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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Huge jump in tourist arrivals
PHUKET: The number of visitors arriving at Phuket International Airport in the year to date is up by 27% on the figure for the same period last year, astonishing and delighting tourism bosses.The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket office had predicted that the number of passengers – foreign and Thai – arriving in Phuket would increase by 10% this…
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Jeab murder case lodged with court
PATTAYA: The Provincial Court in Pattaya has renewed bail for Sam Van Treeck, the 24-year-old Belgian man accused of murdering Phuket-based divemaster Chompoonut “Jeab” Kobram, 23.Van Treeck’s bail was renewed on Monday (September 20), the same day as the police submitted their case to the court.K. Jeab was found dead on June 25 in Van Treeck’s apartment in Pattaya. She…
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Judgment day for Daeng the dog
PHUKET CITY: In a judgment worthy of Solomon, the Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Department (PPLO) today defused a nasty dispute over custodianship of a dog being held at the infamous Middle Road Dog Pound. His solution: the dog should decide.Trouble erupted at the pound on Tuesday night when Margot Homburg Park of the Soi Dog Foundation attempted to…
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Grumbling Patong closes earlier
PATONG: More than 200 entertainment places in Patong are closing earlier, in the wake of a new order from the Interior Ministry. The order means that many venues that previously could stay open until 2 am now have to close at 1 am, and in some cases, midnight, although the closing time on New Year’s Eve will, as before, be…
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Investigators to urge govt to seize Samsara
PHUKET: The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) will propose that the government seize the land on which the Samsara development is being built after “proving clearly” that it is state land.The proposal will be put before the Committee on State Land at its next meeting on Monday (September 27). The committee is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Gen Thammarak Issarangkul na…
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Eight-year tax holiday for IT companies
PHUKET: A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) and the Board of Investment (BoI) exempts IT companies from company tax for eight years, and enables them to import IT products and services duty-free. The MOU, signed on August 24 by Sipa President Dr Manoo Ordeedolchest and BoI Secretary General Somphong Wanapha, is designed…
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Tycoon arrested again over Samsara land
PATONG: Chamnan “Daeng” Pachantabutr, former owner of the land on which the Samsara luxury property development is being built, was arrested this morning at his home in Patong.Chamnan is one of the owners of the Phuket Cabana Resort and of the Kan Eang restaurants in Chalong.Leading the arrest party were the Chief of the Crime Suppression Police, Pol Maj Gen…
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Transvestite performer drinks himself to death
PATONG: Well-known transvestite performer “Nok Cabaret Show” drank himself to death in a rented room above the Twilight Pub on September 18, police say.The 44-year-old performer, whose real name was Jamnien Neuaha of Nakhon Ratchasima, had been employed by the My Way Bar on Soi Paradise, but lost his job about three months ago. After that, he rented a room…
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AirAsia to sell tickets at Tesco
PHUKET CITY: From Phuket to Kuala Lumpur via Tesco-Lotus will become possible from September 28, when Thai AirAsia opens a ticket booth inside the Tesco-Lotus store, off the bypass road.The low-cost airline started selling tickets through five Tesco-Lotus branches in Bangkok on September 16 and plans to extend its sales network to include Tesco stores in Chiang Mai, Haad Yai…
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Senior police in annual reshuffle
PHUKET: Senior police officers from four Phuket police stations have been promoted, with effect from October 1. Two other officers will be moving to take up posts in other stations in the same rank.Pol Lt Gen Somsak Buppasuwan, Surat Thani-based commander of Police Region 8 has announced the promotions and transfers of a total of 27 police officers from Region…
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Cut and run
CHONBURI: In the latest incident involving a philandering lover, a jealous girlfriend and a sharp knife, a young man from Petchaboon province awoke on the morning of September 4 to find to find a very private part lying in a pool of blood on the floor next to his bed. The victim, identified as 20-year-old Amnart Pinkratok, was rushed to…
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WBC champ to defend title in Phuket
KARON: WBC world flyweight boxing champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam will defend his title during the 42nd Annual WBC Convention, to be hosted by the Phuket Arcadia Hilton Hotel October 4-9.The fight will take place on October 8 in Karon, though a precise venue has yet to be decided.According to the popular website boxingtalk.net, Pongsaklek’s opponent will be 15th-ranked Carlos Bouchan of…
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New Zealander dies in smash
KARON: Terence Wayne Garnett, 41, from New Zealand, died when his motorbike collided with a six-wheel truck outside Karon Municipality offices on Patak Rd early on Thursday morning.Mr Garnett, originally of Palmerston, arrived in Phuket on August 17 for a three-month stay.He was wearing a crash helmet when his motorbike collided with the truck at about 1:30 am, but he…
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Airport Immigration gets more officers
MAI KHAO: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura visited Phuket International Airport yesterday to meet 15 new Immigration Police officers recruited for the start of the high season next month, in response to complaints of long waiting times in the arrival hall.Journalists were told that the airport usually has 15 Immigration Police officers, but that authorities had decided that this was not…
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Phuket bids to host F1 power boat races
PHUKET: The island is hoping to host a round of next year’s international UIM F1 Powerboat Grand Prix circuit, the world’s premier inshore power boat racing championship. Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura told the Gazette that he had already met with F1’s Vice President for Marketing, Giancarlo Tschuor from Switzerland, and that a tentative agreement had been reached to stage the Phuket…
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Phuket to press PM for underpasses
PHUKET CITY: Vice-Governor Pongpow Ketthong yesterday confirmed that the Phuket Provincial government will continue to pursue the budget required to build two underpasses along the bypass road.“Phuket needs the underpasses,” he told a meeting at Provincial Hall.V/Gov Pongpow’s comments follow the rejection by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his recent visit to Phuket of an 800-million-baht budget request for the…
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Gas blast damages nine homes
WICHIT: A gas explosion yesterday evening wrecked a house in Jomthong Thani housing estate on Kwang Rd and damaged roofs and interiors in eight other houses nearby. Luckily, no one was killed or injured.Pol Maj Yongyuth Krongmalai, of Phuket City Police station, told the Gazette that investigating officers believe gas leaked into the single-story house after the pipe from an LPG…
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AirAsia launches Singapore route with 7.80-baht fare
PHUKET CITY: Thai AirAsia yesterday launched a promotion for flights on its new Singapore-Phuket route by offering 3,000 one-way seats at just 7.80 baht each. The fares do not include airport tax and other fees. Ticket purchases must be made online at www.airasia.com between September 15 and 30 for flights starting on November 5. Once the low-fare tickets are sold out,…
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Ex-Governor to run Korat
BANGKOK: Pongpayome Vasaputi, the former governor of Phuket, will take up the post of Governor of Nakhon Ratchasima (also known as Korat) in October. He will replace Soonthorn Riwreang.The announcement was made yesterday at a meeting of the Cabinet in Bangkok, during which Prime Minister Thaksin Shinnawatra approved transfers of senior government officers.K. Pongpayome is currently the Director-General of the…
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New lease on life for Lucky Complex?
