Koh Samui News
Koh Samui news, tourism, business, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, local events, and expat insights from Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted island news source.
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Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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Koh Tao finds a way to get rid of its trash
PHOTO: Thai PBS – Koh Tao rubbish Koh Toa has some good news today, for a change, after it’s been revealed that the Surat Thani dostrict of Poonpin has agreed to accept the island’s pile of 45,000 tonnes of rubbish for disposal. About 30 tonnes of trash is added to the garbage disposal plant of the island. The island has…
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Thai police head to the UK to interview the alleged Koh Tao rape victim
The British Embassy in Thailand has given approval to a request by Thai police to visit the UK and question a woman who claims she was drugged, raped and robbed on Koh Tao in June. This was revealed by deputy tourist police chief Surachate Hakparn. “The police team investigating the rape claim will be heading to the UK soon,” he…
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Koh Tao businessman’s death was suicide – Surat Thani police
PHOTO: The Alvaro Diving shop on Koh Tao owned by Pattarapol Ekpathomsak Investigating police are ruling a Koh Tao businessman’s death as a suicide. The man yesterday threatened to kill himself on a Facebook Live post then, when he’d ended the post, went ahead with his threat. The man’s name is Pattarapol Ekpathomsak. He owned a diving school, shop, bar and…
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Koh Tao businessman announces his suicide, then kills himself
PHOTO: Facebook/Diver Nino A Koh Tao dive shop and bar owner has broadcast a clip of himself announcing his suicide and then apparently killing himself just minutes before rescuers got to him. Police and rescuers rushed to a two-storey house at a housing estate in Surat Thani’s Muang district after learning that a man living there might commit suicide. Upon…
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Alleged Koh Tao rape victim accuses Thai police of suppressing truth
The more Thai authorities and police try and sweep the matter under the carpet, the more the media interest from around the world. In her first media interview, a 19 year old British teenager has stuck to her claim that she was drugged, robbed and raped during her vacation on Koh Tao in June and accused authorities of trying to…
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Thailand’s winners in the Conde Nast Traveller awards
PHOTO: Conde Nast Thailand has been voted the world’s Best Country for People by readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine in the 2018 Readers’ Travel Awards. Thailand was voted into third spot in the ‘Best Country’ category behind European winners Italy and Greece. But Thailand scored Number One in the ‘Best Country For People‘ category. But the Conde Nast love continues…
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Suspects cite ignorance of the Computer Crime Act for sharing Koh Tao rape claims
“I want to ask for mercy for him as he acted out of ignorance.” If police and officials were hoping the ‘nothing happening here’ strategy would force the media to stop reporting about Koh Tao, the opposite is happening. Now, The Nation reports that the families of some of the 12 suspects detained for sharing content from the US-based CSI LA…
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Direct flights, luxury hotel brands and wellness push Samui performance
While most of Thailand’s resort markets struggle with an onslaught of mass tourism, Koh Samui has remained a ‘calm in the middle of a gathering storm’ in the numbers driven industry. While low-cost airlines have tapped into Asia’s soaring consumer class in most destinations, creating dizzying growth numbers, the island’s privately-owned airport has allowed for poised and sustained development over…
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Agama Yoga on Koh Phangan raided by Thai police
The Thai Military & Police have raided Agama Yoga in Koh Phangan. Charges have been filed against the Swami Vivekananda Saraswati. According to our source, Agama has been a ‘ghost town’ for weeks. Back in July The Thaiger reported that the founder of the Koh Phangan based yoga and tantra school Agama, Swami Vivekananda Saraswati, was accused by multiple women of sexual…
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Thai police chase the messengers – arrest warrant issued for CSI LA admin.
Samui Provincial Court has now approved an arrest warrant for not only the administrator of the CSI LA Facebook page but also 12 of the page’s followers who dared to share some of the reports about the alleged rape of a 19 year old British tourist on Koh Tao. CSI LA now has over 810,000 followers on its Facebook blog…
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Tourist police threaten to ban the alleged Koh Tao rape victim
PHOTO: Sairee Beach, Koh Tao – saireehutresort.net Maj-Gen Surachate Hakparn says that the London teenager who claims she was drugged, robbed and raped on Koh Tao will be blacklisted for life if she is lying. He went on saying that “Thailand wants quality tourists – not bad ones. There is not a scrap of evidence to suggest she is…
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Surat Thani police issue arrest warrants for administrators of Samui website
PHOTOS: Tourist Police Police this week say they wrapped up their investigation into the alleged rape case on Koh Tao involving the 19 year old female British backpacker. The conclusion – there is no evidence to substantiate the allegations of rape. They say without interviewing the UK tourist they have no report or evidence to indicate any wrong-doing. On Friday…
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Police say they will seek arrest warrants for publishers of Koh Tao story
FILE PHOTO: Sairee Beach, Koh Tao Khaosod English are reporting that Police are seeking a warrant to arrest the editor of a news site that published accounts of an alleged sexual assault on the tourist island of Koh Tao. According to the report, the editor of the Samui Times, Su Buchanan, will be charged under cybercrime laws for defaming the…
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Come back and file rape complaint by Sept 25 – Thai police
The 19 year old British woman, Isabel, who claims to have been drugged, robbed and raped while vacationing on Koh Tao should come and file a complaint with Thai police before the statute of limitations in the case expires on Sept 25. This is the suggestion from Region 8 Provincial Police commissioner Pol Lt Gen Sorasak Yenprem . Thai PBS…
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Koh Phangan pharmacy worker apologises for bottling female tourist
