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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German President to visit Phuket
PHUKET: Johannes Rau, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, will spend one night relaxing in Phuket on June 23 en route to Korea and Japan, where he will be attending the closing ceremony of the World Cup. Mr Rau is scheduled to arrive in Phuket direct from Berlin with his wife and an entourage of 70 people. They will…
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Gov raps Public Welfare Chief
PHUKET: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi today obliquely criticized the Chief of the Provincial Public Welfare Office, Taweesak Saleesang, for remarks he made to the press about the local TAT Director, Anupharp Thirarath. K. Taweesak made the remarks after K. Anupharp, at a provincial meeting on Tuesday, voiced concerns that a major Swedish tour operator might pull out of Phuket if…
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“Supertour’ tipped to splurge B75m
PHUKET TOWN: The biggest single group of tourists ever to visit Phuket will arrive next month for what, it is hoped, will be a massive spending spree that sets the precedent for more large groups to follow. One estimate puts the spending potential of the group in Phuket at more than 25 million baht a day over three days, boosting…
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Karaoke operators sing the blues
PHUKET TOWN: More than 200 karaoke operators gathered at the Phuket Provincial Hall this morning to protest about the closure of their premises and to petition the authorities to allow them to reopen. The protest comes after a three-day campaign by police to check karaoke bars for licenses. Many were found to have none, or to have licenses that had…
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Phuket finally gets power boost
PHUKET: New high-capacity power cables installed by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to upgrade the island’s power supply are now hooked up to the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) grid and are supplying power, Banlue Teeramethawit, EGAT’s Assistant Governor of Transmission Construction, announced yesterday. The cables, costing 500 million baht, stretch 77 kilometers from the nearest main substation in…
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TAT boss worries over child abuse
PHUKET: A major Scandinavian tour operator may stop sending tourists to Phuket if the authorities cannot stop child prostitution and other forms of abuse on the island, the local TAT boss warned yesterday. In a meeting at the Phuket Provincial Meeting Hall, Anupharp Thirarath, director of the TAT Phuket office, said that he had met a Swedish researcher looking into…
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Another yacht seized for forged papers
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Police today seized another yacht on charges that it was registered with the Harbor Master’s office using forged documents that purported to show the boat was made in Thailand. The yacht is the Samakki, a 40-feet fiberglass motor catamaran equipped with twin 200hp engines. The boat, which police say belongs to Thrinuch Kingkaew, who now lives…
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Time of month saves girl from rape
PHUKET TOWN: A girl student of Rajabhat Institute Phuket managed to avoid being raped by an unknown assailant on Sunday by crying out that she was having her period. The girl was found lying unconscious, still in uniform, in a small dark soi opposite Phuket Town Police Station, on Chumphon Rd, by one of the soi’s residents. After regaining consciousness…
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“Sting’ traps Burmese ya bah dealer
PHUKET: Police have arrested a Burmese in possession of 110 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and are now pursuing the man’s supplier. Acting on a tip-off, officers spent more than a month on the case before trapping the man in a “sting” as he tried to sell the drugs to undercover police. The man, named by police as Samsor, 32, worked…
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Soccer gambling den raided
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Town Police raided the Smile Snooker Pub at 27 Hongsyok U-Thit Rd on Thursday and made one arrest. Pol Capt Akanit Danpitaksan said that after receiving a tip-off, officers visited the pub and found 37-year-old Somyos “Yai” Kweangsopa poring over a list of customer names on his desk, along with a list of the odds for the…
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Illegal immigrant arrest tally falls
PHUKET: The number of arrests of illegal immigrants fell sharply in the period from May 1 to May 25 compared with the same period in the previous month, police statistics show. The total plummeted from 237 arrests to 75. Gambling arrests also dropped, from 229 arrests in 73 raids to 198 from 106 raids. Six of the May gambling raids…
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Killing No 5 at “Burmese cemetery’
PHUKET TOWN: The body of yet another murder victim has been found in a notorious dumping ground that has become known as the “Burmese Cemetery”. The man, victim of a savage stabbing, was found about 7:45 on Thursday morning in a ditch near a football field, close to the entrance to the Saphan Pla Organization (the government fishery dealer). The…
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OrBorTor President resigns over road scandal
CHERNG TALAY: The President and two other members of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) resigned their positions today amid allegations of corruption in a 4-million-baht road project in Moo 2. OrBorTor President Siri Yokthong and his deputies, Suchart Yooyen and Sin Kapana, announced their resignations after a five-hour meeting in the OrBorTor office, chaired by the Chief of…
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Snack seller hangs herself
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a young woman was found yesterday morning hanging from a concrete beam in the upper-floor bathroom of her shophouse on Soi Nerttip. Police say the death was a suicide. The victim was Supaporn Auttalee, 23, who sold Thai snacks on Sakdidet Rd, near her home. Pol Capt Rassada Klengvong, of Phuket Town Police Station, said…
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Lehman to up Thai holdings by $250m
BANGKOK (The Nation): US investment bank Lehman Brothers said it was committed to boosting its investment in Thailand by an additional US$250 million (Bt10.6 billion). The announcement followed a meeting on Tuesday between Lehman Brothers Inc chairman and CEO Richard S. Fuld, Jr, and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. It was the third meeting between the two in the last 18…
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Tin mine probe launched
