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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Thailand News: Death sentences for police who murdered youth
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death terms for police guilty of murdering youth Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: The Criminal Court yesterday handed down a guilty verdict to five former Kalasin-based policemen for their involvement in the extrajudicial killing of a 17-year-old boy in 2004. Three of them were sentenced to death,…
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Intellectual Property: Dildos, porn and sex pills seized in massive haul
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Members of Thailand’s largest ring of traders in aphrodisiacs and sex toys were apprehended in Bangkok with goods worth more than 100 million baht, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief said yesterday. DSI Director-General Tharit Pengdit and Pol Lt-Col Chinnachot Daengsurisri, commander of the Intellectual…
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Michelle Smith “killers’ reject confession
PHUKET: The two men charged with the death of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith, who died from a stab wound inflicted in a bag-snatch in June, yesterday denied all charges against them. Surasak Suwannachote, 26, and Surin Tadthong, 37, were presented at Phuket Provincial Court to enter pleas to the charges, which collectively accuse the men of murder and gang…
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Murder suspect arrested in Phuket flown to Bangkok
PHUKET: A murder suspect arrested in Phuket yesterday was flown to Bangkok* last night, flying out of Phuket at 9pm. Chalong Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri told the Phuket Gazette that 57-year-old Marc De Schutter was arrested at a home on Soi Samakee 2 in Rawai, where he was living with his Thai girlfriend. Phuket Immigration Police and Chalong Police both…
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Belgian ‘Most Wanted’ arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: A top-secret investigation has led to the arrest of one of Belgium’s most-wanted criminals in Phuket. The suspect, named as Marc de Schutter, was reportedly wanted for murder, money laundering and economic crimes in his native Belgium. His arrest by some 30 officers of the Crime Suppression Division and Chalong Police followed a one-month investigation launched at the request…
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Phuket Gazette: Four sentenced to death in Iran’s biggest bank fraud case
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Four sentenced to death in Iran’s biggest ever bank fraud case Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: A court in Iran has sentenced four people to be executed for their role in what has been described as the country’s largest ever bank fraud case, judicial officials said yestersday.…
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Election alcohol bans to cost Patong venues B5mn a night
PHUKET: The mandatory ban on the sale of alcohol for upcoming elections at the end of this month will cost Patong’s nightlife industry at least 5 million baht a night, the Phuket Gazette has been told. The sale of alcohol will be banned across Phuket on August 26 and again in Patong on September 2 as voters go to the…
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Olympic: Shooter Sutiya misfires; Thai lifts silver; Phuket’s Maneepong progresses
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Phuket’s Maneepong progresses to knockout stagesPhuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Despite bitter disappointment for world No 22 Boonsak Ponsana, Thailand’s badminton team have kept the flag flying in the 30th Olympic Games, with the men’s duo of Bodin Isara and Phuket’s Maneepong Jongjit storming their…
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Krabi drug rehab school owner called to answer police inquiry
PHUKET: Following the reported drowning of a runaway student, the owner of the Por Noh Klong Gom School during a video-conference with Royal Thai Police Deputy Commissioner-General Adul Saengsingkaew admitted that “improvements” to the school’s management were urgently needed. The video conference, at Krabi Provincial Hall on Saturday, was in reaction to the drowning and subsequent mass-walkout by hundreds of…
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Restaurant, resort ordered removed from Phuket protected forests
PHUKET: More than 150 officers from the Royal Forest Department (RFD) led raids on three sites in Phuket on Saturday.In Thalang, officers discovered a resort under construction within the boundaries of the protected Bang Kanoon Forest.“We found buildings that looked like a resort under construction on land inside the forest. However, there was no one at the site to declare…
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Boonthaworn Phuket showroom to open by October 1
PHUKET: After years of delay, Bangkok-based construction materials retailer Boonthavorn is moving forward with its plans to enter the Phuket market with the opening of a “mini-showroom”.The new facility will be located between Songkhla and Yaowarat roads, near the Tesco-Lotus junction in Rassada.Speaking to the Gazette at the project site, Boonthavorn architect Jiravut Kararun said the company is currently renovating…
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Yamaha Division One: Phuket 0 – 1 PTT Rayong
PHUKET: A single goal was all that PTT Rayong FC needed to prevail over Phuket FC on Saturday night at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town. It was the second time the two sides met this season; exactly two weeks earlier Phuket endured a 6-0 thrashing at Rayong. It was the last straw for former coach Milos Josic of Serbia, who…
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Bone fragment of Lord Buddha installed at Phuket temple
PHUKET: A bone-fragment relic of Lord Buddha was respectfully installed at Chedi Dok Bua Kaew “Crystal Lotus Pagoda” in Nakaram Temple, Wichit, during a ceremony on Friday. The ceremony was led by Phra Thepsitthimunee, Deputy Monk Dean of Region 16 from Dusidaram Warrawiharn Temple in Bangkok, along with 108 Buddhist monks from the greater Phuket area. “The relic of the…
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Phuket man rescued from dire drunk dozing decision
PHUKET: A drunken man chose an exceptionally bad place to sleep off the effects of alcohol over the weekend: in the middle of the busiest and most deadly road in Phuket.A good citizen called the Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation at 6:45pm yesterday to report that a man was asleep in the left lane of Thepkrasattri Road outbound in Srisoonthorn, opposite the…
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National News: Three arrested for shootings; Govt criticized; Olympics update
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three arrested in shooting deaths of soldiers in Pattani Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Three men have been arrested for their alleged role in Saturday’s fatal shooting of four soldiers in Pattani, according to Pattani Governor Thira Mintarasak. “We have also retrieved 9mm guns stolen…
