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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Magic date sees boom in babies, car sales
PHUKET TOWN: The Thai for the number nine sounds like the Thai for “to advance” or “make progress”. So today – 9/9/99 – was a special day in Thailand, and very much so in Phuket. At hospitals babies were induced, or even delivered by Caesarian section, so that they would enter the world on this auspicious date. The director of…
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Police seize missiles destined for drug army
CHIANG MAI (AFP): Thai police today seized two surface-to-air missiles and a launcher allegedly destined for the largest Burma-based drug-trafficking organization, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), officers said this morning. Two Thai men arrested in Chiang Mai province allegedly told police they had bought the Russian-made SAM-7 missiles from Cambodian soldiers in the eastern Thai border town of Aranyaprathet.…
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Tourist Police boss appeals for help
PHUKET TOWN: The new Inspector of Phuket’s Tourist Police today appealed to the private sector for help in repairing the department’s two vans, eight cars and eight motorcycles. Pol Lt Col Chak Onnim – who moved to Phuket on August 23 from Chokchai Police Station in Bangkok, where he was in charge of investigations – explained that the hilly landscape…
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Police issue sketches of murder duo
PHUKET TOWN: Police have issued sketches of two men wanted for the murder of the accountant for the Supercheap warehouse store yesterday afternoon, and the theft of 1.7 million baht that the victim, Jennarong Utoksaenee, was taking to the bank. Jennarong, 65, was shot three times with a .375 caliber pistol wielded by the passenger of a motorcycle which drew…
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Thai MP commits suicide in family feud
BANGKOK, Sept 6 (AFP) – A Thai member of parliament shot and killed himself this morning after a family argument over assets worth millions of dollars, police said. Hangthong Thamawattana, of the opposition Prachakorn Thai Party, apparently shot himself with a pistol after a row with his brother, Deputy Police Chief Pornsak Durongkaviboon told reporters. “Initial reports say he committed…
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Chinese leader cools off in Paradise
PHUKET: Chinese President Jiang Zemin took a sight-seeing break in torrential rains here today at the end of a state visit to Bangkok in which he repeatedly pushed Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over Taiwan, and warned harshly against “meddling” by the West. Jiang, who is due to depart for Australia at sunrise tomorrow, visited a shell museum accompanied by Thailand’s…
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Phuket needs more geriatrics, says export chief
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket could be developed to rival Switzerland as a destination for well-heeled people seeking rejuvenation therapy or cures for chronic conditions, or simply wanting relief from the stress of life at home. Addressing an audience composed mostly of people from private hospitals, resorts, traditional massage centers and restaurants, Rachane Potjana, vice-director of the Department of Export Promotion, said…
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Steam-bath gas victim leaves hospital
SINGAPORE (AFP): A Thai executive who fell into a week-long coma last month after a steam bath in a Singapore hotel has been discharged from hospital. Pongkeeree Yossingha, 27, of Bangkok told the Straits Times he was glad to be leaving the hospital. “I’m lucky to be alive,” he said, adding he was touched by the kindness of the hospital…
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Survey of tourists highlights problems
PHUKET: The Provincial Government is to look at ways of improving certain aspects of tourism on the island, following a survey of foreign tourists’ attitudes before and after visiting Thailand. The survey, conducted in Phuket by Sasirat Tanapanpanis of the local branch of the Office of Educational, Religious and Cultural Development, spotlighted the following five main problems, in descending order…
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Bangkok plans mammoth roundup of elephants
BANGKOK (AFP): More than 80 elephants roaming the streets of Bangkok are to be rounded up and tagged with microchips to try to keep them out of town, city authorities said today. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said it was planning the huge operation with the help of the army, with the aim of banishing the tuskers to the countryside…
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Gamblers top list of arrests
PHUKET: Gamblers topped arrests in Phuket between August 1 and 26, Phuket Provincial Police have announced. A total of 176 people were arrested on charges related to gambling during the period. Following a long way behind, were 121 illegal workers and 84 people nabbed on narcotics charges. This figure excluded ya bah busts, which netted 30 miscreants and 578½ pills.…
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Special deal for employers of illegal workers
PHUKET: Employers of illegal Burmese, Cambodian or Lao workers – who were warned of severe penalties if they did not turn the workers in to the authorities by August 4 – have been granted a reprieve. Thanks to a decision by the Council of Ministers in Bangkok, employers in roughly half of Thailand’s provinces, including Phuket, will be allowed to…
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Lawyer not well, Alice trial hearing postponed
PHUKET TOWN: Judge Amornpoj Kulwijit today postponed testimony in the trial of two people charged in connection with the stabbing death of 56-year-old British publican Roger Jennings at his home in Patong Hill Estate on December 15, 1997. The judge postponed the hearing after being told that Eakapong Aroonrat, lawyer for one of the accused, Jennings’ common-law wife Nongnut Tungkaburi,…
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Tax boss declares amnesty for errors in returns
PHUKET: The Chief of the Phuket Revenue Department has declared an amnesty for anyone who believes he or she may have made errors in filing a tax return. In a the first of a series of monthly columns in the Gazette, explaining Thai tax law and procedures, Annop Buakuen writes, “Staff from the tax office have been checking tax-payer’s returns…
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Bangkok Bank posts huge first-half loss
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s biggest bank, Bangkok Bank Plc, today posted a huge first-half net loss of 26.98 billion baht, compared with a loss of 16.34 billion baht in the same period last year. Bank president Chartsiri Sophonpanich said that the result reflected the continued negative effect of massive non-performing loans on the banking system. “While the economic conditions of the…
