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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Paralyzed American fall victim responsive after spine surgery
KRABI: An American teacher who was critically injured when she fell down a 45-meter-high cliff at Railay Bay in Krabi is conscious and responsive after being rescued on Friday, but still cannot move her legs. Hannah Michel Gavios, 23, is being treated at Bangkok Hospital Phuket after falling down the rock face while fleeing a would-be molester on Thursday night.…
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Muslim Cleric shooting investigations may reveal local guns-for-hire network
PHUKET: Police are hunting for one man while another has surrendered himself, both allegedly involved in a ‘network’ that ordered an attack on a Muslim cleric in Koh Kaew last month. The cleric, Weerachat Kahapana, chased down and injured his shooters after getting shot at (story here). Two suspects, Thanachai Choothong, 24, and Wisuth Yokyong, 23, were apprehended after the…
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Underpass closure results in traffic nightmare
PHUKET: A five-car pile-up in the northbound lanes entering the Samkong Underpass around 10am today resulted in heavy traffic and long tailbacks. Traffic police responded by closing both the southbound and northbound lanes of the underpass in order to clear out the damaged vehicles. With the roads above the underpass closed to through traffic, the closure resulted in long tailbacks…
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Still no leads on fake bombs in Krabi
KRABI: Two devices, similar in design to the ones used in last month’s bombings (story here), were found in Krabi Town last week. Authorities believe that the devices, which consisted of wires connected to an electronic circuit board, were left to scare passersby and to test the emergency response capabilities of police. Police currently do not have any leads after…
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Phuket Old Town’s overhead power lines gone for good
PHUKET: The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) announced on Saturday that it had finally completed a three-phase project to bury electric cables in the center of Phuket Town. The beautifying of Phuket Old Town by burying power cables began in 2010 along Thalang Road. The second phase saw the removal of overhead cables along parts of Dibuk Road, Krabi Road and…
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First Mother’s Day bombings suspect arrested
BANGKOK: Police today confirmed the arrest of a suspect linked to the wave of bombings in tourist towns last month that killed four people and wounded dozens, including foreigners. The bombs and arson attacks August 11-12 in various towns south of Bangkok including Hua Hin, Surat Thani and in Phuket raised fears that a Muslim separatist insurgency, for years largely…
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Saturday power cuts scheduled for Koh Kaew
PHUKET: Power is scheduled to be shut-off in Koh Kaew sub-district on Saturday, September 17 and Saturday September 24, the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced. The power outage is scheduled from 9am until 5pm on both days to facilitate construction work on the Ban Khu Underpass. The areas to be specifically affected by the power cut are Koh Kaew…
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Blaze guts Phuket Town home
PHUKET: It took five fire trucks about 40 minutes to extinguish a second-storey blaze in Phuket Town yesterday. Emergency services received a report of the house fire at 9:20am at number 44/2 on Patiphat Road. The second floor bedroom and prayer room in the two-storey house, named ‘Baan Thamrongpornsawat,’ were ablaze when firefighters arrived,” said Phuket City Police Lt Thaksin…
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Phuket blood center needs AB supplies
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is holding blood donation sessions across Phuket throughout September to replenish blood stocks, especially AB blood types. Under the banner ‘Give Blood to Fellowmen’, the September blood donation drive is in honor of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s 84th birthday anniversary and His Majesty the King’s 70th anniversary of his accession to the throne.…
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Train bombing may derail peace talks
THAILAND: Thais in the deep South continue to endure regular violent attacks, despite ongoing peace talks in Malaysia. Trains operating in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat have been suspended for 10 days after another bomb exploded on the railway line on Friday. The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) ordered the temporary suspension of train services to the three southernmost provinces in…
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Sinkhole swallows bus
PHUKET: The back of a bus was swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up beneath the vehicle in Thalang district on Saturday afternoon after several hours of torrential rain. Baan Kluay Road in Srisoonthon sub district has been closed off until the bus can be removed and the hole in the road filled in. Srisoonthorn Mayor Worrawut Songyot said the…
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Prime Minister to visit Phuket this month
PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha is to visit Phuket on September 16 for the regional launch of a new nationwide initiative aimed at helping budding local businesses get off the ground and into the international arena of digital commerce. The Startup Thailand 2016 campaign was launched by the prime minister in Bangkok in April as a joint government and…
