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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Phuket Town to host biker festival
PHUKET TOWN: After failing to persuade Patong to host their event, the organizers of the Phuket Bike Rally have now received the go-ahead from the authorities in Phuket Town to stage three days of contests, games and parties at Saphan Hin, from February 22 to 24. Tanate Trivut, managing director of Delice Thai Co, the management company for the event,…
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Patong tap water declared safe
PATONG: The tap water in the Patong municipal area has been declared safe for drinking. Deputy Interior Minister Sora-at Klinpratoom made the announcement this morning at Loma Public Park on Thaweewong Rd, shortly before taking a drink from one of the three fountains set up to provide free water to thirsty residents and tourists in the area. “I think this…
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Shark staff petition in vain
PHUKET TOWN: 131 staff members of Patong’s Shark Club, ordered closed yesterday by Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, assembled at the Provincial Hall this afternoon to demand that he reopen the club. They were unable to meet with the governor, who was in Bangkok today, and instead presented their petition to Vice Governor Manit Wattanasen. Three representatives – Pathamapan Rattanapan,…
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Governor shuts the Shark
PHUKET: The biggest disco in Phuket, Patong’s Shark Club & Discotheque, was today ordered closed permanently on instructions from the Minister of Interior, Purachai Piemsomboon. The closure order, announced by Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, came after it was discovered that the operating license for the disco – which can hold more than 1,500 revelers at a time – contained irregularities…
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Vice-Governor shuts Timber Hut
PHUKET TOWN: One of Phuket’s oldest and most popular nighttime venues, the Timber Hut pub on Yaowarat Rd, has been ordered to close for 30 days because a Vice-Governor saw people dancing there. Vice-Governor Manit Wattanasen told the Gazette that he went to the pub on Saturday to meet a friend, and saw people dancing. “Muang District is in my…
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Sailor killed, dumped at sea
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a man who had been stabbed 15 times was found in the fishing port of Soi Si Sena at the weekend. Police received a phone call from a local fisherman at about 1:30 pm on Saturday and found the body of the unidentified man floating in the water, said Pol Lt Parichat Jaturonpun of Phuket…
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Couples set to get wet and wed
TRANG: A record number of couples are expected to marry in the annual mass underwater wedding ceremony off Trang on Valentine’s Day. Partly because there’s no need to bring something blue – they will be floating in it – Trang’s watery wedding on February 14 is expected to win a place in the Guinness Book of Records. So far, 36…
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Appeal for action against megastores
PHUKET TOWN: A crisis meeting of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) today pushed for government support for small Thai retailers in the face of overwhelming competition from large foreign supermarkets and discount stores. The meeting was told that as many as 250,000 small retail outlets around Thailand had already been forced to close because they could no longer compete.…
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50 international phone booths vandalized
PHUKET: More than 50 public telephones for international calls have been jammed in what appears to be a campaign of deliberate vandalism. Plastic cards, cut in half, were jammed into the phone card slots in booths around the island. Some would-be callers, angry at not being able to make overseas phone calls, added to the damage by venting their frustration…
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Police raid Asia Island Homes office
CHERNG TALAY: A squad of some 10 officers from the Bangkok-based Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) yesterday raided one of Phuket’s biggest property development companies, Asia Island Homes (AIH), and arrested two people for work permit violations. Sources who asked not to be named told the Gazette that the investigators arrived at about midday, armed with a search warrant issued by…
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Bonanza for crash helmet shops
PHUKET: Thanks to the police crackdown on the wearing of crash helmets on motorcycles, helmets have been moving off shop shelves almost as fast as passing motorbikes. But businesses surveyed by the Gazette today said that the popular buys have been cheap, low-quality models that provide little if any protection in a crash. The shops also said that, after an…
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Seized yacht finally auctioned off
PHUKET TOWN: The sailing yacht “Bin Cha Cha” was finally sold at auction this morning at the Phuket Customs Region 5 office, after two previous attempts to sell it last year failed. Niwat Triemsantipap, the assistant general manager of the Maiton Resort, acquired the 7.9-meter yacht with a bid of 200,000 baht, just one third of its original reserve price…
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Coral thieves escape police raid
RAWAI: Police yesterday interrupted a group of men as they were unloading stolen coral worth 100,000 baht from a boat, but the gang of 10 escaped. As the men fled they left behind 340 pieces of coral packed neatly in polystyrene containers. Local residents tipped police off when they saw the coral being transferred yesterday afternoon from a longtail boat…
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Residents back Thalang Rd walk zone
PHUKET TOWN: A survey of residents in Thalang Rd has shown that more than 80% agree with a proposal that their street should become a pedestrians-only zone on Sundays. Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok now hopes the road will be closed to traffic every Sunday between 1 pm and 11 pm, starting in April at the latest. He is also…
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Fury at proposal to close Phi Phi
KRABI (Gazette, Nation, AFP): Local businesspeople and officials have branded as “a big joke” a proposal that Phi Phi Don Island should be closed for two years to allow pollution in the tourism hotspot to be cleaned up. The proposal was put forward by Tourist Police Commander Pol Col Sanit Miphan, who told The Nation newspaper recently that the tiny…
