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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Sponsored 12Go introduces Japan Rail Passes to enhance travel accessibility for international travellers
For those who have travelled throughout Thailand, 12Go is a well-known provider of various trips, though the platform itself has a much wider reach. Ranging from buses to planes, 12Go is undoubtedly a leading booking platform for travel throughout the...
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Dive operators fight crackdown in court
PHUKET: Dive operators opposing the new regulations that went into effect October 1 have taken their fight to the Administrative Court, where they are challenging the legality of the new regulations.Pragon Geatgun, Vice-President of the Thai Diving Association (TDA), told the Gazette on Tuesday that the TDA was representing about 60 dive operators in Phuket who have lodged a petition…
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Phuket IT icon John Seebach dead
CHERNG TALAY: Island Technology founder John Seebach died of heart failure yesterday evening at the age of 48.John, who also wrote a bi-monthly column on information technology issues for the Phuket Gazette, died after teaching his wife Autcharawan “Gay” Pratumwan how to swim at the Banyan Tree resort at Laguna Phuket.“He was teaching me how to swim like a professional,…
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Deadline for local telephone book
PHUKET: Businesses wishing to appear in the 2007 Gazette Guide, Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’, have until noon on Saturday, 28 October, to enter (or update) their listings. Any entries made after the deadline will not appear in the hard-copy book until January 2008. Business owners are urged to update their listing details now in order to avoid the server outages experienced…
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Carrefour to open at Jungceylon
PATONG: French hypermarket chain Carrefour will open its first branch in Phuket as part of the December 1 soft opening of Jungceylon, putting to rest the speculation that the now-deposed Thaksin government’s efforts to rein in the expansion of large retailers would effect the project.The opening was confirmed during an October 6 press conference at Jungceylon by Prawit Janyasittikul, Deputy…
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Underwater tsunami memorial installed off Phi Phi Island
PHI PHI ISLANDS: Thailand’s first underwater tsunami memorial was laid down on the seabed in Tonsai Bay, off Koh Phi Phi Don, in a ceremony on September 30.The memorial, 1.4 kilometers offshore and at a depth of 20 meters, took about one month to install. The The monument comprises three large granite markers, each 150 centimeters tall and arranged to…
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Suriya’s wife talks to the Gazette
CHERNG TALAY: In an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette, Chanthana Chaowanich has explained the sequence of events the night her husband, well-known businessman Suriya Chaowanich, 49, was assassinated.K. Chanthana, 34, from Bangkok, was with K. Suriya at their home in Baan Bang Jo on the night of September 12.“I was not feeling well, and was lying down in our…
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Local businesses may pony up for security boost
PHUKET: In a bid to increase security on the island, four of the island’s top tourism business associations are planning to establish a fund to help pay for extra police work and equipment.Phuket Tourist Association President Maitree Narukhatpichai told the Gazette that the idea sprang from widespread concerns about the possible effects of an act of terror on the island’s…
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Gambling top vice in September
PHUKET: Statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police again show gambling as the top crime category, with 164 people arrested for gambling-related offenses between September 1 and 30.The second-highest category was drug-related offenses, with 109 arrests.There were two cases of attempted murder, with arrests made in both cases. Two murders were reported during the period, with one case solved. There…
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Princess Sirindhorn to visit Phuket
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Phuket on October 20 to preside over the official opening of three new centers on the island.In the morning, Princess Sirindhorn will chair the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the new building of the Thai Red Cross Society, Phuket Chapter, on Rattanakosin 200 Pi Rd in Phuket City.After this, Princess…
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Tourist dead in suspected suicide
CHALONG: A South African man apparently took his own life on Wednesday, by putting a plastic bag over his head and breathing in LPG gas from a cooking fuel cylinder. The deceased was listed in the Chalong Police daily log as Joeachem Hendrik Smit, 46. His passport, recovered at the scene, showed that he had last entered Thailand on September…
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Big blackout tomorrow for Chalong
CHALONG: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced its scheduled blackouts for October in order to continue its work on high-voltage power lines.Blackouts, from 9 am to 5 pm daily, will affect the following locales:October 6: West side of Chao Fa West Rd – from the PPEA substation to Chalong Circle, including Soi Nakok, Moo Baan Chaofa Thani, Baan…
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Nation party in Phuket again
PHUKET: Nation VI, billed as Asia’s largest gay and lesbian party, will be held at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa from October 20 to 22. Held since 2001, the annual event has grown from a one-night party in a disused theme park in Singapore to an international multi-day festival of gay and lesbian pride. Last year’s party, the…
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Phuket Immigration moves to temporary offices
PHUKET CITY: From Monday, the Phuket Provincial Immigration Office (PPIO) will take up temporary residence in the old wooden Marine Police building across the road from its traditional site on Phuket Rd.PPIO Inspector Pol Lt Col Pipat Pongpan told the Gazette that the move is to allow the old PPIO main building, which was built 23 years ago, to be…
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Construction worker killed at Mai Khao
MAI KHAO: Police are investigating the death of a construction worker whose body was discovered yesterday at a construction workers’ camp on the grounds of the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa. Tah Chat Chai Police Inspector Pol Maj Seksan Komsakorn identified the dead man as 51-year-old Biang Romkhaw, a native of Phitsanoulok province. Biang was employed as a carpenter…
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THAI calls for 3-hour check-in
