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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Bomb squad officers croaked
PHUKET TOWN: A bomb alert forced the closure of Yaowaraj Rd between Thalang Rd and Dibuk Rd for several hours last night. Rattana Ungtrakul, 47, called police after finding a package in the basket of her motorbike, which was parked outside her curtain shop. She explained that it was a well-wrapped white post-office-style parcel addressed to her shop, with the…
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Police set up Patong security center
PATONG: Sixty police officers from a variety of units met last night to coordinate security in the Patong area. The Kathu Police Station will become the Phuket Provincial Police Center in order to make the tourists feel more security at Patong beach. The meeting brought together officers from Phuket Immigration Police, Kathu Police, the Tourist Police, the Highway Police, the…
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Hotels urged to act on security
PHUKET TOWN: Thailand was a peaceful place but additional security measures were needed as a precaution, Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi told a special meeting of the Hospitality Club of Phuket today. He said he was satisfied with the measures in place for the 17th Patong Carnival, which marks the opening of the high season for Phuket tourism on Friday.…
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Black money scam busted
PATONG: Four West Africans were arrested last night after two were caught on videotape performing the classic “black money” scam. Sleweon Friday Emmanue, 29, and Camara Malam, 33, were charged with swindling while Leon D. Earley, 26, and Sailatee T. Toe, 19, were charged with entering Thailand illegally. All four are from Liberia. Pol Lt Col Jakawath Boontaweekulsawas, of Kathu…
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And for my next trick…
CHIANG RAI: A monk who claimed he used his magic powers to make a pickup disappear from a showroom had some trouble persuading police about his vanishing act. There were no witnesses, but the vehicle was discovered 27 kilometers away from the Mazda showroom in Chiang Rai, with an empty gas tank. Suspicion fell on the monk, Ekachai Pattanaeakwong, who…
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Motorbike hacker nicked
PATTAYA: Stoned, broke and angry, Ampon Rattanchot tried a new form of persuasion when a cousin refused to lend him money. Police arrived on Soi Yensabai in south Pattaya to find Ampon babbling incoherently and slashing away at the cousin’s motorcycle with a sword. Police restrained the hysterical man and found 10 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills in his pocket. Ampon…
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Deadline for local businesses
PHUKET: Businesses wishing to appear in the 2003 Gazette Guide, Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’, have until 5:30 pm this Thursday, 31 October, to enter (or update) their listings. Any entries made after the deadline will not appear in the hard-copy book until January 2004. Standard listings are free of charge, but they are limited to genuine businesses in Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi…
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Politician injured in hammer attack
PHUKET TOWN: Patong politician and lawyer Sarayuth Mullum was attacked by a hammer-wielding assailant yesterday, ending up in hospital with seven stitches in his scalp and his right arm in plaster. K. Sarayuth had just finished lunch with Phuket MP Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr and her husband at the Sala Muslim restaurant on Surin Rd when the assault took place. His attacker…
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Plea for game fish to be protected
PHUKET: Swift action must be taken to control the number of sailfish being caught by commercial fishermen in Phuket waters, a game fishing advocate has told the Gazette. If action is not taken, a sport that brings millions of baht a year to Phuket will be at risk, said the game fishing advocate, who asked that his name be withheld.…
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Interior Minister in snap visit to Patong
PHUKET: Recently appointed Minister of Interior Wan Muhamad Nor Matha last night made an impromptu three-hour inspection tour of Patong and stayed at the Royal Paradise Hotel. The minister made his first public appearance in Phuket earlier in the day at a meeting of about 100 police and government officers and community leaders at Phuket Provincial Hall. K. Wan Nor…
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Police pounce on bag snatchers
PATONG: Three bag snatchers were caught in Patong over the weekend soon after they ran off with gear belonging to a Russian couple on vacation in Phuket. The bag snatchers chose the wrong time to strike because police security was tight on Saturday as Pol Col Chalit Thintanee, Superintendent of Kathu police station, made the rounds of Patong’s beachfront with…
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Missing teacher found dead
PHANG NGA: The body of a teacher who went missing while on a fishing trip was found in a canal near the Sarasin Bridge on Friday. Sophol Paenklai, 48, who taught at a school in Tai Muang district, “went out to catch fish and fell into the water by accident,” said Apidaj Chuaykua, Pol Capt of Kok Kloy Police Station…
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Big party, big guest list
CHALONG: The elephants partied big yesterday, and it was the kind of celebration none of them will ever forget. For starters there were apples, sugarcane, bananas, watermelons and pineapples – three tons of goodies to share among the 25 pachyderms at Island Safari. “It costs us about 300,000 baht for the fruit and everything needed at the party,” said Chokchai…
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Phuket scoops eight tourism awards
PHUKET: Phuket has proven to be the country’s leading tourism destination with the announcement of two national Tourism Awards and six Tourist Guide Awards going to the province. Laguna Phuket took the Best Tourist Resort Accommodation Outstanding Performance Award 2002 while Phuket FantaSea received the Best Attraction Award 2002. Phuket’s Paitoon Monpanthong proved to be a star guide for the…
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Gov rebuts foreign governments’ warnings
PHUKET: Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has hastened to reassure travelers that Phuket is safe, following advisories from a number of Western governments – most recently Denmark and Sweden – that their nationals should be cautious about traveling to Thailand, and especially to tourist areas such as Patong. Gov Pongpayome thanked the two countries for their concern but stressed, “We…
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Free concert for flood relief