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New-born jumbo a first for Phuket
CHALONG: Phuket finally has a baby elephant to call its own – Plai Phuket. Plai Phuket (“Plai” is the traditional honorific for a male elephant), became the first pachyderm born in Phuket, according to the experts, when he weighed in at 60 kilos in the early hours of yesterday. The youngster was healthy but shy, standing on wobbly legs beneath…
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Bike Rally scrambles for new site
PATONG: Phuket Bike Rally organizers are scrambling to find a new location for the event after the Patong Municipality refused to allow it to be staged on the Patong football field or along Thaweewong Rd. The announcement came on Friday after a meeting involving the Municipality and interested parties, including a representative from Club Andaman Beach Resort, which hopes to…
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Submarine firm woos authorities
PHUKET: The promoters of planned submarine trips for tourists last night made a bid to convince authorities that their machine is safe – and to persuade them to issue the necessary permits. The presentation by Phuket Submarine Ltd, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, featured slides of the DS-48 sub that the promoters hope will be operating in the waters…
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Corpse found on garbage pile
KOH SIREH: The partially decomposed body of a naked man was found in a pile of garbage among mangroves near Plermsuk Beach yesterday afternoon. Police were notified after local villagers found the body, dumped face down in a pile of garbage 200 meters from the main road. At the scene, officers discovered that the man had been shot in the…
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German dies in bike crash
CHALONG: A popular German dive instructor died after his motorbike collided head-on with a pickup truck not far from the Green Man Pub & Restaurant on Patak Rd early Wednesday. Sascha Schleicher, 36, was declared dead on arrival at Phuket International Hospital. Police believe he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, about 7:30 am. Pol…
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Something smuggled, something new”¦
BANGKOK: Customs agents were scratching their heads today over what should be done with a contraband cargo seized from a Taiwanese smuggler. The illegal shipment, worth about 10 million baht, was intercepted at Bangkok Port yesterday and the Taiwanese man was arrested, the Customs Department said. The haul, smuggled in from Singapore, included nine Mercedes-Benz cars and 300 white wedding…
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633 netted in motorbike crackdown
PHUKET: Despite wide publicity before the event, police caught 633 motorcyclists without helmets during a crackdown last night, at the start of an ongoing roadblock blitz. Bare-headed bikers had their driving licenses checked and their names taken, after which they were obliged to listen to a road-safety lecture. After listening, they were allowed to go on their way without a…
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Airport narcotics checks tightened
PHUKET: A food and drug checkpoint will open at Phuket airport tomorrow to try to prevent travelers bringing in illegal drugs or suspiciously large quantities of legal medication. Bangkok and Chiang Mai already have food and drug checkpoints; the one in Phuket will be the first in Southern Thailand. It will be at the international arrivals entrance, and will be…
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Alternative Bike Week hits roadblocks
PATONG: A second “Bike Week” planned for Patong seems to be running into roadblocks after groups listed by the organizer as “supporters” either denied all knowledge of the event, or expressed their opposition to it. The Phuket Bike Rally, organized by Harald Vesterheim, proprietor of the Pink Panther A-go-go and Panther Travel, is planned to take place from February 22…
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Dr Thim’s dream ends with sting in tail
RANONG: Noodle vendor Sajee “Thim” Klong-nguern, 31, had been suffering unusual aches and pains. That was until, one night, she says, an angel came to her in a dream. The angel told her that if she ate a pig’s tail that had been boiled in palm sugar for 15 minutes, all her aches and pains would vanish. The next day,…
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Dog’s death was the last straw
SURAT THANI: On December 2, Preecha Nachom, 47, was found dead on the bathroom floor of the home he shared with his wife. He had been shot in the head, an apparent suicide. His wife, Rungtitha, told police that Preecha, a temporary worker at the power plant, was a heavy drinker and had come home that evening complaining about his…
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A few days of stolen joy
KHON KAEN: Bualong Intarasena, 35, had a problem: after being widowed, she had a new husband, Amnart, and he wanted a child by her as soon as possible. What she didn’t dare tell him was that, after bearing her first husband two children, she had undergone sterilization. So Bualong told him she was pregnant, and as the months of her…
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Shark fin suspect faces 10 years’ jail
PHUKET TOWN: A Taiwanese fisherman arrested today in possession of 42 shark fins could face up to 10 years in jail as an example to others, according to the Marine Police. After a tip-off, Phuket Marine Police nabbed the man when he moored his boat, “Jufusun”, at Rassada Port at about 11:30 am. The man, subsequently named by police as…
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1 in 10 test positive for ya bah in raid
PHUKET TOWN: Police who raided the Hi-Tech Pub on Phang Nga Rd, found no underage patrons. But, of the 144 urine samples collected during the one-hour exercise, 14 tested positive for ya bah (methamphetamine). The raid, at around midnight on Friday night, was led by Phuket Town Police Station Superintendent Pol Col Paween Pongsirin. Accompanying the police were Weerawat Janpen,…
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Thalang Rd to be walking street?
PHUKET TOWN: Authorities are canvassing opinion on a proposal to convert one of Phuket Town’s oldest and best-known streets into a pedestrians-only zone at weekends. Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok revealed yesterday that the concept has already been put to residents of Thalang Rd, receiving a mixed reaction. Opinions are still being sought and no deadline has been set for…
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