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has agreed to issue a concession for private company Phamonkij Witsavakram (PW) to refurbish the abandoned Lucky Complex at Saphan Hin and run it as a duty-free plaza for 25 years.OrBorJor President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr made the announcement on September 13.However, the agreement is contingent on several key factors, including Customs Department approval…
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A very rich diet
PHAYAO: Doctors performing emergency abdominal surgery were dumbfounded when they found more than two kilograms of coins and other objects inside the patient’s gut. Sanguan, 37, was taken to Phayao Hospital by relatives after complaining of severe stomach pain on August 31. Doctors knew something was amiss when they looked at X-ray images of Sanguan’s stomach – it looked like…
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Wisut to stand for Thai Rak Thai
PHUKET: Wisut Santikul, former Vice-President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), will stand in next February’s general election as a Thai Rak Thai (TRT) candidate, he and the party confirmed yesterday.K. Wisut, who stood as an independent in the OrBorJor elections in March, but lost to Democrat-backed Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, will contest District 2 – all of the island except…
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Tourism roadshow makes its mark
PHUKET: Almost 2,000 Malaysians have decided to celebrate the end of Hari Raya/Ramadan by visiting Phuket, after seeing a promotional roadshow organized by the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).Around 30 TAT staff, members of the Phuket Tourism Association and industry representatives from Phang Nga and Krabi took the “Thailand – Southern Paradise Roadshow” on a lightning…
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Murder suspect released on bail
PATTAYA: Belgian Sam Van Treeck, 24, who is accused of the murder his ex-girlfriend has been released on bail by the Pattaya Provincial Court.Chompoonut “Jeab” Kobram was found stabbed to death at Van Treeck’s apartment on June 25. The accused denies the charge, claiming he came home after being out drinking and found the body. K. Jeab had been stabbed…
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Travelers snap up Tiger’s cheap seats
PHUKET: Singapore’s first budget airline, Tiger Airways, will begin flights this month between Singapore’s Changi Airport and Bangkok, Phuket and Haad Yai. Salinla Seehaphan, Manager of Tiger Airlines Thailand, told the Gazette that one third of the tickets for the first week of one-way flights are promotional-fare tickets priced at S$1 (25 baht), excluding fees, insurance and taxes. She said…
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Malls comply with earlier closing order
PHUKET CITY: Shopping centres and malls in Phuket have been told that they must restrict their opening hours to save energy.Panjit Pissawong, Chief of Phuket Provincial Commercial Office (PPCO) told the Gazette that the island’s shopping malls had to fall into line with the resolution made by the national cabinet on Wednesday. But, she added, the PPCO would monitor how…
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SorPorKor papers on 3,000 rai revoked
PHUKET : The Phuket Provincial Land Reform Office (PLRO) has revoked 283 SorPorKor 4-01 land documents covering more than 3,000 rai in Phuket, following a ruling by the SorPorKor Land Commission in Bangkok that the land was not being used by poor farmers as intendedTeerawut Tawornpatanavong, Chief of the PLRO, told the Gazette that he will now begin notifying the…
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Gov moves to reduce drowning toll
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura is planning to erect signs at island beaches warning swimmers how to react if they get caught in a dangerous current. The idea follows a recent report that drowning claimed the lives of 13 tourists in the past eight months.“I just met with a foreign expert in sea safety, and he told me that swimmers…
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Police welcome B34m for guns and training
PHUKET CITY: The Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, has welcomed the allocation of 34 million baht from the central government for weapons and training for police from Phuket and surrounding areas. The money was promised by Prime Minister Thaksin on his recent whistle-stop tour of the South.Col Paween said, “PM Thaksin has granted the budget…
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Hotels cough up B44m in rooms tax
PHUKET: With three weeks to go until the end of the tax year, Phuket’s hotels have paid more than 44 million baht in tax on room revenue to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr announced today. K. Anchalee said that 217 of the island’s hotels – considerably less than half – had paid. The OrBorJor would be…
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