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.
-
Sponsored
What’s not covered by health insurance in Thailand?
Health insurance in Thailand has important limits that everyone should know. Many policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, motorcycle accidents, extreme sports, or specific treatments. These gaps can lead to unexpected costs during emergencies. Coverage for outpatient care and hospital...
-
Phuket machete attack puts Burmese workers in ICU
PHUKET: Two Burmese workers on their way home from a Phuket karaoke bar were critically injured after they were attacked by knife-wielding youths yesterday. Thalang Police received an anonymous report at 1:10am from a local resident in Srisoonthorn reporting that two heavily bleeding men were lying in an alley near the Baan Manik boxing camp on Srisoonthron Road. Arriving at…
-
Phuket Police yet to question tour driver attackers
PHUKET: Kamala Police have been issued a court summons to bring in two drivers for questioning over the savage beating of a Phuket tour company driver last Sunday. “I will give them a week to come and see me. If it’s more than a week, a second summons will be issued. If they still don’t come, I will apply to…
-
Phuket officials “reprimand’ The Village
PHUKET: During a day-trip inspection tour to Koh Maphrao off Phuket’s east coast on Tuesday, Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak reprimanded The Village resort for environmental and licensing law infractions. Accompanied by an entourage of no fewer than 30 officials and members of the press, V/Gov Somkiet inspected the upscale resort in response to a complaint filed at the Damrongtham…
-
Phuket taxi bullying continues
PHUKET: Police today were called in to resolve yet another taxi dispute, this time reports of drivers using their vehicles to block the entrance to the renowned Evason Phuket & Bon Island resort. About 20 “black plate” drivers massed at the entrance to the Evason – one of the very first resorts on the island – at about 10am, reported…
-
Patong Hospital to fight Phuket floods
PHUKET: Patong Hospital faces a chronic flooding problem so bad that its administrators plan to construct an emergency dike and pedestrian footbridge to keep out flood water and allow patients to access the facility during periods of heavy rainfall. Phuket Public Health Office Director Sak Tanchaikul reported on short-term solutions to the hospital’s growing flood problem, which caused a shutdown…
-
Top Cop: Phuket is car-theft capital of the South
PHUKET: Thailand’s top traffic cop was in Phuket yesterday to brief top-ranking officers on the need to crack down on vehicle theft and the smuggling of luxury cars. Assistant national police chief Rapeepat Palawong chaired a high-level meeting on the issue at Phuket Provincial Police Headquarters yesterday morning. Lt Gen Rapeepat, who also serves as director of the National Traffic…
-
Complaints mount against British fraud suspect in Phuket
PHUKET: Fugitive British fraud suspect Paul Ridden has been charged with a three-month immigration overstay and faces additional charges for working without a work permit, Phuket Police told the Phuket Gazette this morning. Mr Ridden, 58, was arrested without incident in front of Chalong Police Station yesterday. Chalong Police duty officer Boonlert Onklang said a check of the Briton’s travel…
-
Brit fraud fugitive nabbed in Phuket
PHUKET: A British expat arrested in Phuket today was on a list of fugitives wanted by an international division of the UK’s Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA), the Phuket Gazette has learned. Paul Ridden, 58, was arrested today after being fooled into meeting a friend in front of Chalong Police Station. When he drove into the police station car park,…
-
Phuket fishermen win right to use local beach
PHUKET: Local fishermen at Palai Beach, on Phuket’s east coast, today won the right to use a section of the beach for landing and repairing their longtail boats. Led by Jirapat Phum, about 20 local fisherman arrived at the beach this afternoon to meet Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut and officers from other relevant organizations in order to inspect…
-
Raided, a Phuket drugstore coughs up colorful comments from officialdom
PHUKET: A police raid on an out-of-town pharmacy last Friday coughed up more than the Phuket authorities were looking for. Acting on a tip-off, health officials and Thalang police entered the S.C. Phesat pharmacy on Srisoonthorn Road, right beside Phuket’s famed Heroines’ Monument in Thalang. Inside the drug store, officers found 138 Alprazolam (Xanax) pills for sale – and more…
-
Phuket Police anti-drugs campaign targets kids
PHUKET: About 300 students yesterday began their first day of an “anti-drugs camp” as part of a new campaign by Phuket City police targeting youngsters. The children, from schools throughout Phuket Town, gathered at Srinagarindra The Princess Mother School Phuket (or “Chalermprakiat School“) in Saphan Hin for the four-day camp, which ends on Thursday. “Drug addiction is still a big…
-
Phuket Live Wire: What to expect from your ISP
PHUKET: LAST week, with Khun Roger’s help, I published an updated ‘bang for the baht’ chart that shows you what kinds of international download speeds various Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are actually providing, and at what price. These aren’t the 9 Mbps or 100 Mbps advertised speeds; they’re real international download speeds, measured by real customers, like you and me,…
-
Patong Hill closed to traffic today
PHUKET: The road over Patong Hill, the only direct route from Phuket Town to Patong, will be closed today (Tuesday) from 9am to midday. The road closure is to allow electrical workers to cut down trees interfering with power lines, Surasak Jantharuek of Patong Municipality’s Engineering Division told the Phuket Gazette. “We need to cut down branches and reset power…
-
Phuket convention center impasse triggers political concerns
ANALYSIS PHUKET: The latest political obstacle to the construction of an international convention and exhibition center on the island is a staggering blow to the Phuket tourism industry. Over the past five years, the nation’s domestic political infighting has crippled efforts to develop a sustainable plan for tourism in Thailand. As Asia led the world in a post-2008 economic surge,…
-
Phuket taxi mob beats driver in broad daylight
PHUKET: A gang of taxi drivers encamped outside an upscale resort on Phuket’s west coast today beat a local driver with an iron bar before causing a reported 50,000 baht in damage to his car. His tourist passengers were reportedly inside the vehicle at the time of the attack. Preecha Choowong, 38, filed a complaint at Kamala Police Station this…
