Koh Samui News
Stay up to date on the latest happenings in Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao with The Thaiger. Our team delivers up-to-date news, insightful analysis, and exclusive stories from this popular part of the Surat Thani Province, Thailand. Keep your finger on the pulse of Samui’s ever-evolving tourism, economic, and cultural scene, as well as its thriving beach entertainment and nightlife. Stay informed about local events, transportation updates, and expat experiences in this vibrant collection of Islands.
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Sponsored THAIFEX - Anuga Asia 2024 exhibits unforgettable food innovation
THAIFEX - Anuga Asia 2024 has officially wrapped up for another year after delivering an unforgettable showcase of food innovation and culinary experiences. With 3,133 exhibitions hosted at the event, entrepreneurs and culinary creatives from over 50 countries were present...
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Search continues for missing British tourist after falling overboard off Samui
Royal Thai Navy officers, divers and local volunteer organisations are continuing their search for a 40 year old British man who went missing on Monday off Koh Samui. Officials on the Gulf island say that the search for a missing British tourist who fell from a speedboat while out on an island-hopping trip is continuing. The tourist was not named but…
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Former prisoner arrested over rape of Norwegian tourist on Koh Pha Ngan
33 year old Rewat Harnsuwan, a resident of Nakhon Si Thammarat, has been arrested over the alleged rape of a Norwegian woman on Koh Pha Ngan off the coast of Surat Thani last Sunday. He was arrested at a motorcycle repair shop in Tambon Koh Pha Ngan at 8pm last night. It has been revealed that he had been released from…
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Suspect arrested over alleged Norwegian tourist rape at Koh Pha Ngan
Police have arrested a suspect who allegedly raped a Norwegian tourist at Koh Pha Ngan after the weekend’s Half Moon Party. The tourist filed a complaint with the Pha Ngan police station on Sunday morning, telling the officers that she had been raped by a motorcyclist. Read more about her report HERE. Police launched an immediate search for the suspect…
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Police looking for Thai man who raped Norwegian tourist after Full Moon Party
PHOTO: M-THAI Police on Koh Pha Ngan in the Gulf of Thailand off Koh Samui are launching a manhunt for a Thai man who has allegedly raped a Norwegian tourist. The incident is said to have happened during the monthly Half Moon party late Saturday night. The national police chief had instructed the Surat Thani police head office to speed…
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German hotelier claims he paid 800,000 baht bribe to operate his unlicensed villa on Samui
PHOTOS: Channel 7 A German man has told investigators yesterday that he paid ‘some Thais’ 800,850 baht after they threatened to shut down his luxury villa during construction. 47 year old Ulrich Schmidt claims he was visited during the construction phase of his Best World Vision Villas project and he paid the ‘tea money’ in the belief it would allow…
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Boat carrying a Bangkok school group sinks at Chumpon pier
A boat carrying up to 40 schoolchildren has sunk after hitting underwater rocks next to a pier in Chumpon province last Monday. The vessel “Mattha” was carrying around 50 people, including the group from a school in Bangkok on a snorkelling day trip around the nearby islands. But when the boat returned later in the day, the tide was out…
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Raid on 18 foreign-owned Koh Samui hotels, owners arrested
FILE PHOTO Army, police and municipal officials have raided 18 hotels on Koh Samui claiming that they are illegally owned by foreigners. The hotels in questions are on a mountainside on the Gulf island, the second largest island in Thailand. Officials carried out the search and raids on Chaweng Noi Mountain in Moo 6 village in Tambon Bophut and found…
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Massive fire at Koh Samui incinerator – VIDEO
PHOTOS/VIDEO: The Government Public Relation Department Region 5 An incinerator caught fire on Koh Samui, off the coast of Surat Thani last night. “That’s what incinerators are meant to do,” we hear you cry. But this one was totally out of control destroying the entire structure. The Government Public Relation Department Region 5 reports that the fire started at the…
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“Nong Gee” turns heads at Koh Samui military conscription
Thai media’s fascination with ‘ladyboys’ continues with Daily News reporting about the military conscription event in Koh Samui and, as usual, getting diverted by the one or two “kathoey” who role up, as required by law, to draw lots to see if they will get conscripted into the national Army. “Thai men screamed their appreciation as a very attractive lady…
