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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Police seek identity of dead youth
PHUKET TOWN: Police are trying to identify a young man killed in a motorbike crash early yesterday (June 17) on Sakdidej Road. Witnesses say the man was riding fast and failed to negotiate a curve, crashing into an electricity pole. He died instantly. The police told the Gazette the dead youth was between 18 and 22 years old, wearing a…
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Gasoline smugglers arrested
PHUKET: The skipper and four crewmen of a boat smuggling gasoline into Thailand were arrested yesterday near Ardung Island in Satun Province, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Phuket Marine Police. Pol Maj Gen Mongkol Kamolbuth, Bangkok-based Deputy Commissioner of the Marine Police, said 70,000 liters of fuel was found on board the Kaewmanee Nava 2, which was stopped…
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Fisherman gather in mass protest
PHUKET TOWN: A large group of the fishermen who operate in Phang Nga Bay gathered yesterday at Saphan Hin to protest against nocturnal fishing for anchovy. The 200 fishermen paraded in Phuket Town, handing out leaflets demanding an end to the practice, which uses electric lights. They argue that stocks of anchovy and other marine life have been severely depleted…
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Fantasea offering tours from Bangkok
KAMALA: Phuket Fantasea is casting its net wider in a bid to bring in more visitors, by offering a special coach tour from Bangkok. Starting June 18, the weekly “Fantasea Tour” will leave Bangkok every Friday evening, arriving in Phuket the following morning. Passengers will be taken on a tour of Phuket, ending up at Fantasea for a buffet dinner…
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Swedish tourist drowns at Karon Beach
KARON: A Swedish woman, Ms Milada Grahovag, drowned yesterday in front of the Golden Sands Hotel on Karon Beach, on the second day of her holiday in Thailand. She was the third tourist to drown in the seas off Phuket this week. Her companion, Milegic Milorad, also from Sweden, told police that Ms Grahovag, 25, had been swimming for about…
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Police nab American accused of race killing
BANGKOK, June 10 (AFP) – Thai police detained an American man accused of a racist killing in the United States after the FBI issued an arrest warrant, officials said yesterday. Immigration police Colonel Wisanu Muangpraesri said officers arrested Matthew Robert Stedman, 27, at a Bangkok apartment on Wednesday after he entered the country using a British passport. “The US embassy…
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Police report decline in tourist deaths
PHUKET: Twelve foreign tourists have died in Phuket so far this year, Pol Maj Arnont Kamolrat of the Tourist Police told the Gazette today. Of these, five drowned, three died in traffic and other accidents, two committed suicide, one died of illness, and one of unknown causes. In 1997, 30 tourists died, including two who were murdered. In 1998 the…
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Another drowning off Patong Beach
PATONG BEACH: A Thai tourist drowned yesterday while swimming in front of Patong’s Loma Park, Kathu police reported this afternoon. The tourist, 21-year-old Mana Kongpan from Phitsanulok, was swimming with a group of relatives when he disappeared. His body was found this morning in front of the Club Andaman hotel and was taken to Patong Hospital for autopsy.
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Use licensed cabs, airport warns after murders
BANGKOK, June 9 (AFP) – Bangkok airport authorities Wednesday warned travellers not to use unlicensed taxis following the apparent serial murders of six foreign tourists abducted from the terminal. “We are trying hard to make them understand to use licensed taxis or (regulated) limousines at the airport to avoid any trouble,” said Bangkok international airport director Wing Commander Uthai Thaisanthad.…
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Two arrested for trafficking in amphetamines
PHUKET TOWN: Police on Monday arrested two young men for trafficking in amphetamines (ya bah) after an undercover operation in which they pretended to be interested in buying some of the drug. In the home the two were renting in Soi 1, Samkong Village, officers found and impounded 150 amphetamine pills. Arrested were Suchert Nunthip, 20, a student at Rajaphat…
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Local businessman commits suicide
PHUKET TOWN: Businessman Wiroj Anukulkan, 46, was found shot in the head at his home on Mae Luan Rd on Monday, in what police say was an apparent suicide. Arriving at Khun Wiroj’s house Monday afternoon, police found him still alive. He was rushed to Wachira Hospital’s intensive care unit where he died on Tuesday. Witnesses said he had used…
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Helicopter dash for 14-year-old mother
KOH YAO: The Police Aviation Division’s helicopter was in action again on June 5, picking up a young mother and her newborn baby from Koh Yao and delivering them to Phuyket Town’s Wachira Hospital. Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, head of the Phuket Health Office, was about to leave home for the opening ceremony of the Old Phuket Festival when the call…
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Police arrest driver of truck carrying hardwood
THALANG: Police on Saturday arrested the driver of a truck carrying timber. The 10-wheel truck, registered in Nakhon Pathom, was stopped in the early hours of the morning at a road block in Tambon Mai Khao. In it, police found 230 pieces of hardwood, cut to size for window and door frames. The 34-year-old driver, unable to produce paperwork to…
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Reduced phone charges to US and Canada
PHUKET: The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) has reduced call charges to Canada and the United States, including Hawaii, Khun Worawit Worapiboonpong, Chief of the Phuket Telecommunications Center, has announced. Reductions of up to 20% apply to all calls made from June 1, resulting in the following charges per minute: 5 am to 7 am, and 9 pm to midnight:…
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191 hurt in road accidents in Patong in May
PATONG: The Government Hospital in Patong has issued the latest dismal traffic accident figures, this time for May. During the month one person died and 190 people were hurt in traffic accidents. Of these, 29 were foreigners. Seven of the injured were pedestrians and five were in cars. The rest – 179 — were on motorcycles. Of the motorcycle victims,…