PHUKET: With a looming water shortage on the island, government officials today began sorting out tin mine land claims. The government has been eyeing the island’s 115 old tin mines as a source of much-needed water, but some prominent Phuket families claim outright ownership of the mines, with some families holding Chanote titles dating back as long as 50 years.…
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Commercial Office issues pyramid schemes warning
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Commercial Office (PPCO) has issued a warning to the public about the spreading business practice of direct selling, also known as multi-level marketing (MLM). Direct sales operations are expanding further into all regions of Thailand. The products range from electrical appliances to herbal remedies. Most of these direct sale companies operate legally, are registered in…
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Man murdered while guarding beans
CHERNG TALAY: Somphong Keawpitak, 32, a boat tour guide working at Banyan Tree Phuket, was shot dead yesterday in a small hut in a Cherng Talay hillside while guarding bunches of freshly picked “sator” – the spicy beans that are a specialty of the South. Pol Maj Winai Kongkeaw, Inspector of Cherng Talay Police Station, told the Gazette that a…
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Thalang Rd “walking street’ to continue
PHUKET TOWN: At the closing ceremony of the Seven Wonders of Phuket festival on Sunday evening, Deputy Prime Minister Pitak Intrawitayanun announced that Thalang Rd will continue to be a “walking street” every Sunday. He explained that Phuket Town Municipality will continue to stage events there for a further 17 weeks, under the slogan “Amazing Phuket”, and sponsored by the…
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Villagers bet on hobbling goblin
NAN: Villagers of Thung Chang flocked to the home of Thong Chanthawong in search of lucky lottery numbers after some mysterious footprints, believed to have been left behind by a supernatural being, were found on the stairs leading up to his house. On each step was one left-foot print, bewildering Thong and his wife, Phan, because they didn’t know of…
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Invaders leave stinky calling card
NAKHON NAYOK: Prachum Vichathong and his wife, Thongbai, suffered more than the loss of belongings when home invaders struck on the night of May 16. Prachum told police that the gangsters used a drill to let themselves in through the back door. They then cut the phone line, grabbed Prachum and Thongbai, tied them up and beat them to force…
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Governor defends support for marina
PHUKET: Governor CEO Pongpoyome Vasaputi defended himself today against criticism over the fast-tracking of the project to build Phuket’s third yacht marina. Gulu Lalvani, head of international telephone manufacturer Binatone, has undertaken to spend around a billion baht on the project, the Royal Phuket Marina, provided that the governor can help slice through bureaucratic red tape. Speaking at his regular…
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Deputy PM denies land fiddle
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Pitak Intrawitayanunt took reporters to the northwest end of the island on Saturday for a tour of a piece of land he bought in 1990, which was at the center of accusations made in the recent parliamentary no-confidence debate. K. Pitak repeated his assertions, made during the debate, that he had obtained the land near Baan…
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Two girls drown in pool
THALANG: Two girls, one 10 years old, the other 12, died while swimming in a pool near their home in the Thalang area yesterday. Police named the two girls as Kittima Butlada, 10, and Praemai Poltawee, 12. Cousins, they both lived in a house in Moo 8, Baan Prusompan in Tambon Thepkrasattri, where they went to school. Pol Maj Adul…
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Sea walking probe starts in Phuket
PHUKET: In the latest development in one of Phuket’s longest-running sagas, researchers from the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) arrived yesterday to begin checks on local sea walking operators. The checks are part of a six-month study to develop regulations for the controversial industry which, according to critics, is damaging to the environment – particularly coral –…
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Prison still swamped with drug offenders
PHUKET: More than half of the inmates at Phuket Provincial Prison have been convicted or are awaiting trial on drug-related charges, according to statistics released by prison officials yesterday. Of the 1,199 prisoners, 495 men and 109 women have been incarcerated in relation to narcotics offenses. Of the remaining prisoners, 229 are being held for theft, 143 for murder or…
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Gazette Guide to the World Cup
PHUKET: The latest issue of the weekly Phuket Gazette, on sale today, includes the guide that’s a must for all soccer fans. The clip-and-keep – or clip-and-stick-on-the-wall – chart contains a full guide to all World Cup matches, from the early group contests through to the finals, with dates, times (in Thailand), venues and TV channels carrying the games. Get…
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Governor heads anti-gambling parade
PHUKET TOWN: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi led a parade today urging people not to gamble during football’s World Cup, which begins tonight. A microphone and speakers were used to address bystanders as the governor and police moved in a cavalcade of vehicles around Phuket Town this afternoon. Later, anti-football gambling brochures and information about penalties for gambling will be distributed,…
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It’s official: Phuket goes crackers
PHUKET TOWN: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is to stage a Fireworks Festival at Saphan Hin on July 26. More than 4,000 skyrockets and other fireworks, costing about 2 million baht, will be fired off in a 45-minute spectacular, which the TAT hopes will attract tourists from overseas and from neighboring provinces. If it is successful it will become…
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Restaurants warned: no alcohol after 2 am
PHUKET: Restaurants, as well as pubs and nightclubs, must stop selling alcohol after 2 am or face losing their licenses for good, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi warned today. “If any restaurants disobey, I will stop them selling alcohol permanently,” he told a monthly meeting of about 100 senior provincial officers at Phuket Provincial Meeting Hall. In a wide-ranging address, he…
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