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Koh Phangan and Koh Tao try to shake off monthly boom and bust
by Bill Barnett Thailand’s idyllic Koh Phangan island is renowned globally for its marque Full Moon parties. On the heels of soaring demand for the big event, visitor numbers surpassed the one million ceiling two years ago and over a five-year period registered compound annual growth rate of 17%. While the numbers are impressive, the reality for resorts on the…
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Russian arrested on Samui for theft, drugs and overstaying visa
A Russian man has been arrested for stealing a digital camera as well as taking drugs and overstaying his visa. The incident happed on Koh Samui yesterday, (Sunday). Police from Bophut station arrested 31 year old Kiirti Svami after a digital camera store in one of the island’s major malls caught him returning to their store after already being caught…
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Government considers blanket alcohol bans on April 13
There’s a 24 hour ban on alcohol on the weekend preceding AND the actual election weekend this month. And next month is Songkran with the Government mooting possible blanket bans on Songkran day, April 13. This year the Government says they want an alcohol ban on the biggest annual holiday for Thais. It’s also part of the week when there…
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Kite protest as Samui airport’s neighbors demand more compensation
Ten neighbours living adjacent to privately owned Koh Samui airport, unhappy with compensation offers over the noise, have sent up a fleet of kites in protest to blockade the end of the runway. Soldiers and police were called to Samui International Airport to sort out today’s protest. Many of the airport’s neighbours have accepted the offer of 50 million baht…
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Enthusiastic Dutch lover gets his marching orders in Koh Samui
SCREENSAVE: Channel Seven News A Dutch man, who fell fell in love with a Thai female staffer at the resort where he was staying in Koh Samui, wouldn’t take no for an answer. The incident is reported to have happened at the Lamai Hill Villa. Channel Seven news says the issue became an obsession for him, convinced his good looks would…
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Bangkok Airways spending 3 billion on new planes, airports
PHOTO: A Bangkok Airways ATR 72-600 dwarfed by a Thai Airways ‘jumbo’ Bangkok Airways is putting aside 3 billion baht to finance two new aircraft to support their growing passenger numbers. The local airline is forecasting a 3% growth in bums-on-seats this year to over 6 million passengers. The airline’s CEO says they hope to purchase two new ATR 72-600…
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The Koh Samui tunnel – “it definitely had all the proper documentation”
The 84 metre tunnel, rediscovered last week by a foreign tourist visiting the north of Koh Samui, is starting to reveal more of its secrets. This week island authorities announced they would prosecute the builders of the tunnel because they were unable to find any supporting documentation or permissions for the construction. The Koh Samui land office could, however, confirm…
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Light at the end of the tunnel – Koh Samui’s mystery mountain tunnel
Officers have closed off access to the ‘mysterious’ tunnel on Koh Samui linking two sides of a small hill. They say they’re waiting for the company which owns the land, linked by the tunnel, to front up with a permit to build it. A tourist trekking in the Ban Tai area last week stumbled on the 84 metre long tunnel.…
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Tourist finds old tunnel on Koh Samui
PHOTOS: Sanook Authorities are investigating a 100 meters long, 3.5 meters wide and 5 meters high tunnel that had been contstructed from one side of Ban Tai hill to the other. The tunnel was found in the Mae Nam area. After local Samui authorities dug into their paperwork they determined that the area was private land bought by a developer from a…
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Luxury hotel raided in Koh Samui over alleged money laundering
PHOTO: Oriental Lodge Koh Samui A luxury hotel in the south of Koh Samui was raided yesterday in an international money laundering probe. The raid was conduced by the Department of Special Investigation officers and Ministry of the Interior officials. The Komchadluek website reports that investigators allege that 100 million baht has been funneled through illegal activities at the Oriental Lodge…
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Koh Samui: “Awash with drugs”, ONB News
ONB News is reporting that Koh Samui is “awash with drugs” and that the local prison was crammed full of prisoners convicted on drugs charges. They were making the assessment following the latest arrest of a Thai woman and her Thai husband on drugs charges on the popular holiday island. ‘Ice’ or crystal methamphetamine was found at her home in…