PHUKET: To ease congestion and ensure that passengers arrive on time, Thai Airways International (THAI) is calling for passengers to check-in three hours before their scheduled departure times.The call also applies to passengers boarding flights at Phuket International Airport.Domestic passengers are asked to check-in at least an hour before departure.The call follows problems at Suvarnabhumi International Airport since its opening…
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Soi Dog Foundation relocates
PHUKET CITY: The Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) closed its center in Phuket City September 29 and relocated to the Mid Road Dog Shelter in Thalang, where it will continue its work in conjunction with the Phuket Provincial Livestock Association.The SDF center, which was intended originally to be a clinic but soon became a shelter and adoption center for abandoned and…
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Body of woman found near Burmese workers’ camp
RASADA: The body of an apparent murder victim was found yesterday in a patch of grass near the Thaksin Concrete company building on Thepkrasattri Rd. The victim, a young woman, had head wounds indicating that she had been beaten with a blunt instrument. Police estimate that she died about three days before her body was discovered.Phuket City Police Crime Suppression…
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Governor leaves Phuket – quietly
PHUKET CITY: About 70 people gathered in front of the Governor’s House on Narisorn Rd this morning to wish Udomsak Uswarangkura a fond farewell on his last day as Governor of Phuket.Governor Udomsak, who today brought to a close some 38 years of government service, left his home at 8:45 am, bound for his native Bangkok.Before departing, he received flowers…
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Exposed to danger
PATONG: Different people held different reactions to the coup d’état that stunned the world – and, to a lesser degree, the nation – on the evening of September 19, 2006. But for some people, including many foreign tourists enjoying the nightlife in Patong, all the excitement was just another excuse to get sloppy drunk, go out and have a grope,…
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Transgender trauma
While some tourists jet in from around the globe specifically to enjoy the androgynous charms of Patong’s legion of ladyboy prostitutes, there are still cases cases where off-guard male tourists end up with a ladyboy under the misunderstanding that he is a real woman. Such misunderstandings can – and often do – result in disaster, as two recent reports in…
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Home security of the second kind
PATTAYA: A group of five ladyboys took home security into their own hands in the early hours of August 25, beating senseless a drunken teenage punk who broke into their apartment and stole 2,000 baht from their communal piggy bank. The story, reported by Banglamung Police Inspector Pol Lt Col Sutham Chaosrithong, made national news the next morning. The five…
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Mini biker gang
Three boys are now safely back at home after a four-day bicycle adventure across Roi-Et Province. The mini-biker gang set off from the home of gang leader Tawee Senputtawong, 13, in the Kasetwisai District of the province with the aim of visiting his sister who is incarcerated on theft charges in a Juvenile Observation and Protection Center in Roi-Et Town.…
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Boyfriend banzaied
The Japanese have spent the past 60 years promoting a message of peace in the world. Unfortunately for one young Thai man, traces of the Samurai warrior ethic can still be found among the legions of salarymen toiling away in offices in Bangkok. In the early hours of August 17, Pol Lt Kiatsak Kasikun, the duty officer at Khlong Tan…
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Two more stormy days
PHUKET: Phuket can expect about two more days of strong winds and heavy rain as the slow-moving tropical depression responsible for the unusually surly weather moves slowly westward from central Thailand into Burma.Arun Kerdsob, Chief of the Phuket Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), told the Gazette that last night’s winds knocked over some trees at Saphan Hin and…
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Saudi Prince inks B4.3bn resort deal
PHANG NGA: Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), which is chaired by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, has signed a deal to acquire land on which it proposes to build a US$115 million (about 4.3 billion baht) “Raffles Phang Nga Resort and Residences”, comprising 150 rooms and 25 luxury villas.The deal was made through a joint-venture company…
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Fire tailors two shops
KATA BEACH, PHUKET: A fire broke out in two tailor shops opposite Mom Tri’s Boathouse at about 1 am on September 24. A rapid response from the Tambon Karon Fire Department, however, ensured that the blaze was put out before it could spread to the resort complex and other nearby businesses.The tailor shops, Phuket Boston Tailor and Royal Thai Tailor,…
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Policeman faints, dies
PHUKET CITY: A traffic police officer from Phuket City Police Station died on September 22, three days after accidentally fracturing his skull.The officer, Sq Ldr Sr Sgt Maj Wisit Wisetsuwan, 48, collapsed and hit his head on the parking lot pavement in front of the police station while taking a man to recover his motorcycle from Phuket City Police Station.Officers…
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Phuket tax revenues continue to soar
PHUKET CITY: Taxes collected for fiscal year 2006 are predicted to total 5.2 billion baht, a 30% increase from last year, the Phuket Area Revenue Office (PARO) reported yesterday at Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s monthly meeting with Provincial Office Chiefs.PARO Chief Pensri Passakul said that the taxes collected from October 2005 to the end of August 2006 totaled 4.8 billion baht,…
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Ranong border checkpoints re-open
PHUKET CITY: The two marine border checkpoints between Ranong and Burma reopened yesterday afternoon after closing due to the coup. Officials report that it is business as usual for visa runners seeking to avoid the 500-baht-a-day fine imposed on those who overstay their time in Thailand.Pol Lt Chaiwat Ouikhum, Chief of Ranong Immigration, confirmed to the Gazette this morning that…
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Batten down the hatches
PHUKET: The Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), at the airport in Thalang, has warned of heavy rain later today due to a tropical depression in the South China Sea, centered about 250 kilometers to the East of Nakhon Phanom province.The announcement, released at 10:00 this morning, said that the storm was likely to make landfall in the area of Dong…
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