Thai Rath is reporting that the pharmacy worker who smashed a bottle over the head of a female Portuguese tourist on Koh Phangan has apologised for his actions. But he stopped short of apologising to the victim. He blames the tourist and her friend for starting the incident and says that anyone who had heard the full story and seen…
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“No evidence of a rape” – Koh Tao
Pol Maj Gen Surachete Hakparn, the deputy tourist police commissioner currently on Koh Tao, says police investigators have not found any evidence or information that would support a rape case as claimed by a British backpacker. But he did welcome any evidence from the UK teenager to prove her claims. Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakparn was assigned by the national…
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Accusations fly between foreigner and Thai over bottle attack on Koh Phangan
PHOTOS & VIDEO: Facebook/Natthicha Yachana Accusations are being fired thick and fast on social media after various clips have been aired online of the aftermath of an altercation in front of a pharmacy on Koh Phangan. Thai Rath reports that a female foreign tourist was hit over the head with a bottle in a scuffle between here and the owner of…
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National police begin Koh Tao rape claim investigation today
Thai police are now responding to a growing call to make some concrete investigations into allegations by a 19 UK woman that she was drugged, robbed and raped whilst visiting Koh Tao in June this year. A senior police commissioner and forensic officials are in Koh Tao today to investigate the claims. National police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda has…
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The monthly Full Moon Party still popular
PHOTO: RTW Backpackers More than 10,000 foreign tourists joined the Full Moon Party on Koh Pha-Ngan last night (Sunday) and under the watchful eye of security officials. Pha-Ngan district chief Krirkkrai Songthani sent 120 troops, police and Interior Ministry officials to the Haad Rin Beach to maintain security and safety during the party. Krirkkrai said the beach was crowed with…
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Koh Phangan police hit back at allegations of mishandled report
Surat Thani provincial police have hit back at allegations they’ve mishandled another possible rape case on Koh Tao. In fact they say there was no rape case on the holiday island involving a British backpacker as alleged in social and wider media, in Thailand and overseas. Koh Tao island has earned a reputation in recent years for a number of…
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28 year old Norwegian found dead in car on Koh Samui
Police are investigating a Norwegian tourist found dead inside his car on Samui last Monday. 28 year old Aspen Anray Solian was found dead in the driver’s seat on Thaweerat Phakdee Road in Tambon Maret. A doctor says he had died about one or two hours before he was found. Police say the body showed no signs of violence. A…
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Electricity glitches for Samui and Koh Phangan
PHOTO COMPILATION: Thai Rath The Thai media are claiming there’s an electricity crisis on the holiday islands – Samui and Koh Phangan. Thai Rath reports that electricity authorities in the south of Thailand are residing to the recent articles and complaints. There have been so many power cuts recently that things are desperate, according to Thai Rath. Authorities say that the problem…
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Warning out for Samui ferry as waves reach 3 metres in Gulf of Thailand
The Samui Harbour Office has issued warnings to the ferry operator to be careful in both directions on the Surat Thani run with waves up high as three metres today in the Gulf of Thailand. The office has also prohibited small boats from leaving the shores of Koh Samui. The ferry boat operator was warned to check lifejackets and all…
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ATMs not filled after money trucks crash – Koh Tao
ATM machines on Koh Tao will have to make do with cash on hand after two security trucks crashed on their way to deliver more refill banknotes early today (Tuesday). The Ban Nai Hood police station in Chumphon’s Lang Suan district was alerted to the accident on the Asia highway No 41 at 5.55am, with the trucks headed to Koh…
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Banyan Tree Samui hailed as eco-friendly leader in Thailand
The Banyan Tree Samui has become the first and only hotel in Thailand to be awarded “Gold Certification” at a single-property level by Earthcheck, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism. Although other hotel chains have received similar accolades from EarthCheck at a group level, Banyan Tree Samui stands alone as the sole property…
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7,000 pirated items seized in Samui sting
Thailand’s favourite neighbourhood crime buster, Big Joke and his tourist police taskforce, have been working the markets of Koh Samui – the distribution network selling pirated goods on the island. Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal says he was following orders from PM Prayut Chan-ocha to stamp out piracy. The deputy head of the tourist police was pictured on the Tourist Police…
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Indian currency cons arrested on Samui
Thai TV Channel 7 has featured the arrest of two Indian citizens who were attempting to rip off currency exchanges on Koh Samui. The scam works as follows… the Indians would bring 10 x US$100 dollar bills to a currency exchange booth, to change to Thai currency. One would then ask to recount the US dollars and take out two…
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Agama Yoga founder Swami Vivekananda accused of sexual assault
The founder of the Koh Phangan based yoga and tantra school Agama, Swami Vivekananda Saraswati, has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault. He claims to be the “brilliant exponent of a unique and modern trend of thinking in Yoga” who “has reached high states of spiritual realisation.” Agama Yoga is one of the world’s largest yoga training centres. Swami’s…
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Baby gibbon used for photo-ops in Samui
PHOTOS: Facebook/Arkadiy Kulev “Endangered gibbon used to entertain tourists on Chaweng Beach in Koh Samui, Thailand.” On Phuket it’s the slow loris which is the ‘cute-creature-for-100-baht-photos’. In Samui they’ve gone for a baby gibbon. A foreign resident on Koh Samui has exposed that a baby gibbon was used for selling photos at Chaweng Beach, resulting in an uproar among expats…
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Burmese maid returns bag containing $11,000 to tourist
Daily News is reporting that a tourist from the Netherlands has thanked a Burmese maid at his hotel on Koh Samui. 37 year old Sawee Let Mau showed it was not just the Thais who are high up in the honesty stakes. Sawee found the green bag under some stairs – it contained AUD$ to the tune of 280,000 baht –…
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