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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High-tech sprituality
UBON RATCHATHANI: It is well known that when you make a deal with the spirit world it’s best to hold up your end of the bargain – an act known in Thai as kae bon. Perhaps Thailand’s best-known acts of kae bon take place at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine, famous for helping mortals pick winning lottery numbers. Those who hit it…
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Paranoia in the lobby
BANGKOK: When police arrived at the Louis Tavern, in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district, on April 18, they found fellow officer Pol Cpl Sathit Prasanpangsri, 33, being held under house arrest by the hotel owner, Asuwin Inghakul, and a security guard. K. Asuwin, 58, said that Cpl Sathit was acting suspiciously. He was wearing a safari suit and carrying a top-of-the-range…
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Far from enlightening
CHIANG RAI: For most Thai families, having a son train as a novice in the wat is a matter of pride and cultural significance. One can only imagine, then, the shock the father of one boy must have felt when his son returned home reporting that he had been repeatedly raped in the wat. On May 13, a 45-year-old man…
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A lesson in physics
CHON BURI: What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? If a recent accident on the Sukhumvit Highway is anything to go by, the irresistible force loses. In this case the irresistible force was 20-year-old Anand Umpi, a member of the “Viron Kilo 10” gang that frequently ride their motorcycles wildly on the highway late at night, terrorizing…
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Gazette Online back in action
PHUKET: Due to a software clash at the Gazette‘s Singapore-based web server, some data files became corrupted last night. Anyone who has placed a paid classified advertisement on the site is asked to check whether it is still there. If it is not, they should email classads@phuketgazette.net with details of the ad so that it can be restored as soon…
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American held on dope charge
PATONG: American Charles Elliott Rook, 55, was arrested on May 19 on charges of possession of cannabis with intent to sell. Pol Lt Col Sanguan Muangtham of Patong Police Station told the Gazette that Rook was arrested after a raid on his home in Nanai Rd turned up a kilogram of cannabis. Undercover police had originally tried to buy cannabis…
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Laguna land legitimate, says spokesman
CHERNG TALAY: The management of Laguna Phuket is confident that no part of the complex has been built on designated public land but will accept a ruling from the courts, a senior executive said today. The comments from Niyom Tassaneetipagorn, Assistant Vice President of Laguna Resorts & Hotels Public Co, were the first from the group since the legitimacy of…
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Gov prepares for meeting with PM
PHUKET TOWN: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the Cabinet will meet with Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi on in Phuket on May 26 to discuss major issues affecting the island’s future, the Governor announced yesterday. Top of the agenda will be the effect of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) scare on Phuket’s tourism industry, which is estimated to be losing…
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Big C joins recycling program
PHUKET TOWN: A recycling scheme is to be introduced under an arrangement between Big C supercenter and the Governor’s Office. Dry recyclable waste, including sorted bottles cans and newspapers, can be deposited in the underground car park at Big C daily between noon and 7 pm from May 24. The island produces 300 tons of rubbish each day but Phuket’s…
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Top tourism forum set for Phuket
PHUKET: The 18-nation Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) is to hold a tourism business forum at the Laguna Beach Resort from May 22 to 24. The Ministry of Tourism and Sport, the Industry Council of Thailand and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host the gathering. Two representatives from government and business in each country will discuss a number of issues…
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Governor closes “lewd act’ Bangla bar
PATONG: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has closed a bar in Patong’s Soi Bangla indefinitely over an allegedly indecent public performance. Police raided The Hi bar at 21/5-6 Soi Sea Dragon at 11:30 pm on May 3 and arrested Suparp Boonmark, who was naked and performing “a shameful act in public by indecently exposing her person”. Balloons and darts were believed…
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Rh-negative blood donors sought
PHUKET:The Phuket Blood Donor Club, based at Wachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town, is looking for donors of the rare Rh-negative blood type. Rh-negative is difficult to find, occuring in 0.3% of Thais and 15% of Caucasians. Although the club is looking at the moment especially for people with Rh-negative blood, donors of any type are welcome at all times.…
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Warrant issued for Bang Tao murder suspect
CHERNG TALAY: An arrest warrant has been issued for a man named Suwat Kaewkong on a charge of murder following Saturday’s double killing at the Freeway restaurant on Bang Tao beach. Pol Lt Col Sirisak Wasasiri, Duputy Superintendent of Cherng Talay Police Station, alleged today that Suwat was one of the three men who shot dead Suwim Noodang, the owner…
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Tourist sub on its way
PHUKET: A US$2.5 million (107 million baht) submarine, designed to carry tour parties underwater, will arrive at Phuket Deep Sea Port on June 6 and go into service in November. Steve Nutting, President of Phuket Submarine Ltd, said today that the DS-48 submarine had left Florida aboard a ship on May 8. Thai staff will spend about six months in…
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Sars recovery plan underway
PHUKET: Phuket is losing about 2 billion baht a month because of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) panic but Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) President Pattanapong Aikwanich hopes for a quick recovery. He expects the turn-around to begin in July, with increased tourist traffic from Japan, Australia and Singapore. New direct air links from Japan and Australia, coupled with increased…