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Egyptian held as police probe murder of tourists
BANGKOK, June 5 (AFP) – Thai police are questioning an Egyptian tour guide over the apparant serial killings of six foreign tourists slain soon after touching down at Bangkok airport, police said this afternoon. Chanam Said Muhamad, 35, was arrested in connection with the murder of a French tourist who disappeared nearly a year ago. And police believe they can…
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Tourist claims rape by taxi driver
PATONG: The Governor of Phuket, Chadej Insawang, has ordered police to track down a motorcycle taxi driver accused of the rape of an American tourist last week. Police said the 28-year-old woman went out to look for a medicine. She stopped a motorcycle taxi in Soi Bangla and asked to be taken to a pharmacy. The driver went around in…
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Gazettes thrash Aussie Navy 31-15
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazettes rugby team was in fine form on Sunday when they met a team from the visiting Australian Navy ship HMAS Arunta for a 10-a-side clash at Dulwich College. Early in the game the Gazettes declared their intention to show the younger Australians how to play by opening the scoring. By half-time, they were ahead by two…
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Airport figures don’t support gloom
PHUKET: In the midst of tales of gloom from Phuket’s retail and hotel sectors, the April figures from Phuket International Airport show a small rise (0.79 percent) in the total number of passengers arriving and departing. There was a hefty 24 percent rise in international travelers, from 76,528 last year to 94,750 this April. This was offset by a fall…
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Phuket’s “Great Mother 1999” announced
PHUKET: The best mum in Phuket is 67-year-old Sukanya Limsomboon, and that’s official. Khun Sukanya, who lives in Thanon Ranong in Phuket Town, has been chosen by the Bangkok-based Social Welfare Council to represent the island at a special ceremony on August 12, which is both HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday and Thai Mother’s Day. She was selected after her daughter-in-law…
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264 hurt in crashes in Patong in April
PATONG: A total of 264 were injured in traffic accidents in the Patong area in April, of which 67, or 25%, were foreigners. There were no fatalities. Patong Hospital reported that 238 of the victims, or 90%, were riding motorcycles. Only 48 were wearing helmets. It added that 77, or about one one-third, of the injured were under the influence…
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Sea World project a dead duck for now
CAPE PANWA: Phuket’s ambition to build a major tourist attraction around its sea life has been put on hold, indefinitely. The original plan was to build a “Sea World”, costing about 1.5 billion baht, as a major tourist attraction. The centrepiece of the facility would have been a huge three-storey-high, 2-million-litre aquarium with a glass tunnel running through it, allowing…
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Boxes on sale for Phuket Rugby Sevens
PHUKET: Organisers of the Phuket Rugby Sevens have announced that corporate boxes for the two-day international event are now available. The tournament takes place at Saphan Hin, Phuket Town, on July 3 and 4, and will feature top international teams from Asia and Europe. The boxes cost 60,000 baht and include 15 tickets and two meals per person per day.…
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Sun Vista sinks off Malaysia
PENANG: The luxury cruise liner Sun Vista, a familiar sight in the waters off Phuket, sank at 1:22 this morning after its engine room caught fire yesterday. The 210-meter ship, which was en route to Singapore with 472 passengers and 632 crew, went down about 60 nautical miles south of Penang. The Gazette understands that everyone on board was rescued…
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Security guard returns 1.4 million baht to owner
PHUKET AIRPORT: Japanese visitor Mitsuru Yamaguchi is a lucky man. After arriving in Phuket on Saturday, the Hokkaido businessman mislaid his tote bag containing his passport, return ticket and the equivalent of 1.4 million baht in cash at the airport. And he got it all back, thanks to Aroon Sanghiran, a guard with Group A Security, which provides security for…
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Chicken wholesaler shot dead
PHUKET TOWN: Chicken farmer and wholesaler Yunud Kayankit was shot in the head in the garage of his Koh Kaew home early yesterday morning. He died in the emergency room at Wachira Hospital. Phuket Town Police told the Gazette that Khun Yunud, 31, was shot twice, once in the left cheek and once in the forehead, as he prepared to…
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Poll: Most people want Soi Bangla closed to traffi
PHUKET: Just under two thirds of the voters in the latest Gazette online poll believe that Patong’s Soi Bangla should be closed to traffic and designated “pedestrians only”. But, interestingly, there was a considerable difference of opinion between foreigners and Thais. Participants in the poll were asked to vote on the statement “Soi Bangla should be closed to vehicles and…
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Fisherman finds unidentified corpse
THALANG: A fisherman yesterday found the body of an unidentified man in the water near Baan Tah Chat Chai. Police said the dead man was Asian, dressed in brown trousers and shirt. They estimated his age at around 25 to 30 years, and his height at about 1.6 metres. The corpse carried no identification, but police believe he may have…
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Drivers advised to divert around sewerage work
PHUKET TOWN: Drivers are advised to avoid possible traffic jams caused by the laying of sewers on Mae Luan Rd (see yesterday’s story, below) by using Susan Rd, around the Sarakul Stadium. The diversion will be signposted. At a later stage, parts of Si Sena Rd, Si Suthat Rd, Amphoe Rd, Surin Rd, Luang Pho Rd, Wichit Songkram Rd and…
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Phuket prepares for regional sports contest
PHUKET TOWN: The local office of the Sports Authority of Thailand is currently putting together the squad to represent Phuket in the “Four Ages Sports Against Drugs” tournament in Songkhla between May 29 and June 2. Khun Wirat Visuttarom, head of the office, explained that the purpose of the tournament is to promote sport, to build relationships between various groups…
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