PHUKET TOWN: Tesco-Lotus Superstore will stage a free concert this Saturday (October 26) to collect relief items for victims of the floods in Northern Thailand and Isarn. Original artists featured on the limited-release CD “Pleng Phuket” (called “Pleasant Tunes of Phuket” in English), along with Phuket student bands, will take to the stage in the supercenter’s carpark from 2 pm…
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Patong wins carnival after all
PATONG: The annual one-day carnival to mark the opening of the tourism high season will be held in Patong on November 1 after all. There was doubt over this year’s carnival, a fixture for many years, because it falls in the midst of campaigning for the municipal elections on November 16 and 17. Having at first decided to postpone the…
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Exorcist undone by demon drink
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: Black magic pratictioner Nuad Tongbua, 57, was well-respected for his effectiveness in treating the supernatural ails of villagers at Baan Pa Yang Kluay, in Tambon Khao Phra. After 30 years of successfully plying the dark arts, he was more commonly known as “Ajarn Niow”. However, on October 8, after an early morning session treating four “patients” followed…
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It’s an Ultraman world
ROI ET: Tough gangs are always causing trouble in Roi Et but no one expected the toughest of them all to be all female. The 50 members of the Ultraman Gang are aged 17 to 24 and by night they threaten people in pubs, karaoke bars and restaurants. Some of them are still at school and meet after class. The…
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Southern economy looks good: central bank
PHUKET TOWN: A review of the main industries in southern Thailand indicates a healthy outlook for the local economy, said Boonlert Luengnakthongdee, Director of Operations, Bank of Thailand, Southern Region, on Thursday. Speaking at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, at a meeting with business leaders and provincial officers from Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, K. Boonlert said, “We are quite…
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Bali’s loss is Phuket’s gain
PHUKET: Bali’s loss has been Phuket’s gain, it seems, with hotel bookings on the island soaring as holidaymakers and conference organizers switch following the Kuta bombing. A prime indicator is the Phuket.Com hotel booking website, which has seen a huge surge in bookings over the past few days. Neil Cumming, the company’s CEO, told the Gazette, “The big change for…
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Security strategy set for Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, held a meeting today attended by more than 40 police officers and about 50 other people from Phuket Town, including entertainment venue managers, tuk-tuk drivers and religious leaders, to work out how to improve security strategy after the Bali bombing. Col Paween told the meeting, “From what happened…
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Phuket to gain another sister?
PHUKET TOWN: Officials from Phuket and Hainan in China are discussing the prospect of joining the two islands as “sister cities”, it was announced today. “Hainan really wants to become sister cities with Phuket,” said Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi at a press conference following his meeting with Wang Xiaofeng, Governor of Hainan Island of Guangdong province. “I’ll consider it and…
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Project Raindrop drips to a close
PHUKET: They came, they seeded, and the rain fell. And now the great Phuket rainmaking project is drawing to a close. But has it worked? Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi was pleased enough with the results to host a dinner last night at the Royal Paradise Hotel, Patong, for the team of 34 rainmakers, who return to Bangkok in a…
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Gov calls for tighter security after Bali
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket needs greater protective security following the Bali bombing, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi told a meeting of 30 officials today at Provincial Hall. The terrorist outrage would not bring any direct benefit to Phuket in increased tourism, but it was essential that the danger be understood and dealt with effectively, he told the gathering of police, immigration officials,…
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Lalvani raps lack of govt support
BANGKOK: Mega-investor Gulu Lalvani has again criticized the Thai government’s failure to wholeheartedly support the development of recreational boating in Thailand, arguing that it is giving neighboring countries an edge. Referring to Malaysia’s aggressive promotion of Langkawi as a destination for this kind of top-end tourism, Kuala Lumpur’s imaginative legislative approach and the huge investment that has poured in as…
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Thai-Burma border reopens
RANONG: Thailand’s border with Burma reopened at 6 am today for the first time since May 22 and the situation quickly returned to normal. Pol Cpl Nopadol Chompuboot, of Ranong Provincial Immigration Office, said Burmese were crossing to Thailand to buy food and goods while tourists were crossing to Burma. Cpl Nopadol added, “People from Thailand and Burma are happy…
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Teen beauties bound for Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The 30 finalists in the Miss Teen Thailand 2002 competition will be in Phuket from next Friday until October 23 preparing themselves for the contest. The girls will be staying at the Phuket Orchid Resort in Karon. On Saturday the group will be guests at a dinner party at the Karon Beach Resort, which will also be attended…
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Calm reaction in Phuket to Bali horror
PHUKET: Reactions in Phuket to Saturday’s horror in Kuta, Bali, have so far been measured, with tourists saying they plan to complete their vacations and travel companies, though worried, reporting business as usual. Maxine Pearson, 43, from London, told the Phuket Gazette, “It was sad, but it happens everywhere … it wouldn’t stop me from going to Bali, and it…
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Surasak back in the race; Chairat joins
PATONG: Patong’s mayoral race hotted up today with announcements that Surasak Maneesri is back in the race, and that a fourth contender, Safari Pub owner Chairat Sukbal, has announced his candidacy. K. Surasak explained that he has already lodged an appeal, with the Administration Court in Songkhla, against an order by former Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon instructing him to quit…
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