-
Sunday Opinion: Meth, mobiles and keeping the peace in Phuket
PHUKET: The fact that persons unknown recently enjoyed success smuggling ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and mobile phones into Phuket Prison by concealing the items inside dead rodents may have a comic aspect to it, but the revelation reflects a serious problem with the security situation – if not the hygiene – at that facility. The problem of smuggling at an…
-
Phuket Corruption: Senate probes alleged police protection racket
PHUKET: A senate subcommittee on police graft and corruption is in Phuket investigating allegations of an alleged police protection racket targeting tailor shops in Phuket’s Kata-Karon area. Subcommittee chairman Pol Gen Jongrak Juthanon said the investigation follows complaints made by people in Kata-Karon that tailor shops and other retail businesses that employ ethnic Nepalis are forced to hand over 2,000…
-
Phuket Square plans Bangkok mall
PHUKET: Phuket Square, managers of Jungceylon in Phuket, will launch a 300-million-baht “lifestyle community mall” on Sukhumvit Soi 20 in Bangkok during the first quarter of next year. The venture follows the company’s success with the Patong-based Jungceylon, it’s first and only other mall project. But the tail is not wagging the dog. Phuket Square has been headquartered in Bangkok…
-
Phuket’s convention center, slammed by a report, now on hold
PHUKET: Phuket’s decades-old dream of having a world-class convention center took a leap backward on Wednesday when the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) issued an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) report that highlighted numerous environmental and financial flaws in the project. A source at the MNRE Office of Policy and Planning (OPP) told a Prachachat reporter that his agency…
-
Phuket lifeguards step up lifesaving campaign
PHUKET: The unveiling of plans for a new lifeguard “education center” at Phuket’s Nai Harn Beach yesterday also saw the announcement of new surf warning signs for tourists and a training program to educate more locals about the dangers of swimming in the sea. New signs will be posted on Phuket beaches this year in five languages – Thai, English,…
-
Police boost patrols past Phuket gold shops
PHUKET: Local police have been ordered to pay special attention to Phuket gold shops as the price of the precious metal continues to rise, the provincial police commander has announced. Maj Gen Pekad Tantipong ordered patrol units in all districts to be on the lookout for strange activity near gold shops, such as repeated passes by the same vehicle. “People…
-
Thailand dishes Australia world cup surprise
PHUKET: Cheers could be heard across Phuket as Thailand scored first against Australia in the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying match late this afternoon. The affair marked both sides’ opening match for the World Cup 2014 third round Asia regional qualifiers. Thailand and Australia were drawn in Group D along with Saudi Arabia and Oman, who also play tonight. Since…
-
Envoy warns of EU advisory against tourists using Phuket tuk-tuks
PHUKET: The continued failure of local authorities to address problems of tuk-tuk drivers with foreign tourists could force European Union (EU) member states to issue a joint travel advisory warning against using tuk-tuks while in Phuket, the Austrian Ambassador to Thailand has warned. Austrian Ambassador to Thailand Johannes Peterlik issued the warning to local officials during the third meeting between…
-
Aussie embassy bolsters bilateral ties with Phuket students
PHUKET: An official from the Australian Embassy in Bangkok joined pupils at a Phuket Town school today for a teleconference with high-school students in Australia. Simon Farbenbloom, deputy head of mission at the Australian Embassy of Thailand, explained that the call was made to discuss an ongoing environmental sustainability project between the Srinagarindra, The Princess Mother School Phuket (SWPK, or…
-
FIVB Beach Volleyball returns to Phuket – for now
PHUKET: The 6th Swatch FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour is set to make Karon Beach its stage again this year, starting November 1, despite the possibility of the event moving elsewhere in the future due to a lack of funding from Phuket, organizers say. The Phuket Thailand Open, which is a women’s tournament, has been growing in popularity and scope,…
-
Phuket Police nab teenage murder gang
PHUKET: Phuket Police took just a few hours to track down and arrest three teenagers wanted for the strangling murder of a Phuket resort worker yesterday. At least two more suspects remain at large. Police presented two of the suspects to the press at Phuket City Police Station this morning. The suspects were identified as Charin “Mutt” Chokekue and Kittiphum…
-
German victim of Phuket mob bashing out of coma
PHUKET: German national Kurt Trotnow, who is in intensive care after being beaten by a mob in Patong, is conscious but still on a respirator. “Kurt is conscious now but still cannot talk because he is on a respirator. When he wakes up, I talk with him and he looks at me. He understands my words,” said his wife, Jiraporn…
-
Phuket Town calls for heavy metals
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality in conjunction with the Pollution Control Department, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, is calling for people to donate all old items containing heavy metals. Phuket Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen, Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwanasupana and Rangson Pinthong, director of the PCD’s Waste & Hazardous Substances Management Bureau, launched the annual project at Phuket…
-
Two homosexuals found dead in as many days
PHUKET: Phuket City Police this morning announced the results of their investigation into the strangling murder of a Patong resort worker whose body was discovered at his home in Wichit last night. The body of the late Yusop Wattanarot, age 35, was discovered by friends who went to visit him at 7:30pm yesterday. Sathien Chartsuksiridej, a close friend of the…
-
Phuket consuls let loose over German bashing
PHUKET: The quarterly meeting between Phuket’s honorary consuls and local officials held at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday placed tuk-tuk drivers’ conduct squarely in the spotlight. The meeting became the forum for the strongest comments yet by the Phuket-based honorary consuls, who urged Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong to take action and bring to justice tuk-tuk and taxi drivers who…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.