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Gov raids drug-dealing suspects
PHUKET TOWN: Police raided the houses of suspected drug dealers last night and seized pills and property valued at about 5 million baht. The raid, about 7:30 pm, was led by Pol Lt Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, and Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi. The Governor said today that he believes the alleged dealers, a married couple,…
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Patong killing: police arrest two
PATONG: Police have arrested a man and charged him with strangling and killing another man in the shallows at Patong Beach early on Sunday. Suchart Torkratoke, 24, from Korat, a laborer working in Patong, was charged with the murder of Surasak Saensuwan, 42, from Chiang Mai, who worked as an accountant with a Phuket company. Suchart was arrested at his…
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Vendors caught with B500k in fakes
KARON: Police raided shops and stalls in Patong and Karon yesterday and seized 6,300 fake brand-name items with a street value of more than 500,000 baht. Seven vendors admitted selling imitation goods. The officers in the raid, from Chalong Police Station, were accompanied by Suparerk Tohwatcharakul and other officials from Bangkok, who were acting on behalf of Christian Dior and…
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Complaint laid against timeshare firm
PHUKET TOWN: A Swedish couple, Signar and Margaretha Hall, today delivered a letter to Songpol Kornkaew, Chief of Administration of the Phuket Provincial Grievances Office, complaining about timeshare company VCI, which has offices in the Fisherman Way Business Center on Chao Fa East Rd. Mrs Hall told the Gazette, “Early last year we signed a contract for three years, starting…
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Police arrest “Dr Feelgood’
PHUKET TOWN: Police arrested a doctor and three others in raids early yesterday that uncovered dealings in marijuana, the “love drug” ecstacy and cough syrup containing the opium derivative codeine. Dr Somchai Wongbanterng, 35, who has a clinic on Wichit Songkram Rd and lives at Joe Mansion, near the Phuket Hill Hotel in Mae Luan Rd, was due to face…
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Man strangled at Patong beach
PATONG: Police are seeking two men who were seen fleeing the spot where a body was found strangled and lying face-down in the shallows at Patong beach on Sunday morning. From what officers have been told by a motorcycle taxi rider, they believe the dead man was aged 35, was probably gay and probably worked in a karaoke in Soi…
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Security boost planned for Saphan Hin
PHUKET TOWN: Police are planning to increase their presence in Saphan Hin and a police box will be erected there following another gang murder at the now-notorious recreation area. After dark, the park transforms from a peaceful area for sports and picknickers into a dangerous playground for thrillseekers and ruffians. The latest killing took place on Wednesday (see “Murder on…
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Bikers to take over Bangla
PHUKET: For the first time in the nine-year history of the annual Phuket Bike Week (PBW), bikers joining will take over the island’s unofficial party zone, Soi Bangla in Patong, for two evenings of the five-day event. Organizers announced yesterday that this year’s PBW will run from April 12 to 16, coinciding with the Songkhran festival. The event kicks off…
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Developer denies rumors of drug-dealing
PHUKET TOWN: Slamming rumors that his name might be included on the much-feared government “blacklist” of suspected drug dealers, Boonkeng “Ko-Keng” Srisaensuchart, owner of Srisuchart Transport Co and Srisuchart Grandview Projects, today emphatically denied any involvement in the illegal drugs trade, past or present. He blamed unnamed business rivals for the rumors, which, he said, “are a trick to destroy…
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Murder on wheels: three held
PHUKET TOWN: Three teenagers were being held on murder charges today as police revealed details of a killing-on-wheels at Saphan Hin in which a shotgun was used to blow away a young rival. The three were arrested yesterday in Chalong and police confiscated two motorcycles and two shotguns allegedly used in the attack on 19-year-old Nikorn Onbutra at about 10…
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Arrest your friends, minister tells governors
BANGKOK: Interior Minister Wan Muhamad Nor Matha wants provincial governors to arrest any of their friends or relatives believed to be involved in the illicit drugs trade, the Bangkok Post reported today. Meeting governors yesterday, he said Bangkok wants them to focus on large-scale dealers rather than small ones. He also told them to seize all drug dealers’ assets, the…
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Stop bickering, Phuket told
PHUKET TOWN: Better cooperation between local authorities was needed before Phuket could achieve its 100-billion baht upgrade, a senior member of the Government said today. Deputy Interior Minister Pramual Ruchanaseree came from Bangkok to attend a two-day seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on the future development of Phuket. “Lack of cooperation in Phuket is still a major problem,”…
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Warning on electricity bills
PHUKET TOWN: The Manager of the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA), Sornchai Uparamai, has warned users not to pay their bills to staff sent out to cut off their power for non-payment. The staff cutting off electricity were temporary employees, he said. People wishing to make sure their electricity is not cut off should pay at the PPEA’s temporary office…
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What’s wrong with this picture?
UBON RATCHATHANI: What’s wrong with this scene: a man and a woman sitting side-by-side, happily drinking beer together to celebrate the purchase of a new vehicle. Although it may seem like a scene straight out of a car commercial, this otherwise happy image becomes tainted when the man involved is a monk and the scene is the monks’ quarters in…
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Stabbed man found in klong
PHUKET TOWN: Police are seeking to identify the body of a man found floating in a klong at the weekend, the apparent victim of a stabbing. A villager reported the body floating in Klong Bang Yai, on Rassada Rd, on Sunday. The body was dressed in a brown-and-white long-sleeved shirt over a blue long-sleeved shirt, and green tracksuit pants. The…
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