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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Warrants obtained for five men over Samui car-bomb
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Warrants obtained for five men wanted over Samui car-bomb The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police yesterday obtained arrest warrants for five suspects accused of carrying out the Central Festival car-bomb attack on Koh Samui earlier this month. The five men have been identified as Asmin…
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Seven suspects eyed for Samui car bomb attack
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Seven suspects eyed for Samui car bomb attack The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Arrest warrants will be issued for up to seven Koh Samui car bomb suspects once sufficient evidence has been collected, national police chief Gen Somyot Poompanmuang said yesterday. Meanwhile, high-ranking Internal Security…
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Man denies role in Samui car bomb
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man denies role in Samui car bomb The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Phattalung man who resembled a suspect in a police sketch wanted over the Central Festival bomb attack on Koh Samui two weeks ago met yesterday with police. Nukul Yongnoo, the manager of…
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Teacher among two more suspects arrested over Samui car bomb
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Teacher among two more suspects arrested over Samui car bomb The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A teacher is among the two new suspects arrested for allegedly playing a role in the Central Festival Samui bomb blast. An informed source revealed yesterday that the 33-year-old teacher,…
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Five injured in Central Festival Samui bomb blast
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Four Thais, one foreigner injured in Samui car bomb blast The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A bomb hidden in a car parked at the Central Festival Samui exploded late last night, injuring five people, including a foreigner. The five injured were identified as Sudarat Deepenkaew,…
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Phuket thieves arrested on Koh Samui
PHUKET: Two men wanted for robbery in Phuket and believed to be holding fake Turkish passports were arrested in Koh Samui yesterday. Murad Mohammad Yahya, 37, and Wesam Kamal Murad, 27, are accused of stealing a Rolex watch, cash and other valuables worth more than one million baht, as well as illegally entering Thailand and presenting fake identification. Both men…
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Police say jealousy behind Koh Samui murder, 3 charged
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police say jealousy behind Koh Samui murder, 3 charged The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested three Myanmar workers who allegedly conspired to murder a female compatriot whose body was found at a viewpoint on Koh Samui on Monday. Surat Thani police chief Pol…
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Samui bar owner, guard confess to slaying Turkish tourist
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Samui bar owner, guard confess to slaying Turkish tourist The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A security guard and the manager of a bar on Koh Samui confessed on Friday to conspiring to shoot dead a Turkish tourist, police said yesterday. Kabin Srisa-ard, 27, the guard,…
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Samui’s tourism market hits mid-year glitch
PHUKET: While many of Thailand’s resort destinations think they are immune to what happens in Bangkok, the reality is that they are sadly mistaken. There is little doubt that the events which played out in the nation’s capital had a profound impact on tourism. Be it from martial law or the globally publicized curfews, there has been fallout in the…
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Only seconds in it on final day of Samui Regatta
PHUKET: The sun and wind greeted sailors with equal measure on the morning of the last day of the Samui Regatta last Saturday, May 31. With the best pressure to the north, Principal Race Officer (PRO) Ross Chisholm headed out to lay a start line with two races planned for all – first a trapezoid course followed by a fast…
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HiFi gives opening blast at Samui Regatta
PHUKET: The 13th Samui Regatta got underway yesterday with a 23-strong fleet of mainly international boats competing in what has become known as the Tropical Island Regatta. With an impressive IRC fleet lining up to battle it out over five days, the first day proved to be both challenging and satisfying for fans. Light to moderate winds, unusual for Samui…
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Asia’s best skippers to compete at this year’s Samui Regatta
PHUKET: The Samui Regatta, which gets underway this weekend, heralds a big gun showdown between Foxy Lady VI and Red Kite II for the right to be crowned champions in the Asia Yachting Grand Prix (AYGP) 2014. Foxy Lady is unbeaten this year and hot on a six-regatta streak after winning the IRC2 class at Top of the Gulf earlier…
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Samui’s tender trap – Phuket Property Watch
PHUKET: Everywhere you turn these days, tourism talk inevitably winds up on the subject of the mass market. It’s not unlike barreling down a dead-end street on a supercharged, high-speed bulldozer. There is no such thing as a damage control button to push. Yes, there will be collateral damage. Meanwhile back on the broader Thailand train of thought, and particularly…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Speaker spending probe; Samui alarmed over oil spill; Homeless foreigners hurt image; Emma Thompson to join talks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Samui, nearby islands also vulnerable to oil leaks The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The oil-spill crisis on Koh Samet has scarred the Kingdom’s tourism industry and operators, especially those in Koh Samui and neighbouring islands, are voicing concern that their investments will go down the drain if…
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Asia’s top sailors set for Samui
PHUKET: The line-up of boats for the 2013 Samui Regatta, set to take place from today to June 1 off Chaweng Beach, features a strong mix of top international racers and regional regatta veterans. Organized by Regattas Asia, a leading regatta and marine-based sporting event management company in Asia, Samui Regatta is celebrating its 12th year. Familiar faces on the…
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Phuket Property Watch: Koh Samui puts on a game face
