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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Mobile phone ban for motorists
BANGKOK (AFP): The government today tabled a proposal to outlaw the use of mobile phones by motorists, saying they distract drivers and cause accidents, a senior minister said. Defense Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh told reporters that the cabinet’s Scrutinizing Committee had agreed to draft legislation that would prohibit motorists from talking on mobile phones, even with the use of hands-free equipment.…
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Gov rebuffs Shark lawyer
PHUKET: Provincial Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has flatly rejected a message from a Canadian lawyer representing Kevin Radke, managing director of the company that owns the Shark Club, urging him to reverse his order closing the club permanently. In the email message, which was copied to the Gazette, lawyer Kieran Bridge wrote, in part, “Your order to close the Shark…
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Teen gang “robbed to buy drugs and toys’
PHUKET TOWN: Police believe they have brought a series of snatch-and-ride crimes to an end with the arrest at the weekend of four young suspects who, officers say, used their ill-gotten gains to buy toys and drugs. Women riding motorbikes alone after dark were the gang’s usual targets. Police allege that the three boys and a girl would grab handbags,…
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Alleged ya bah dealer slain
KAMALA: A man police say they believe was a drug dealer was ambushed and shot dead soon after dropping his daughter at school in Kamala today. The killing took place soon after 8 am as Natee Yayee, 35, rode his motorcycle across the bridge at Klong Pakbang, after dropping his daughter at Baan Kamala School. Pol Maj Pisit Cheanpetch, Inspector…
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Jammin latest victim of crackdown
PHUKET TOWN: Jammin Music Club on Bangkok Rd became the latest victim of the crackdown on the entertainment industry when it was raided by police early this morning and ordered closed for 30 days because one customer was found to be underage. Officers led by Phuket Town Police Station Superintendent Paween Pongsirin went to the club at around 12:30 am,…
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611 in jail over drugs
PHUKET: More than half of the people incarcerated in Phuket’s overcrowded provincial prison have either been convicted of narcotics offenses or are awaiting trial on drug-related charges. According to the latest statistics released by the prison, 611 of the 1,204 inmates are locked up on narcotics-related convictions or charges. Of these, 506 are men and 105 are women. In addition,…
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Phuket Town to host biker festival
PHUKET TOWN: After failing to persuade Patong to host their event, the organizers of the Phuket Bike Rally have now received the go-ahead from the authorities in Phuket Town to stage three days of contests, games and parties at Saphan Hin, from February 22 to 24. Tanate Trivut, managing director of Delice Thai Co, the management company for the event,…
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Patong tap water declared safe
PATONG: The tap water in the Patong municipal area has been declared safe for drinking. Deputy Interior Minister Sora-at Klinpratoom made the announcement this morning at Loma Public Park on Thaweewong Rd, shortly before taking a drink from one of the three fountains set up to provide free water to thirsty residents and tourists in the area. “I think this…
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Governor shuts the Shark
PHUKET: The biggest disco in Phuket, Patong’s Shark Club & Discotheque, was today ordered closed permanently on instructions from the Minister of Interior, Purachai Piemsomboon. The closure order, announced by Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, came after it was discovered that the operating license for the disco – which can hold more than 1,500 revelers at a time – contained irregularities…
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B13m lost in warehouse blaze
PHUKET TOWN: Firefighters from all over the island took seven hours yesterday morning to put out a blaze in a warehouse. Damage in the fire was estimated at about 13 million baht. No one was hurt. Police answered a call about 3 am, by which time six fire engines from Phuket Town were already at the warehouse in Songkhla Rd,…
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Vice-Governor shuts Timber Hut
PHUKET TOWN: One of Phuket’s oldest and most popular nighttime venues, the Timber Hut pub on Yaowarat Rd, has been ordered to close for 30 days because a Vice-Governor saw people dancing there. Vice-Governor Manit Wattanasen told the Gazette that he went to the pub on Saturday to meet a friend, and saw people dancing. “Muang District is in my…
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Sailor killed, dumped at sea
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a man who had been stabbed 15 times was found in the fishing port of Soi Si Sena at the weekend. Police received a phone call from a local fisherman at about 1:30 pm on Saturday and found the body of the unidentified man floating in the water, said Pol Lt Parichat Jaturonpun of Phuket…
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Appeal for action against megastores
PHUKET TOWN: A crisis meeting of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) today pushed for government support for small Thai retailers in the face of overwhelming competition from large foreign supermarkets and discount stores. The meeting was told that as many as 250,000 small retail outlets around Thailand had already been forced to close because they could no longer compete.…
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Sheraton to run new resort in Krabi
AO NANG: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc and Thai company MBK Properties and Development have announced an agreement whereby Starwood will manage a new resort, now being constructed north of Ao Nang, under its Sheraton brand. The 246-room Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort is to open in December on a 48-rai site on Khlong Muang Beach, which is north of…
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50 international phone booths vandalized
PHUKET: More than 50 public telephones for international calls have been jammed in what appears to be a campaign of deliberate vandalism. Plastic cards, cut in half, were jammed into the phone card slots in booths around the island. Some would-be callers, angry at not being able to make overseas phone calls, added to the damage by venting their frustration…
