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.
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Fisherman witnesses colleague’s murder
PHUKET TOWN: A Thai fisherman watched as a Burmese man who worked on the same boat was stabbed to death at Rassada Port in the early hours of Sunday. Pol Maj Pissanu Poonwong, of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette yesterday that the witness, who works on the fishing boat “Yod Duangporn”, called the police after seeing his co-worker…
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Rules changed for EMS deliveries
PHUKET: The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) has announced that it is no longer accepting parcels or envelopes addressed to post office boxes in India, Luxembourg, Qatar, or Tanzania, for delivery via its premium Express Mail Service (EMS). EMS parcels and envelopes sent to these four countries must carry the recipient’s name and full address. Items addressed to PO boxes…
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Key Aussie probe witness turns up in Patong
PATONG: A key witness in a major Western Australian inquiry into misdeeds by the state’s police, who disappeared from Australia recently, has turned up in Patong. The witness concerned is Tony Lewandowski, an ex-detective who recently signed an affidavit concerning the rigging of evidence to secure the convictions of three brothers, Raymond, Peter and Brian Mickelberg, for the notorious Perth…
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Murder, attempted rape on mangrove walk
PHUKET TOWN: A man was stabbed to death as he tried to save his girlfriend from two would-be rapists on the new Saphan Hin mangrove tourist walkway on Friday night. One attacker dropped his wallet in the struggle, leading to the arrests of both the following day. The murder victim, Nopparat Thongjanthuck, a 26-year-old air-conditioning technician from Surin, had taken…
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Girl drowns at Nai Harn Beach
NAI HARN: The body of an eight-year-old Thai girl who was pulled under the waves on Wednesday washed ashore at Nai Harn Beach this morning. Pol Capt Anake Mongkol of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that Nisamanee Malilam was reported missing around 5 pm on Wednesday. Capt Anake said Nisamanee had come to Nai Harn with her aunt and…
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Bad neighbor caught brown-handed
NAKHORN SRI THAMMARAT: Neighbors Anan and Prasert had got along fine until the day they argued. That’s the day Prasert found out just how vindictive Anan could be. First, kitchen utensils started to disappear from Prasert’s kitchen. Then the situation grew worse: Prasert found excrement splashed on washing he’d hung out to dry. So Prasert installed a video camera and…
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That ole Oedipus complex
NONG KHAI: Somchai Saenkaew, 40, attacked his younger brother Kamsai, 33, with a sickle when he found Kamsai attempting to commit what anyone in their right mind would consider to be a foul crime. Kamsai suffered wounds to his back, neck, and right arm and was left to bleed to death in the dirt in front of the family home…
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Who you gonna call?
AYUDHAYA: There is a new craze amongst Ayudhaya teenagers. They phone a certain number which is answered by a spooky woman’s voice. The teenagers believe that this voice is that of the ghost of a woman from Lopburi who was murdered in Bangkok. A rather modern ghost – the mysterious number is 09-6626840, a mobile phone. When a reporter called…
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Ghastly ghosts a fatal attraction
BANGKOK: Police believe a curve called “Krok Yai Cha” on Sukhumvit Rd in Bangkok’s Rayong Town is haunted because it has been the scene of about 50 deaths since a police traffic kiosk opened there in 1995. Bodies of victims are usually placed outside the kiosk. It’s an unpopular posting and officers who spend time there talk of hair-raising experiences…
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‘Hot’ competition for Phuket police
PHUKET TOWN: Police officers went through a two-hour competition yesterday to hone their skills in dealing with hostage-taking and other “hot” situations. Police were judged on their work with pistols and rifles, methods of snatching a gun from a suspect, using handcuffs, arresting suspects in a car, freeing hostages on a bus, protecting VIPs and other similar drills. Pol Maj…
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Pursuit of robber brings traffic to a halt
PHUKET TOWN: Traffic in Samkong was brought to a standstill this afternoon as local residents chased a thief down Yaowarat Rd, accompanied by police firing shots in the air. The thief, Witaya Meejai, 26, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, was caught by police, with the help of local residents, outside the Steak Samkong restaurant at about 4 pm. Pol Maj Vichakom…
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Bars, nightclubs urged to close
PHUKET: Police are requesting bar and nightclub owners to close their doors tomorrow and Thursday, out of respect for the religious holidays. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, said today, “We ask only for cooperation from the bar and nightclub owners in Phuket. It’s not a law or rule. “It has become customary for Thais not…
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Phuket Aquarium to get giant face-lift
AO MAKHAM: The Phuket Aquarium has received 81 million baht from the Department of Fisheries to renovate and expand to include a glass tunnel that will allow visitors to walk through a fish tank. The improvements, it is estimated, could bring as many as half a million visitors to the aquarium a year. Potchana Boonyanate, a marine biologist at the…
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Man in black found hanging from tree
PHUKET TOWN: Police have appealed to the public for help in identifying a man who was found hanging from a tree yesterday morning near Moo Baan Prangthong on Kwang Rd. Pol Capt Watcharin Jirattikarnviwat, of Phuket Town Police Station, said the victim was found by local villagers hanging by a nylon rope from a tree branch, about 10 meters from…
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PTA elects new president
PHUKET TOWN: Pattanapong Aikwanich, Managing Director of Diamond Cliff Resort, was elected President of the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) on Saturday. The biennial election attracted 117 of the PTA’s 198-strong membership to the Metropole Hotel to cast their votes. First business of the meeting was for members to elect a committee of 11, which later voted for K. Pattanapong to…
