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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Crackdown on kids in ‘net cafes
PHUKET TOWN: Children under 18 are banned from Internet cafes after 10 pm under a new national law – and parents have been told to keep a closer watch on their offspring. At the Governor’s regular media conference today, Sompong Tiranont, Chief of the Phuket Social Development and Welfare Office, said he had received complaints about children being allowed out…
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Stats show doubling of murder rate
PHUKET: Eight people were murdered in Phuket between February 1 and 24, more than double the monthly average, the latest police statistics reveal. Only two of those murders have been solved, reflecting the wider picture throughout Thailand, where the Government campaign against drug abuse has triggered a wave of professional killings. In the same period, 160 people were arrested for…
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Wachira dominates hospital games
PHUKET TOWN: Athletes from Wachira Phuket Hospital dominated the Phuket Public Health Sports Games which finished yesterday at the Saphan Hin Sport Center, beating squads from the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), the Thalang Hospital and the Patong Hospital. The tournament featured seven sport – table tennis, sepak takraw, pétanque, chair ball, volleyball, badminton and soccer. Wachira Phuket Hospital gained…
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Governor claims “success” in drugs war
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket’s campaign in the first month of the national war on drugs has been a “success”, Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi announced yesterday at the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization meeting hall. The Governor, the leader of the campaign in Phuket, said that 88 suspected drug dealers have been either arrested or killed between February 1 and 27. This…
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Hitman strikes outside busy Big C
PHUKET TOWN: A man was shot dead outside the busy Big C Supercenter on the bypass road this afternoon by a motorcycle-riding killer who scored with three bullets to his victim’s head before speeding off. Visanuwat Ngamjun, 38, from Phuket, slumped behind the wheel of his Toyota Corona Altis. The engine continued to run as a passerby attempted to open…
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Honest limo driver returns B900,000
PHUKET AIRPORT: In an act of outstanding honesty, 42-year-old airport limousine driver Nopporn Kreupanich on Wednesday returned the equivalent of more than 900,000 baht in cash to a German tourist who managed to forget it on the floor of K. Nopporn’s vehicle. K. Nopporn drove the forgetful passenger, Christian Biberger, from Phuket Airport to the Karon Villa Hotel on Wednesday…
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Worker shot dead in “revenge killing’
PHUKET TOWN: A furious argument yesterday apparently boiled over into violence early this morning, resulting in the death of a construction worker and a police manhunt being launched for a fellow-worker. The victim, Theerapong Kwantongyen, died on the way to Wachira Phuket Hospital after being shot at his home in Rassada Nakorn Village on Thepanusorn Rd about 1 am today.…
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Safari Pub raided twice and closed
PATONG: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has closed the Safari Pub in Patong for a month, sparking a row about interpretation of the 2 am closing law. The case involves prominent Patong businessman Chairat Sukbal and Surapong “Od Patong” Rittee, the newspaper and TV reporter gunned down by a lone hitman in Patong earlier this month. Police raided the Sirirat Rd…
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Swedish tourists die in car crash
KARON NOI: Two Swedish tourists died instantly and a third suffered serious head injuries late on Monday night when the jeep they were traveling in ran off the road and hit a tree near the entrance to Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort. Pol Maj Boonlert Onklang, an inspector at Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that the accident happened 200…
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Child wounded as hitmen kill neighbor
PHUKET TOWN: A four-year-old girl was shot in the shoulder as hitmen murdered a man in what police say they suspect was another drug-related execution yesterday afternoon. Bullets hit pig keeper Jaruek Sae Tan, 35, in the chest, chin, back, neck and head and he died outside a no-name restaurant on Chao Fa Nai Rd, behind the Suan Luang Park,…
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B20m revamp for FantaSea
KAMALA: Phuket FantaSea is to spend up to 20 million baht on renovations, new technology and changes to the show as part of a plan to boost the number of visitors this year. Pin Kewpaisal, President of Phuket FantaSea, said on Monday, “We need to do this to ensure that tourists who have seen our show already can come back…
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Last chance for dealers, addicts
PHUKET: Drugs dealers and addicts in Phuket have until Friday to turn themselves in and receive lenient treatment under the province’s amnesty program, part of the national War On Drugs. But from next Saturday (March 1), no mercy will be shown, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi warned yesterday, stressing that, from the end of this month, there will be no more…
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Paying bills just got easier
PHUKET TOWN: Bangkok-based Counter Services Co has opened five counters in Phuket Town where people can settle a range of accounts, including utility bills and credit card accounts. The five counters are at: • Bo Dang, Big C supercenter (9 am-10 pm, every day); • Future AV, Tesco Lotus supercenter (10 am-10 pm, every day); • Amorn, Phang Nga Rd…
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Tah Chat Chai wins expo center vote
PHUKET TOWN: Tah Chat Chai in Tambon Mai Khao received overwhelming support as the site for the proposed International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) this morning. At a meeting of 262 government officials, leaders of business organizations and members of the public, chaired by Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit at the Provincial Government Financial Center on Narisorn Rd, 226 people voted for…
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Bust nets 19 gamblers, B380,000
PHUKET TOWN: Police early this morning arrested 19 gamblers and seized almost 380,000 baht in a raid on an impromptu gambling den set up in an empty office behind the Thavorn Hotel on Rassada Rd. A squad of 12 police officers, led by Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, raided the room after receiving an anonymous…