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At least 78 killed in western Myanmar clashes – UN
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 78 killed in western Myanmar clashes – UN Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Clashes between Buddhist and Muslim communities in western Myanmar have reportedly killed at least 78 people and displaced thousands last month, the United Nations (UN) said on Friday. UN High Commissioner…
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Phuket’s Big Buddha project cleared of wrongdoing
PHUKET: An internal inquiry by the Royal Forestry Department’s Community Forestry Management Bureau has found no wrong doing by any parties involved in the Phuket Big Buddha project. The inquiry was launched after a flood of complaints, led Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak, demanding a completion date from the project’s managers, the Mingmongkol Faith 45 Foundation. The complaints have now…
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Wildlife activist supports Forestry, National Parks merger
PHUKET: A well-known wildlife activist has told the Phuket Gazette that he supports the planned merger of the Royal Forest Department and the Department of National Parks (DNP), Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The merger was announced on July 11 by Preecha Rengsomboonsuk, who heads the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry that controls both departments. Once the merger gets the green…
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Krabi drug rehab student drowned in escape, says friend
PHUKET: Eyewitness reports are now indicating that the student who died after escaping a youth drug rehab facility in Krabi last week was not beaten to death by teaching assistants, as initially reported, but rather drowned during his escape. Allegations that student Maha Manitaya was beaten to death by the teaching assistants at Por Noh Klong Gom School prompted more…
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Phuket Opinion: New ‘guide-lines’ needed for tourism
PHUKET: One chronic tourism-related problem that periodically bubbles to the surface of the local media here in Phuket is that of illegal foreign guides conducting tours for fellow countrymen. While the problem was originally mainly centered around illegal Korean guides, its scope has expanded over the past decade due to robust growth in the inbound markets from both Russia and…
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Phuket Life Music Festival to honor “The Stars’
PHUKET: Phuket-born Jaruwat “Dome” Cheawaram, better known as “Dome The Star” after winning the popular television singing contest, will headline the Phuket Life Music Festival 2012, to be held in Phuket Town on August 14. The concert will be held at Anuphas Field, near the Phuket bus terminal on Phang Nga Road, from 7pm to 10:30pm. Other live acts to…
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Drug rehab youths escape facility after friend beaten to death
PHUKET: More than 200 youths escaped from the drug rehabilitation center at Por Noh Klong Gom School and sought the protection of a local mosque in Krabi on Thursday after one of their classmates was allegedly beaten to death by teaching assistants. The school, although in Krabi, serves as a drug rehabilitation center for about 800 troubled youths from throughout…
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Queen’s Cup Hua Hin International Triathlon 2012 starts August 19
PHUKET: Following the successful Columbia Trail Masters 2012, sponsored by the Phuket Gazette at Thanyapura earlier this year, the idyllic fishing village of Kao Tao, 10 kilometers south of Hua Hin, will host the 4th edition of the Queen’s Cup Hua Hin International Triathlon 2012 on August 19. The event will honor Her Majesty the Queen’s 80th birthday. The event…
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Phuket T20 Cricket gets under way
PHUKET: The T20 cricket league kicked off last weekend with Neill Culpan scoring 57 not out, helping current champions Laguna defeat last season’s runners-up Patong in the first game. Patong won the toss and chose to bat first. They didn’t start well, losing opener Richie Desmond for five with only 12 runs on the board. Manesh Sadarangani scored 32 not…
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Poll: Is Phuket’s property market over-developed?
PHUKET: Tanan Tanpaiboon, former head of the Phuket Real Estate Association, recently warned that over-development in the Phuket real estate sector risks creating a “bubble” that could burst, sending real estate prices tumbling due to oversupply. What do you think will be the overall trend in real estate prices on Phuket over the next five years? To have your say…
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Phuket FC set for home battle with PTT Rayong
PHUKET: Soccer fans who missed out on seeing Phuket FC’s new line-up which was successful against Songkhla on Wednesday will have their next chance tomorrow evening when the Islanders are set to host PTT Rayong FC. Kick off for the league match, to be played at Surakul Stadium, will be at 6:30pm. Aside from seeing some of Phuket’s new signings…
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Phuket Business: Transit investors; Travelmob makes a move
PHUKET: A Thai-Australian consortium was the latest multi-national delegation to express interest in constructing the Phuket mass-transit, light-rail project which Cabinet gave provisional approval for at the mobile Cabinet meeting in Phuket in March. Thai Rail Tech company representative Sirichai Prasertwaree and Neil Heaton, general manager of the Hong Kong branch of United Group Limited (UGL), on July 10 met…
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Phuket gold shop damaged in youth street brawl
PHUKET: A group of eight students attacked two others in front of a gold shop in the heart of Phuket Town yesterday morning. The attack, at about 10:15am, was launched in front of a hardware and electronics store on Ong Sim Pai Road in front of Kaset Market. The two students who were set upon ran to the Sri Thong…
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Alcohol linked to Phuket vegetable dealer’s death
PHUKET: Phuket Police believe that cardiac arrest, possibly triggered by excessive alcohol intake, may have caused the death of a man whose body was found by the side of a road in Sakoo yesterday afternoon. Tah Chat Chai Police were notified of the discovery at 2:45pm. At the scene in Sakoo Village 4, off the old airport road near Nai…
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National News: HFMD update – another death; Insurgents change tactics; 92 Thais jailed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Second HFMD fatality reported Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is believed to have claimed its second life in Thailand – a young Cambodian boy living in Rayong. Rayong Public Health chief Kris Pansuk yesterday identified the victim only as…
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