (ATM) card technology to make it more secure, the arrests of three groups of international ATM-card skimmers in Phuket in a week demonstrates that ATM fraud is rampant on the island. ATM users – which includes just about everyone with a bank account – should continue to exercise a great deal…
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Tourist fined for washing feet in public sink
PHUKET: A Chinese woman was fined for washing her feet in a public sink on Phi Phi Don yesterday, following a recent change in policy on the tourist-popular island. Within half an hour of officers posting a “no foot washing” warning sign at the public restroom, the tourist, who police declined to name, started washing her feet in the sink.…
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Phuket beach vendors crash land inspection
PHUKET: A group of about 30 beach vendors interjected themselves into an inspection of Kamala Beach yesterday to submit a complaint letter to the Deputy Permanent Secretary of Justice, who was visiting Phuket for a property development investigation. Deputy Permanent Secretary of Justice Dussadee Arayawuth came to the island to inspect four of 20 land plots believed to have been…
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F1 season predictions: Mercedes, Mercedes, Mercedes
PHUKET: The headline is the prediction for the car that will win at Melbourne, the team that will win the Constructor’s Championship and the team that will provide the World Champion this season. It’s the beginning of the new Formula 1 season. Melbourne is the first race. And there has been enough hype to fill an Agatha Christie bibliography: The…
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Justice team investigates alleged illegal Chanotes, buildings
PHUKET: The Deputy Permanent Secretary of Justice today inspected four of 20 land plots believed to have been obtained through illegal land-title deeds or illegally developed. The plots examined today are on Koh Raet, along Surin Beach and in Kamala, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Justice for the Ministry of Justice Dussadee Arayawuth explained. Col Dussadee was the head investigator for…
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Tourist Police intercept kratom shipment to Phuket
PHUKET: A shipment of 45 kilograms of kratom leaves from Nonthaburi to Phuket was intercepted by Phuket Tourist Police today. “We had been tipped off by a source that a truck with the Bangkok licence plate 61-6211 would be delivering the leaves today,” Tourist Police Division 5 Superintendent Chusawat Janrojanakit said. When police spotted the truck, they pulled it over…
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Illegal wedding photographer arrested on Bang Tao Beach
PHUKET: A wedding photographer was arrested for working illegally on Bang Tao Beach on Wednesday. Chinese national Ma Chuan, 26, was arrested while taking a series of wedding photos, explained Lt Col Tienchai Chompoo of the Phuket Immigration Office. “Illegal Chinese photographers are not a new thing in Phuket. We regularly receive reports of Chinese tourists entering Phuket to take…
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Warriors tame Tigers: Phuket hosts first Aussie Rules match
PHUKET: Australian football arrived in Phuket last Saturday, as the Thailand Tigers took on the Malaysian Warriors at the Alan Cooke Ground. The game was well attended by Phuket residents and families, as well as other supporters, many of whom were new to the game. The day also involved an Auskick clinic for junior players, which was a hit among…
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German, French tourists go to court over jet-ski accident case
PHUKET: A German tourist who was hit by a Frenchman riding a jet-ski in Phuket last month is now in court with the Frenchman settling the matter. Erich Heim, 55, was knocked unconscious by Chadd Attard, 20, while swimming at Paradise Beach on February 28 (story here). Mr Heim was taken to hospital that day, and discharged on March 5.…
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Tuk-tuk drivers sentenced for massive Patong blockade
PHUKET: Thirteen tuk-tuk drivers who were charged for their involvement in a massive blockade of Patong in March last year were fined and sentenced to one year’s probation yesterday morning. The 13 drivers were part of a group of 68 drivers who were arrested and charged for blockading major roads in the party town in protest of the arrests of…
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Teachers visiting Phuket turn in purse full of cash
PHUKET: Police are searching for the owner of a black purse containing 40,000-baht-worth of mixed currency, which was found by a group of teachers inside the women’s restroom at a PTT gas station in Thalang yesterday. “The teachers told Phuket Tourist Police that they found the purse near a sink in the women’s restroom. They opened it and found both…
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Water-meter thief nabbed in Cherng Talay
PHUKET: Police arrested a man on Tuesday after finding him in possession of 18 water meters stolen from residential homes in the Cherng Talay area. Youngyut Matchawet, 25, was arrested at his house in Cherng Talay, after police tracked him down through CCTV footage. “We began receiving complaints from local residents on Saturday about their water meters disappearing,” said Lt…
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Opinion: Phuket defining boating culture
Erwin Bamps is CEO of Gulf Craft, listed among the world’s top 10 superyacht builders as per the 2014 Global Order Book, a report issued annually by the Boat International Group. Before his appointment to CEO in June 2014, Mr Bamps had been the chief operating officer of the company since 2009, during which the company grew from a few…
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Opinion: Tourism – Once Thailand’s golden goose
PHUKET: Thailand should decide if it wants tourism, or not. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has spent billions of baht over the past 15 years to build the tourism industry into a major force, and it has been largely successful in spite of political turmoil, a tsunami, floods, corruption and fluctuations in currencies worldwide. One estimate published in 2003…
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Phuket police volunteers return to Bangla beat
PHUKET: Police volunteers are back on the beat in Phuket’s primary party town, following a six-day strike starting on March 5 (story here). Region 8 Police volunteers met yesterday with Patong Police Superintendent Chaiwat Auikam and his two deputy superintendents to table a number of growing concerns that led to the strike. “The meeting went very well today. We will…
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Laguna secures cricket victory over the Village
PHUKET: As Songkran approaches, the temperature rises in the Phuket Cricket Group’s (PCG) senior league. On March 8, Laguna beat the Village at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG). Laguna, who were coming off the back of a good win against Thalang in their previous match, were looking to consolidate their position in the race for the minor premiership. Meanwhile, the…
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