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Police raid Asia Island Homes office
CHERNG TALAY: A squad of some 10 officers from the Bangkok-based Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) yesterday raided one of Phuket’s biggest property development companies, Asia Island Homes (AIH), and arrested two people for work permit violations. Sources who asked not to be named told the Gazette that the investigators arrived at about midday, armed with a search warrant issued by…
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Seized yacht finally auctioned off
PHUKET TOWN: The sailing yacht “Bin Cha Cha” was finally sold at auction this morning at the Phuket Customs Region 5 office, after two previous attempts to sell it last year failed. Niwat Triemsantipap, the assistant general manager of the Maiton Resort, acquired the 7.9-meter yacht with a bid of 200,000 baht, just one third of its original reserve price…
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The lick of love
PHUKET: To commemorate Valentine’s Day on February 14, the Communication Authority of Thailand (CAT) will be selling one million rose-scented postage stamps. Suwanna Suwanpetch, CAT public relations officer for Region 8, told the Gazette, “Thailand is the first country in the world to produce a scented stamp. Measuring one-inch across, the stamp will also be Thailand’s first square stamp.” The…
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Coral thieves escape police raid
RAWAI: Police yesterday interrupted a group of men as they were unloading stolen coral worth 100,000 baht from a boat, but the gang of 10 escaped. As the men fled they left behind 340 pieces of coral packed neatly in polystyrene containers. Local residents tipped police off when they saw the coral being transferred yesterday afternoon from a longtail boat…
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Residents back Thalang Rd walk zone
PHUKET TOWN: A survey of residents in Thalang Rd has shown that more than 80% agree with a proposal that their street should become a pedestrians-only zone on Sundays. Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok now hopes the road will be closed to traffic every Sunday between 1 pm and 11 pm, starting in April at the latest. He is also…
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New-born jumbo a first for Phuket
CHALONG: Phuket finally has a baby elephant to call its own – Plai Phuket. Plai Phuket (“Plai” is the traditional honorific for a male elephant), became the first pachyderm born in Phuket, according to the experts, when he weighed in at 60 kilos in the early hours of yesterday. The youngster was healthy but shy, standing on wobbly legs beneath…
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Man stabbed to death in bar brawl
KATA: One man was stabbed to death and another was badly injured in a brawl in front of the Easy Rider pub on Taina Rd in the early hours of Sunday morning. Pol Capt Teerawat Liamsuwan of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that he received a call at about 2 am, telling him about the brawl. Arriving at the…
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Bike Rally scrambles for new site
PATONG: Phuket Bike Rally organizers are scrambling to find a new location for the event after the Patong Municipality refused to allow it to be staged on the Patong football field or along Thaweewong Rd. The announcement came on Friday after a meeting involving the Municipality and interested parties, including a representative from Club Andaman Beach Resort, which hopes to…
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Submarine firm woos authorities
PHUKET: The promoters of planned submarine trips for tourists last night made a bid to convince authorities that their machine is safe – and to persuade them to issue the necessary permits. The presentation by Phuket Submarine Ltd, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, featured slides of the DS-48 sub that the promoters hope will be operating in the waters…
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German dies in bike crash
CHALONG: A popular German dive instructor died after his motorbike collided head-on with a pickup truck not far from the Green Man Pub & Restaurant on Patak Rd early Wednesday. Sascha Schleicher, 36, was declared dead on arrival at Phuket International Hospital. Police believe he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, about 7:30 am. Pol…
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Students “use toilets as ya bah factories’
BANGKOK: Thai students have been turning school toilets into makeshift drug factories, churning out cut-price ya bah (methamphetamine) pills that are then sold to other youngsters. One of the trademark stamps on their pills depicts a wizard riding a broomstick, intended to attract fans of the fictional schoolboy wizard Harry Potter, said a Buddhist monk involved in a drugs eradication…
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Something smuggled, something new”¦
BANGKOK: Customs agents were scratching their heads today over what should be done with a contraband cargo seized from a Taiwanese smuggler. The illegal shipment, worth about 10 million baht, was intercepted at Bangkok Port yesterday and the Taiwanese man was arrested, the Customs Department said. The haul, smuggled in from Singapore, included nine Mercedes-Benz cars and 300 white wedding…
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633 netted in motorbike crackdown
PHUKET: Despite wide publicity before the event, police caught 633 motorcyclists without helmets during a crackdown last night, at the start of an ongoing roadblock blitz. Bare-headed bikers had their driving licenses checked and their names taken, after which they were obliged to listen to a road-safety lecture. After listening, they were allowed to go on their way without a…
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Alternative Bike Week hits roadblocks
PATONG: A second “Bike Week” planned for Patong seems to be running into roadblocks after groups listed by the organizer as “supporters” either denied all knowledge of the event, or expressed their opposition to it. The Phuket Bike Rally, organized by Harald Vesterheim, proprietor of the Pink Panther A-go-go and Panther Travel, is planned to take place from February 22…
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Late lamented delivers a bit of a shock
MUKDAHAN: Seventy-two-year-old Wan Sukhampa had been ill with lung problems for five years. On December 8, she felt particularly unwell, so her family took her to the hospital. The following morning her condition deteriorated and she was moved to the intensive care unit. The doctors were unable to help her, however, and within hours she was declared dead. Later that…
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