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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Police push for 180 more CCTV cameras
PHUKET: After hailing as a success the installation of 48 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras around the island, Phuket Provincial Police Superintendent of General Staff Pol Col Peerayut Karajedee on Friday announced that police are now looking to install 180 more public surveillance cameras.At the monthly Governor Meets the Press meeting, Col Peerayut said that the 48 cameras installed in Phuket…
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Private funding offered for convention center
NAI YANG: Phuket’s decades-old of dream of having an International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) took a step forward on May 28, when Tourism and Sports Minister Suwit Yodmanee ordered the formation of a provincial committee and gave it 60 days to decide where the center should be sited.The move follows a May 25 meeting of ING Funds (Thailand) Co…
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Labor Office calls for work permit renewals
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) today called for employers of Burmese, Lao and Cambodian workers to renew their employees’ work permits before the June 30 deadline.At the monthly meeting of provincial government department chiefs at Phuket Provincial Hall, Kitti Nuisri of the Phuket Labor Office this morning said that work permits for 6,685 immigrant workers whose permits will…
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Thai Rak Thai executives face five-year ban from politics
BANGKOK (Nation): The Constitution Tribunal yesterday ruled that the Thai Rak Thai executives must be banned from politics for five years in line with a coup order.The tribunal ruled that the Announcement No 27 of the Council for Democratic Reform had retroactive effect against the Thai Rak Thai executives.The court ruled that executives had committed political crimes, not criminal offenses,…
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Tribunal rules suit against Democrats legitimate
BANGKOK (Nation): The Constitution Tribunal ruled yesterday that the Democrat Party had not breached the MPs and Senatorial Election Act because the act had lapsed after the coup.Reading the legal interpretations before the verdict, Judge Somchai said the organic election had not been exempted by any coup order and so it was annulled by the coup.However, the tribunal ruled that…
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Democrats escape dissolution
BANGKOK (Nation): The Constitution Tribunal yesterday acquitted the Democrat Party of framing the Thai Rak Thai Party during the election campaign in the run up to the April 2 general election last year.The tribunal ruled that it was not wrong for the Democrats to attack the Thaksin regime during the election campaign.The tribunal also found the Democrats not guilty of…
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Villagers back Yamu marina plan
PHUKET CITY: In the latest in a back-and-forth dispute between opposing village groups, developers and the governmen, about 200 villagers from Baan Yamu in Pa Khlok staged a peaceful demonstration outside the Phuket Provincial Hall on May 29 to show their support for a controversial marina project at Cape Yamu. The planned 60-million-baht project, to be constructed by The Yamu…
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Decha calls for volunteers
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Decha Budnampetch once again called for more police officers and civil defense volunteers in a meeting this morning at ST Hotel. Comparing Phuket to Las Vegas, he said that more officers are needed to keep Phuket safe, especially after the recent bombings in Haad Yai. At the Phuket Provincial Security Committee meeting, chairman…
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OrBorTor Wichit aspires to municipality status
PHUKET: The President of Wichit Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has requested for the Governor of Phuket to upgrade the OrBorTor to the status of a town municipality, skipping the usual tambon municipality step. The upgrade is needed to reflect the rapid growth of the area’s economy and population, OrBorTor President Kreetha Saetan claims.Phuket Muang District Chief Wirawat Janpen, however, advised…
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Rise in registrations continues
PHUKET: As of May 20, Phuket’s official population stood at 318,538. The figure was up 7,868 people from January 31 when the province launched a campaign to increase the number of Thai citizens whose names appear on household registration forms in the province. Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Piya Bharatasilpin reported the increase to Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima during the…
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Copyright crackdown urged
PHUKET: Representatives from national copyright and trademark enforcement agencies this morning met with more than 30 police officers from Police Region 8 today, including Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha, to encourage the officers to crack down on intellectual property infringements. Phuket, Koh Samui and Ao Nang were specifically targeted because of their high number of foreign visitors,…
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2.9 billion baht requested for waste management
PHUKET (Gazette, The Nation): Phuket has requested a 2.9 billion baht budget from the central government to fund a four-year plan to manage waste disposal and water treatment on the island. The request includes an allocation of 1.3 billion baht to build a second incinerator.The plan was discussed at a workshop at the Phuket Merlin Hotel chaired by Vice-Governor Worapoj…
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Nation seminar sold out
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s economic strengths and weaknesses were under the microscopes of prominent local and national leaders during “The Drivers of the Economy in Phuket” seminar at The Metropole hotel yesterday.The sold-out event, part of a number of activities to mark the Nation Group’s 36th anniversary, drew many notable speakers from government, industry and tourism sectors and focused on ways Phuket could…
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Thai Navy stages VIP rescue
CAPE PANWA: A “VIP” was rescued by officers from the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Command yesterday as part of an anti-terrorism drill held off Cape Panwa.About 50 officers from the Navy, Marine Police and Marine Transport Officers took part in the drill, which simulated the rescue of a Thai Government VIP from a terrorist boat in the sea off…
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Miniature elephant or mammoth scam?