PHUKET: War is hell. While the opinion on developing tourism often ranges from heaven to hell or somewhere in-between those luxury hotel 400 thread count fine Egyptian bed sheets (as usual I can’t help but take a quick detour off into the realms of upscale bedding). Apparently there is an ongoing controversy over thread count linen and whether the claims…
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Thailand News: Power restored to Samui after three-day blackout
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Power restored on Thai resort islands after three-day blackout Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Power was finally restored to the Thai resort islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan early this morning after a three-day blackout prompted thousands of peak-season tourists to leave. The electricity…
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Delegation pitches Phuket ICEC review to PM Yingluck in Samui
PHUKET: A delegation from Phuket yesterday lobbied Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to review the decision by Cabinet to shelve the 2.6-billion-baht project to build an international convention and exhibition center (ICEC) in Phuket. As PM Yingluck arrived to attend the mobile Cabinet meeting on Koh Samui this morning, Boonsupaa Tanthai, president of the Rak Phuket Club (“We Love Phuket Club”),…
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Samui hideaway secret unveiled
PHUKET: Ready to lift the veil on Koh Samui’s “best-kept secret”, the boutique Akaryn Samui is set to welcome its first guests next month. As the fourth and latest venture by Thailand hospitality pioneer Anchalika Kijkanakorn, the Akaryn Samui looks to redefine the boutique resort experience. The largely undiscovered, Hanuman Bay is a pristine crescent cove with a 500-meter powder…
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Phuket Property Watch: Battle lines are drawn in Koh Samui brand quest
PHUKET: Samui and Phuket continue to be described as the Yin and Yang of resort island destinations. Characteristics that they both share are that both are islands in Thailand that champion tourism as the overall economic prosperity jackpot. But beyond the obvious, many questions remain about how much they differ. After recently completing a mid-year hotel market update for Samui,…
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Samui Airport reopened
SAMUI / PHUKET: Samui Airport resumed operations at 2 pm today, Bangkok Airways announced in a press release. The first departing flight was Bangkok Airways PG100, which took off at 2 pm, bound for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. The co-pilot of the Bangkok Airways flight that crashed into an abandoned control tower yesterday afternoon remains in critical condition at Bangkok Hospital in the…
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Blood urgently needed for Samui air crash victims
PHUKET / SAMUI: Bangkok Airways is calling for blood donations of all blood types, especially from foreigners, following the crash at Samui Airport this afternoon of Bangkok Airways flight PG 266 from Krabi to Samui.The pilot was killed and a total of 34 people were seriously injured in the accident.Samui Airport has been closed following the accident. All flights to…
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Plane crash at Samui Airport
PHUKET CITY: A Bangkok Airways aircraft skidded off the runway at Samui Airport and crashed into an aviation control tower earlier this afternoon.The accident took place at about 2.30pm.The pilot, Chartchai Punsuwan, was killed in the accident.Rescue teams and workers rushed to the scene to evacuate the passengers.Initial reports said the 75-seat aircraft, arriving from Krabi, slid off the runway because…
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Aussies, Thais dominate Samui Regatta
KOH SAMUI: Ray Roberts, the top Asian sailor for 2008, Matt Allen, Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, and Andrew Short, also from the Sydney club, have won the top prizes in the International Racing Class (IRC)1, IRC 2 and Cruising Classes, respectively, in the 7th Samui International Yacht Regatta.Roberts, a regular racer in Phuket and Thailand, and…
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UK student found dead on Samui
SAMUI: The policeman in charge of the investigation into the death of British tourist Catherine Horton suspects foul play may be responsible, but said that a preliminary police examination of the body revealed no signs of assault or rape. Pol Maj Thanongsak Aksornsom of the Samui District Police told the Gazette that Miss Horton ‘s body, in a black dress,…
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Samui property agent shot
KOH SAMUI: Samui property agent Gary Pearmain and his girlfriend, Sirinya Sansenao, 25, were shot and wounded by two gunmen at their house in Baan Thongkrud at about 8 pm on Thursday.Pol Maj Sompong Krutsuwan, Inspector of Samui Police Station, told the Gazette that Mr Pearmain, a British national, was shot in the left hand and chest, and K. Sirinya…
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Samui speedboat crash toll rises to 14
KOH SAMUI: Rescue services have today recovered a further seven bodies from the waters around Koh Samui, bringing the official number of dead following Tuesday morning’s speedboat crash to 14. Pol Cpl Pongkasem Thanawanitnam, Koh Samui Police Station spokesman, told the Gazette that there are now two people still posted as missing.Koh Samui Hospital gave the names and nationalities of…
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Dulwich to open college on Samui
KOH SAMUI: David Cook, Headmaster of Dulwich International College (DIC), has announced that the international school will open a new campus on Koh Samui next year. At a meeting of property developers and agents on Koh Samui on Friday, Mr Cook said that DIC had concluded the purchase of 65 rai of land with 300 meters of road front in…
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Phuket, Samui property show tops expectations
HONG KONG: Contracts worth a total of more than 180 million baht for the sale of homes in Phuket and Koh Samui were signed at the second annual Phuket & Samui Property Exhibition at Hong Kong’s Convention and Exhibition Center on September 12-14. At the show, organized by Graham Doven and Artasia Press, and co-sponsored by the Phuket Gazette, Laguna…
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Samui killer ‘may be box jellyfish’
PHUKET: A scientist and a yachtsman today suggested that the seaborne killer responsible for the deaths of two tourists in waters around Koh Pha-ngan may have been a box jellyfish, reputed to be the world’s most venomous marine creature. Two tourists were killed in separate incidents earlier this month at Koh Pha-ngan, near Koh Samui, with one victim’s legs bearing…
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