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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Ode to the Honda Click
No helmets, but a lot of effort, some cameos by local dogs and a drone, brings together a heart-felt ode to the ubiquitous Hand Click, the favourite scooter rental for Thai tourists for a decade. This unlikely, hastily organised boyband duo deserves 10 out of 10 for effort but a lower score for their singing and fashion sense. Filmed on…
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‘Rape never happened’. Thai police conclude Koh Tao probe
A teen who claimed to have been drugged and raped on Koh Tao in June has failed to confirm the site of the attack, identity of the attacker or how the attack happened while being questioned in the UK, Thai police officers said. British police also handed over a T-shirt the 19 year old woman wore on June 25, the…
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Koh Tao alleged rape case wrapped up
According to Thai PBS, Thai police have wrapped up an investigation into allegations by a 19 year old female British backpacker that she was drugged, raped and robbed on Koh Tao. Police claim that, following their investigations, there is simply a lack of credible evidence. Speaking at a media gathering this morning, national police chief, Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda, declared…
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French trio admit to trying to scam their insurance company
PHOTOS: New TV Police on Koh Samui report that three French tourists claimed that they were robbed at knife point by five Thai men on three motorcycles after they become lost. New TV reports that they claimed that everything was stolen from them and the thieves disappeared without a trace. But they’ve since been shown to have been lying for…
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4,000 pills and a 25 year old nabbed at Samui Post
A man has been arrested on Koh Samui after collecting a parcel containing 4,000 methamphetamine pills and 500 grams of crystal methamphetamine from a private post office. Acting on tips-off, troops, police and provincial officials staked out at the post office in Tambon Mae Nam and nabbed 25 year old Nattapong Nakwetcharin after he arrived to pick up the parcel.…
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25 yo British woman claims she was raped on Koh Phangan but later recants
A 25 year old British woman has accepted that she was not raped on Koh Phangan as she had previously claimed. Hospital tests and CCTV indicated there was no evidence a crime had occurred. Sanook is reporting that the woman admits that her fears were completely unfounded. She has been named only as ‘Joanna’. Her distraught father had contacted the British…
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Police swarm into Koh Phangan for tonight’s Full Moon Party
Authorities are out in force at tonight’s Full Moon Party on Hat Rin, the beach-home of the monthly Full Moon party on Koh Phangan. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board has arrived in the Surat Thani province to crack down on drugs in the popular archipelago of islands off the Surat Thani province coast. They say Koh Phangan is…
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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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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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Warning for boats going to sea in Phuket
The Phuket Marine Office has made an official announcement for boats to be “careful when going to sea until September 18, due to Typhoon Mangkhut. The announcement was issued yesterday (September 12) stating that “the Typhoon Mangkhut in the Pacific Ocean is likely to move through The Philippines and Taiwan during the period from September 14-15.” “It will then move…
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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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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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10 arrested over sharing content about alleged Koh Tao rape case
10 people are now reported to be in custody for sharing posts from a Facebook page claiming that a British 19 year old was drugged and raped on Koh Tao. The 10 now in police custody have residence in Udon Thani, Bangkok, Nakhon Ratchasima, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Pattalung and Chiang Mai. The arrests followed the Court issuing an arrest warrant at…
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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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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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Tourist police report says evidence doesn’t support assault allegation on Koh Tao
The Deputy Commander of the Tourist Police has submitted findings from an investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a British tourist on Koh Tao to the Consulate of the United Kingdom in Thailand. Deputy Commander of the Tourist Police, Pol Maj Gen Surachete Hakparn says that the area said to be the scene of the crime would have been…
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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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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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Samui Times responds to Police accusations of ‘fake news’
The media has become its own story today after Surat Thani, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan police and officials have accused Samui Times of spreading ‘fake news’, apparently the latest go-to explanation for any news that you disagree with. Samui Times responds to allegations of spreading ‘Fake News’ and having a ‘Vendetta’ against Koh Tao Sanook has reported that the…
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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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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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DSI crackdown on foreigners using Thai nominees: Law firm raided in Bangkok, Phuket and Samui
Four offices of the same investment advisory firm have been raided in Bangkok, Phuket and Samui. Coordinated raids on the offices of what appears to be a single advisory firm were conducted by the DSI (Department of Special Investigations), police and Board of Investment representatives. Pictures showed that the company is DFDL Thailand Legal and Tax. This company offers “investment advisory…
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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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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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