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Foundation worker, who admits to killing famous singer’s son, taken on reenactment
PHOTO: Sanook Thai police continue to investigate the murder of the son of a well known Koh Samui artist that took place last Monday. Sanook reports that the victim, 26 year old Nappaphorn, son of singer “Maew Bai Jaak Thai” was shot 5 times by a local foundation rescue worker, 20 year old Natdanai, following a long-standing dispute between the two. Natdani has now…
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Alleged ‘sex cult’ yoga retreat on Koh Phangan operating again
PHOTO: Narcis Tarcau, aka. Swami Vivekananda Saraswati – South China Morning Post The world’s “biggest tantric yoga school” has reopened on Koh Phangan with the accused leader back in charge amid accusations that management suppressed an investigation into the alleged abuse. The centre closed last September after 14 women alleged rape and sexual assault and made official complaints. At the…
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Updated marine rules – Koh Tao, Ko Phangan, Koh Samui
PHOTOS: DMCR The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has issued updated, published rules for marine activities on the three main islands in Surat Thani province – Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao… 1. Boats are strictly prohibited from using anchors in coral reef areas. Existing mooring buoys must be used when accessing the site. 2. The disposal…
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Meth-dealing Koh Samui bar owner attacked in Thai prison
PHOTO: The Mirror A British man says he had three teeth knocked out and that going to a Thai prison for dealing drugs was ‘torture’. Jimmy Kelly was sentenced to 30 years but ended up spending just three behind bars for selling crystal methamphetamine at the bar on Samui he owned. His sentence was dramatically cut because his brother Gary…
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Weather for January 16
Bangkok Morning clouds followed by afternoon sun. High 33ºC. Winds NE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 30ºC. Winds ESE and variable. Phuket Afternoon showers. High 31ºC. Winds NNE and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Ko Samui Thundershowers. High 25ºC. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 40%. Pattaya Partly cloudy. High 32ºC.…
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French woman found floating off Koh Samui beach
Samui police report that the body the body of 42 year old Maud Isabeile Bailley was found floating at sea off Ao Thongket beach around 2.30 pm yesterday (Tuesday). The body was first seen floating by hotel staff who called police and rescue workers. Responders then brought the body back to shore. A friend of the deceased has identified the…
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Foreigners rolling up sleeves to clear rubbish from Samui beaches
by Somkiat Raksaman Foreign tourists are back on Samui’s beaches for the second day to help collect trash and debris swept to the shore by tropical storm Pabuk, which hit the Southern region last Friday. Popular Lamai beach was covered with garbage, plastic bags and other debris in the wake of the storm. A hotel operator, Kornpachara Meedet, says today…
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Pabuk: Floods and blackouts along southern Gulf coast as storm moves away
• Floods and blackouts have left nearly 30,000 people in evacuation shelters across southern Thailand • Relieved tourists stranded on islands further north were spared the worst and are now working on continuing their journeys • Pabuk packed winds of up to 75 kph (45 mph) and brought heavy rains and storm surges as it lashed the much of the southern…
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Pabuk edges closer to southern Thailand
PHOTO: Aljazeera “Officials expect the conditions to persist into Saturday.” Aljazeera is reporting that tropical storm Pabuk is forecast to make landfall on Friday evening in Nakhon Si Thammarat coastal islands bringing torrential downpours and strong winds to more than a dozen other provinces in the south. The region is home to one of the world’s biggest natural rubber plantations…
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Pabuk: Warnings for coastal residents to stay indoors
by Pratch Rujivanarom Strong gale conditions and surging seas are pounding the coastlines of three provinces this afternoon. The Meteorological Department is warning residentsto stay indoors and away from the coast. The provinces affected so far include Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla. Department director-general Phuwieng Prakhammintara says Tropical Storm Pabuk was expected to have greater affect on southern coastlines as…
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