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Fisherman drowns while diving for shellfish
CHALONG: A 38-year-old fisherman drowned among the mangroves at Pakrongmudong, Tambon Vichit, yesterday afternoon. Police, who named the dead man as Virrut Sawatdirak, from Srakaew, said he and three friends had gone diving for shellfish. The friends told police that all had drunk some alcohol beforehand, “but not too much”. They did not realise that Khun Virrut was in trouble…
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Police say poor economy puts brakes on accidents
PHUKET: A senior policeman in Phuket told the Gazette today that Thailand’s poor economy is having at least one good effect – it has reduced the road accident rate. Pol Lt Col Teerapol Thipjaroen, deputy superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, said, “There are a number of factors that have led to a fall in the accident rate, but one…
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Gazettes on a roll with KL Sevens wins
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite a shortage of regular players, the Phuket Gazettes rugby team made it through to the semi-finals of the bowl competition at the 36th Guinness-Jonah Jones Rugby Sevens tournament. In the preliminary round, the Gazettes found themselves in the toughest group. The first game was against Cobra RFC, last year’s champions, who fielded a team jammed with Fijians,…
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Bangkok Airways probes passenger death
BANGKOK (AFP): Bangkok Airways said today it had launched an investigation into the death of a 52-year-old German tourist who was apparently the victim of food poisoning. The dead man, identified only as Josef B, had flown on Bangkok Airways from Koh Samui to Bangkok shortly before boarding a Lauda Air flight to Austria yesterday morning. During that flight he…
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Wastewater project said to be on schedule
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Municipal Councilor Ayoot Thansiriroj told the Gazette this morning that installation of the large wastewater pipe beneath Mae Luan Road in Phuket Town is now complete. The work, part of Phase Two of the municipality’s wastewater treatment project, began in May of this year. Starting next month, work will begin on laying pipe in Anuphasphuketkarn Road, near…
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Campaign to target Middle Eastern tourists
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) is to launch a new campaign targeting travelers from the Middle East as a way to improve low-season tourism figures. Panu Massirat, a member of the PTA’s marketing committee, explained that two groups of Middle East tourists – high income and middle income – would be targeted. Both groups have the potential, he…
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Krung Thai Bank chairman, five directors resign
BANGKOK, Aug 24 (AFP): The chairman and five directors of Krung Thai Bank (KTB) resigned today after an inquiry was launched into allegations of mismanagement and questionable lending practices. The government yesterday announced an independent inquiry into the bank amid mounting criticism from opposition politicians who allege lending malpractices by KTB’s senior management. Finance Minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda, whose brother formerly…
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Judge orders arrest of missing trial witness
PHUKET: Judge Amornpoj Kulwijit today issued warrants for the arrest of two prosecution witnesses who failed to appear this morning for a hearing in the ongoing trial of two people accused of the murder of Briton Roger Jennings. The two witnesses, Amara Meanteap and Weeranat Kammanochart, failed to appear despite twice being subpoenaed. The judge, issuing the arrest warrants, ordered…
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Lucky escape for tourists in bus accident
KATHU: Thirty nine tourists had a lucky escape yesterday, when a bus taking them from Le Meridien hotel in Patong to the airport slid partly off the road, but hit a traffic warning post preventing it from rolling down a mountainside. Two people were slightly hurt when the bus slid in rain, near the Pun Tuao Kong Chinese shrine above…
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Two drug dealers arrested
PHUKET: Police on Thursday arrested two men for selling ya bah (methamphetamines). The first was a 28-year-old former petrol station worker from Trang, who sold the drug to undercover officers outside the Thairat Wittaya School in Kathu. After his arrest, he was found to be in possession of 197 pills. He confessed that he had come to Phuket 16 times…
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Hotels hit back at “gouging” allegations
PHUKET: Room rates in major Phuket hotels, in US dollar terms, have fallen sharply between 1996 and 1998, claims the Southern Chapter of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), citing a survey it recently carried out. The THA conducted the survey to counter allegations that hotels had increased room rates by 30% to 50% to take advantage of high demand as…
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Man caught stealing phone services
PATONG: A 36-year-old German has been charged with theft after being caught tapping into a telephone line near Wat Suwankeereewong on the outskirts of Patong, along the Patong-Kathu road. Voravit Vorapiboonpong, chief of the Phuket Telecommunication Center of the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT), told the Gazette that on Monday he was alerted by the CAT in Bangkok that someone…
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No more elephants in Phuket: Governor
PHUKET: The Governor of Phuket, Chadej Insawang, has announced a ban on any more elephants being brought into the province for commercial purposes. Announcing the decision on Tuesday at a seminar, organized by the Department of Livestock Development and attended by 75 elephant keepers from Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, the Governor said, “Phuket has 170 elephants in 27 camps.…
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Quake shakes northern Phuket, Phang Nga
MAI KHAW: Northern Phuket and southwestern Phang Nga experienced three minor earth tremors last night. No serious damage was reported. The tremors, felt at 11:36 pm, 11:38 pm and 1:59 am, shook homes between Phuket International Airport and Khok Kloy in Phang Nga. Amorn Chantanavivate, director of the Southwestern Meteorological Center, told the Gazette that the three shocks were caused…
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Thailand may bow out of IMF program
BANGKOK, Aug 17 (AFP) – Thailand has enough foreign reserves to bow out of its IMF program and abandon the remaining 3.7 billion dollars available in loans under the rescue package, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi said today. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disbursed about 13.5 billion dollars to Thailand out of its 17.2 billion dollar…
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