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American woman falls off cliff while fleeing assaulter
PHUKET: An American tourist fell into a crevice off a 45-meter-high cliff at Railay Bay, Krabi while trying to save herself from sexual assault late Thursday night. The suspect, named Apai Ruangwong, 28, admitted to the attempted assault when police questioned him. He was also the one who notified the authorities for help. The 23-year-old woman, whose name is being…
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Medical schools join forensic probe into land suspect’s death
PHUKET: Forensic teams from medical schools have joined the investigation into the mysterious death of a former land department official – a major suspect in an illegal land-title registration case – while in police custody. Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya said yesterday that to ensure transparency in the case, forensic teams from Chulalongkorn University, Ramathibodi Medical School, and Siriraj Medical…
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Opinion: Easing the migrant registration process
PHUKET: Pitool Dumsakorn, 54, is the current chief of the Phuket Employment Office. Originally from Phatthalung, he has a master’s degree in Public Administration from Prince of Songkla University in Hat Yai. He has taken up this position to manage unemployment on the island. Here he talks about how employment laws must not only be strictly applied, but also be…
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Island View: Retail Goliaths killing the local community
PHUKET: Unemployment in Thailand is practically zero. The official unemployment rate is around the one per cent mark. Compare that to somewhere like the UK where unemployment figures over the past decade have fluctuated wildly between 12 and seven per cent, and one has to ask why a developed nation has an unemployment problem with millions dependent on government handouts.…
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New e-payment service aims to ease fund transfers
PHUKET: A new payment method designed to ease bank transfers, backed by the central bank of Thailand, was announced at a press conference held in Phuket last week. Saowapa Limsila, chief of the Phuket Office of the Comptroller General, and Jongrak Angtanya, vice president of the ‘Phuket Bankers Club’, jointly chaired the meeting held at Phuket Provincial Hall. The new…
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Tranlee assets go up for auction
PHUKET: More than 150 assets of the embattled Tranlee Travel Co are to be auctioned off on September 6, Phuket’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) announced yesterday. The assets – 33 boats, 57 buses, parcels of land and millions of baht – were seized after investigators declared that the Phuket-based tour operator had been established illegally (story here). AMLO Secretary General…
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Opinion: Phuket’s growing reputation for ATM fraud
PHUKET: The recent hacking of Government Savings Bank automatic teller machines (ATMs) nationwide raises a host of troubling questions. These relate not only to the identities and whereabouts of the thieves, but also to the general state of security for ATM users in Thailand, the repeated failure of immigration police to keep known foreign criminals from our shores, and the…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Attracting the worst people
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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Three foreign tour guides arrested
PHUKET: Three foreign nationals were arrested for working illegally as tour guides in Phuket yesterday. The arrests were made by a team of provincial officials on the lookout for illegal workers at the Asia Marina in Rassada. “The team spotted the three men working as guides for Chinese tourists at about 10am,” said Phuket Vice Governor Prajiad Aksornthammakul. The suspects…
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Volunteer diver hospitalized after being run over by speedboat
PHUKET: The driver of a speedboat is still at large, after running over a volunteer diver picking up trash yesterday. The diver, a fourth year student at Phuket’s Rajabhat University, is undergoing treatment at Vachira Phuket Hospital after having her right thumb amputated. Thirty-one year-old Patcharin Phetlorian was diving with fellow volunteers of the Phang Nga Provincial Natural Resource and…
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PEA holds bomb drill in Patong
PHUKET: Emergency services rolled into action at the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) office in Patong in a simulated bomb incident yesterday. Fire fighters and medical personnel, along with police and a bomb disposal squad, evacuated crisis actors on stretchers for the annual drill as part of the PEA’s Incident Management Plan. The drill began at 9am and went on until…
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DDPM warns of flash flooding, landslides on Thepkrasattri
PHUKET: The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has warned that parts of Thepkrasattri Road are threatened by landslides and flash floods in the coming few days. In an official letter signed by Phuket Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat yesterday, the DDPM told local government offices to prepare for landslides and flash flooding along the main route through Phuket. The…
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