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Russian drowns at Surin Beach
SURIN: A Russian tourist drowned at Surin Beach on Friday while swimming with his wife. Pol Maj Anan Jingjit, Inspector of Cherng Talay Police Station, identified the victim as 42-year-old Alexey Afonichev. “He was swimming with his wife and disappeared under the strong waves. Other tourists in the area located him and pulled him to shore,” Maj Anan said. Police…
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Bag-snatch raiders score three times
PHUKET: Three motorbike handbag snatchings have sparked a police hunt for the perpetrators – and a warning to women to be wary until the snatchers are caught. The first case took place on Wednesday in front of Moo Ban Perm Sin on Thepkrasattri Rd. Suwai Wanbutra, 25, was riding her motorbike back home from Phuket Town, when two men rode…
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Phuket prepares for Apec meeting
KARON: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a seminar involving about 100 officials and businesspeople this morning at Phuket Arcadia Beach Resort, to prepare for the 3rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Senior Officials Meeting, to be held in Phuket next year. Apinan Pavanarit, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Phuket will host the conference from August…
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Gov to hold “clinic’ in Kamala
KAMALA: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi will hold a public service “clinic” at the offices of the Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) on July 28. The Governor, with chiefs and staff from every provincial government department, will meet local residents to hear their grievances and to explain services. Officers will be on hand, from 9:30 am to 5 pm, to give…
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Bravery of recovery team acknowledged
PHUKET TOWN: The United States Ambassador to Thailand, Darryl Johnson, today presented certificates of commendation to the 24 Marine Police and Navy personnel involved in the operation to recover the body of American diver Dr Jeffrey Gall. Dr Gall, an experienced diver with more than 250 logged dives, disappeared on March 25 while exploring an underwater cave off Koh Ha…
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Wachira sets two national firsts
PHUKET TOWN: Deputy Public Health Minister Dr Surapong Suebwonglee today announced that Wachira Phuket Hospital has set two public health care firsts for Thailand. It is the first to have a government-owned hyperbaric chamber, and the first to treat HIV patients under the 30-baht medical scheme. Dr Surapong officially opened the hyperbaric chamber, which will be used to treat divers…
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Boys, 11 and 12, arrested for burglary
WICHIT: Three schoolchildren became burglars because their pocket money wasn’t enough, they told the Gazette on Monday. Twelve-year-old “Pring”, one of the accused sixth-graders, said, “Twenty baht isn’t enough. I asked mom for extra money, but she said no.” The trio were caught after allegedly burglarizing two houses in the same neighborhood, one of them twice. Pring, 11-year-old “Kob”, and…
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Tenth Burmese fisherman murdered
PHUKET TOWN: The number of Burmese fishermen murdered since May 1 has reached double figures with another unidentified body dumped in the notorious “Burmese Cemetery”. The tenth victim was found Monday afternoon in long grass near the entry to the Sang Aroon Mai raft on Sri Sena Rd. Seven of the 10 corpses have been found in this area. The…
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Luck runs out for Diamond the dolphin
AO MAKHAM: Diamond the dolphin died on Sunday, just hours before a planned release back into the ocean at Patong. Rescued by villagers from the beach at Patong last month, Diamond (Jao Petch) had appeared to be recovering and biologists at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) planned to free him today. The 1.83-meter striped dolphin (Latin name Stenella coeruleoalba)…
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18-year-old held over fake diplomas
PHUKET: Police have arrested an 18-year-old Bangkok student and are checking whether Dulwich College certificates were among fake diplomas she is alleged to have sold over the Internet. Officers spent two weeks tracing the student through an email “sting”. They raided her Rachaburi home yesterday and found fake diplomas and certificates in her computer. The girl, named only as Daeng,…
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Ya bah found under mattress
PHUKET TOWN: Police arrested a couple in a raid over the weekend and discovered illegal drugs hidden under a mattress in their hotel room. Acting on a tip-off that a delivery of ya bah (methamphetamine) had just been made, Marine Police took Rhom Chantarat, 48, and Jinawal Phromharn, 22 into custody early on Saturday. In a plastic bag under the…
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Surasak offers B100,000 bounty on gunman
PATONG: Patong Mayor Surasak Maneesri said today he would give 100,000 baht to anyone who can name either the gunman who shot at his Mercedes last month or the mastermind behind the shooting. Police have yet to make any arrests in connection with the June 23 assassination attempt, which took place at the traffic light near the Tesco-Lotus Supercenter. Three…
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Tour boat propeller kills crewman
CHALONG: A crewman on a dive boat was killed when a propeller slashed open his stomach and almost severed his limbs on Wednesday off Koh Racha Yai. While recreational divers took a midday break, the crewman, Witaya Taktin, 25, had donned scuba gear and gone under the boat in order to clean the propeller. The boat, the Ladawan 2, had…
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Hostage suspect tests negative for drugs
PHUKET TOWN: The suspect arrested in yesterday’s dramatic murder and hostage taking on Soi Hutchana Nivet was found to have no trace of ya bah (methamphetamine) in his system, though during the hostage negotiations he had claimed to have taken the drug in large quantities over the past few weeks. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station,…
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Broken-hearted man hangs himself
PHUKET TOWN: A young man committed suicide by hanging himself from a beam because his boyfriend had left him for a woman, police said today. Pol Capt Chokechai Suttimake, of Phuket Town Police Station, said the body of Thanuthong Patchim, 21, was found in his house in Tambon Rassada by neighbors on Wednesday morning. He added that K. Thanuthong had…
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