TAK: Taking a break from bashing his cousins in the Karen National Union, a sergeant major from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) reportedly crossed the Thai border recently with an unusual piece of merchandise, one he came to hawking at an extraordinary price. Sgt Maj Tinai, from the DKBA 999 Division, claimed to be in possession of none other…
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Student rape report denied by police
RASSADA: An unknown intruder broke into a room in a women’s dormitory yesterday afternoon and assaulted a 16-year-old student, but police are denying reports in the local Thai-language media that the girl was raped.Duty Officer Capt Attapol Wannasaengthong of the Phuket City Police responded to the report of the attack, which took place at about 5:15 pm at a women’s…
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Warrant served on thumb-chopping insurance fraud suspect
KATHU: Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police yesterday served a search warrant at the home of alleged insurance fraudster Pichet Porntatipong, who insurers claim chopped off his own left thumb with a butcher’s knife in order to collect 16 million baht in claims on some 30 different insurance polices. Lt Col Akkarat Limsangkard, Deputy Commander of CSD Sub-Division 5, called K.…
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Local moneylender found murdered in his home
TUNG TONG: Police are investigating the brutal stabbing murder of an elderly businessman discovered in his Bangtong Village home in the early evening of May 22.Tung Tong Police Investigating Inspector Pol Lt Col Passakorn Sontikul told the Gazette the bloody corpse of 62-year-old Kajorn “Ko Jorn” Somnam was discovered by his longtime live-in partner Wassana Chookaew, 51, at about 7…
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Man bites dog
“When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.” PATHUM THANI: The above quote, often attributed to 19th-century New York Sun editor John B Bogart, is the standard maxim given to young journalists to remind them what is newsworthy and what is not. It…
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Press conference to clarify “Zoran Island” plan
PHUKET: Following reports that a man-made island was ready to be built off the east coast of Phuket to accommodate a marina for mega-yachts, the marketing manager at Royal Phuket Marina [RPM] clarified that the project is still in the early planning stages and faces many obstacles before it can become a reality. RPM Marketing Director Wilaiporn Titimanaaree told the Gazette that developer…
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Phuket and Japan’s Hyoko to be “sistered” soon
PHUKET: Plans are afoot to add the Japanese prefecture of Hyogo to Phuket’s growing list of sister cities.On May 21, Phuket Japanese Association President Kazushi Miyashita met with Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit and Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Southern Region 4 office to discuss the idea.Mr Miyashita told reporters he has already met the Vice Governor…
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One teen dead after night of violence
PHUKET CITY: One teenager was left dead on May 20 after a night of gang threats and retaliations ended in a fatal shooting. The 17-year-old victim, Kanchit “Phai” Trupsin, was found at 3 am outside Muslim Puenrak restaurant on Anuphas Phuket Kan Rd. According to testimony given to police, the incident began when a passenger riding pillion on a motorbike…
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Evacuation drills planned for June 30
PHUKET: Evacuation drills will be conducted in all tsunami-risk areas on the island on June 30, Phuket Vice Governor Tri Augkaradacha has announced. The drills will be coordinated jointly by the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC), the local office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) and local administrative bodies where the exercises will take place. The areas…
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Night of drug checks turns up only one positive
PHUKET CITY: A urine check of 155 customers at seven nightspots in Phuket City on the night of May 17 turned up only one possible case of drug use, police reported.Phuket City Administrative Officer Adul Chuthong, along with Phuket Provincial Health Officer Anuntaporn Pattanapan, Phuket City Police Pol Capt Sombat Thanawut and about 10 volunteers conducted the unannounced checks, which…
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Film fest coming to Jungceylon
PATONG: The first-ever Phuket Film Festival will be held from September 30 to October 6 to mark the opening of the SF Cinema, due to open soon at Jungceylon Shopping Center in Patong. The state-run Andaman News service this morning reported the Tourism Authority of Thailand as saying it hopes the festival will become an annual event.The film festival will…
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High tides slam Phuket’s northern beaches
PHUKET: Following Wednesday’s earthquake felt across much of the country, unusually high tides yesterday created fear of another tsunami among some residents of west coast beaches. Authorities said the waves, which damaged a number of seaside restaurants in Thalang District, were unrelated to seismic activity and were just the result of normal tidal conditions and strong monsoon winds.The waves damaged…
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Mobile diabetes clinic to tour Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) is organizing a year-long mobile diabetes test clinic aimed at testing 50,000 people who fall into high-risk categories for the disease.Reporting to Phuket Vice-Governor Smith Palawatvichai at the “Governor Meets the Media” event at Phuket Provincial Hall on the morning of May 15, PPHO Chief Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong said the outreach project…
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Princess to visit Jungceylon tribute to HM the King
PHUKET: HRH Princess Soamsavali will preside over a tribute to HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 80th birthday, to be held at the Jungceylon shopping complex in Patong on May 19.The event, to begin at 7 pm, will include a multimedia show entitled “The Art Inspiration from the King” featuring images projected on the water curtain in Jungceylon’s fountain. Princess Soamsavali will…
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Police urge gold shops to tighten security
PHUKET CITY: Phuket police have requested local gold shops tighten security and limit their trading hours to help police better patrol the shops. The call follows a reported spike in the number of gold shop robberies nationwide.Police met more than 50 local gold shop owners at Phuket City Police Station yesterday to discuss the request along with other possible ways…
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PM downgrades tourism projects in South
KRABI (The Nation): Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has downgraded some major tourism projects in the South, including the reopening of some small airports, and the construction of a convention center in Phuket. The announcement came at a meeting between PM Surayud and the governors of the six Andaman provinces held in Krabi yesterday.The premier is concentrating more on a tsunami-warning…
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