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Pattaya or bust turns to French nightmare
CHON BURI: Most foreigners have fond memories of their first visit to Thailand. For many, especially those on their way to Pattaya, it brings back memories of being a child on Christmas morning. But for 29-year-old Frenchman Tony André Marichaud, the excitement was just too much to contain. Marichaud and his friend, 28 year-old Richard Henri Detroit, had just arrived…
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Trigger cocked over fighting cock
SURAT THANI: Boys will be boys, and brothers will be brothers. When it comes to sibling rivalry, anything can happen, and usually does. If your brother’s dog savaged your favorite fighting cock, you’d probably have a few words to say, which is just what Somjit Kongtee did. Regrettably, they were some of the last words the 45-year-old uttered. Ten minutes…
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Meeting aims to improve Phuket tourism
KARON: A meeting on the topic of “Increasing Phuket’s Competitiveness in the International Tourism Market” was held on Tuesday at the Phuket Arcadia Beach Resort. The event was organized jointly by the Phuket Tourist Association and the Kenan Institute Asia (KIA). Objectives of the meeting included finding ways to develop the province as a world class tourist destination; identifying ways…
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Health Chief issues dengue fever warning
PHUKET TOWN: The rising number of people contracting dengue fever has prompted Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) Chief Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong to issue a public health warning and to implement a mosquito culling program. Speaking at a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall on Tuesday, Dr Wanchai said, “About 10 people in Phuket had dengue fever in February last year,…
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Public to vote on park’s troubled bridge
PHUKET TOWN: The people of Phuket Town will vote to decide the future of a controversial bridge that was to be built as part of a 300-million-baht redevelopment of King Rama IX Park. Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok yesterday called for the referendum after talking to government officials and about 60 members of the Rak Suan Luang Club (RSLC) –…
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Convention Center site vote this Friday
PHUKET: A final decision on the location for the proposed new International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) will be made this Friday by popular vote. Four places are in the running. Two are in Phuket Town – Saphan Hin and a site opposite Suan Luang Park. The other two are at Khao Khad, overlooking Ao Makham; and at Tah Chat…
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61 volunteer for drug testing
KATHU: Sixty-one volunteers turned up at the Kathu Meeting Hall today to have their urine tested for drugs – and two of the tests turned purple. At another meeting in Phuket Town, 73 people with drugs in their past made a solemn pledge to stay away from drugs from now on. Kathu District Chief Sutin Uthaitamrong – who, along with…
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Motorbike gunmen strike at Saphan Hin
PHUKET TOWN: A 21-year-old man was shot and seriously injured at Saphan Hin yesterday. The gunman fled on a motorbike ridden by an accomplice. Witnesses to the shooting took the victim, Niruj Mokakom, to Wachira Phuket Hospital about 3:20 pm. He was in the intensive care unit today with wounds to his chest and right arm, and in no condition…
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Politician survives assassination bid
PHUKET TOWN: Local politician Supachai Rakmit was fighting for his life in Wachira Phuket Hospital today after two hitmen dressed in black gunned him down in broad daylight at the weekend. Police believe the execution attempt may have been over a drugs case last year or some other business dealings. The shooting followed three other recent similar attacks in Phuket…
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A less-than-romantic evening
PATONG: In keeping with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s drive to stamp out illegal drugs within three months, the authorities conducted a surprise raid on the popular Tiger Pub on Soi Bangla on Friday evening – Valentine’s Day. As police swooped in, a large number of tourists – mostly foreigners – managed to escape, leaving just 70 romantic revelers in the…
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Man found dead with bag over head
RAWAI: A Frenchman who had been living on Phuket for more than five years was found dead in odd circumstances, apparently the victim of a bizarre suicide. Police named the man as Gay Laurent, 43, who lived in the Happy House estate in Rawai. A friend of Mr Laurent contacted police about 7:30 pm on February 7, saying that he…
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Frenchman dies in road accident
CHALONG: Frenchman Jean Vidal, 39, was killed in a road accident on Chao Fa East Rd, near Soi Ta’iad Rd, in the early hours of February 9. Pol Capt Chana Sutthimas of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette today that he received an anonymous call about 2:30 am reporting an accident between a car and a motorcycle. When Capt Chana…
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Big day for big love
PHUKET: On the day marking the patron saint of lovers, St Valentine, 240 couples yesterday turned up at the three district offices on the island to tie the knot. At Thalang District Office, 49 couples got hitched, up from 30 couples last year, while 27 made vows of love at Kathu District Office. Happy with the turnout, up from 16…
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Thailand “should tax sex workers and bribes’
BANGKOK (The Nation): Increasingly hungry for state revenues, the Thaksin government received an unusual proposal from the national think tank yesterday that the sex trade should be legalized to boost the country’s coffers. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) also suggested legalizing some corrupt practices by, for example, turning bribes into “tips” to be shared by staff of…
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Dry season brings water shortages
PHUKET: The taps go on in Patong and off in Karon at 4 pm each day now, under new restrictions caused by Phuket’s shortage of water, and on in Karon and off in Patong at 7 am. Hotels are having to save reserves of water or buy it – and the Phuket Provincial Waterworks (PPW) has warned that other parts…
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