South Thailand News
Southern Thailand news, Phuket news, Koh Samui news, and Krabi updates—stay informed on business, tourism, and local events from Trang, Songkhla, Yala, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Southern Thailand news source.
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Expelled monk returns to southern Thailand to celebrate birthday
A former monk who was expelled from monkhood has returned to southern Thailand to celebrate his birthday. Phra Yantra Amaro Bhikku, who is now known as Winai La-Ongsuwan, became disgraced from monkhood after alleged sexual misconduct. Although he has often returned to Thailand after his criminal defamation case against him in 2014, Covid-19 has kept him away for the past…
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Senior health official says South must move to Pfizer only to tackle Covid-19 outbreak
A senior health official in the southern province of Songkhla says the region must move to Pfizer vaccines only, in order to combat a surge in Covid-19 infections. According to a Nation Thailand report, Dr Papon Deechaisit is proposing a move from mixing Sinovac and AstraZeneca to using Pfizer for both doses. There has been a concerning spike in infections…
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Covid-19 surge in Nakhon Si Thammarat as province reports 618 new infections
The southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat is experiencing a surge in Covid-19 infections, with 618 new cases logged yesterday. The provincial health office reported the record high alongside 8 Covid-related deaths, all of them elderly patients. The Bangkok Post reports that of yesterday’s new infections, 210 were in the Muang district, with the others spread across 23 districts. Hospitals,…
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Violence continues between military and insurgents in Thailand’s deep south
The fighting between the military and insurgents in the Southern border provinces of Thailand continues. Yesterday the Thai military killed a suspected insurgent after a shootout in a peat swamp in the Bacho district of Narathiwat, a province on Thailand’s southern border. This marks the sixth insurgent killed in the area in the last week. A combined force of Thai…
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Covid-19 in Southern provinces prompts Songkhla checkpoints
As Thailand’s Deep South faces surges in Covid-19 infections, people crossing from the three southern border provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala will face checkpoints when crossing into Songkhla. The checkpoints will stop travellers crossing the southern provincial border to do random Covid-19 screening. Pattani recorded 566 new Covid-19 infections yesterday, the most cases out of the southern provinces, and…
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High Covid-19 infections in the Deep South fuel lockdown fears
The Deep South of Thailand, particularly Songkhla and Pattani, has seen a surge in Covid-19 infections, prompting calls for action and fears of lockdowns to come. Covid-19 clusters have been mainly centred in factories and businesses, with outbreaks traced to a wedding banquet and a barbecue restaurant, but some cases are still crossing provincial lines into the southern provinces. Chana,…
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Covid infections climbing in South, officials say curve should flatten within a month
The Public Health Ministry says that while Covid-19 infections are rising in the south of the country, numbers are expected to level off within a month. According to a Bangkok Post report, Dr Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong says the Delta variant accounts for around 30% of infections in the region, although the Beta variant is more prevalent in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, and…
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Nakhon Si Thammarat police: don’t throw eggs at PM Prayut
Perhaps in an effort to do some damage control for today’s visit from PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to inspect flood preparedness in the Southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, the provincial police released an official warning notice instructing people to be on good behaviour for the prime minister’s visit. After several stops of his flood surveying tour has been met by…
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Infections rise in “Deep South,” top health official to assess the situation
As Covid-19 infection rates rise in Thailand’s four southern provinces near the Malaysian border, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered Public Health Permanent Secretary to visit and assess the situation, a government spokesperson said yesterday. The prime minister has asked that the situation be brought under control within the next two months. According to the CCSA, the four border provinces, known…
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Four suspected insurgents on the run killed in clash with “Deep South” soldiers
In the “Deep South” province Narathiwat, four suspected insurgents were killed in a gunfire exchange with soldiers on Sunday and an army officer was killed in another clash with insurgents the night before, according to the Bangkok Post. Reports say the insurgents killed in the incident were all wanted on court warrants, most of them facing charges for deadly attacks.…
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Passenger train in Deep South’s Yala province attacked by gunmen
Gunmen opened fire at a passenger train in the Deep South province Yala, damaging the train’s braking system. All southbound trains to Narathiwat are now being terminated in Yala and the Hat Yai branch of the State Railway of Thailand labour union is calling for increased security measures, according to the Bangkok Post. Insurgent-related violence happens frequently in the southeast…
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Mute man nabbed for child porn, solicited nudes from 8 year old
A 37 year old man has been arrested in Chumphon for allegedly convincing an 8 year old girl to send nude photos to him. The Technology Crime Suppression police arrested the man on child porn charges. The man, whose name was not publicly released, was arrested by police in front of his house in Muang District. Police reported after taking…
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Army ranger suspected of killing his wife and mother-in-law surrenders to authorities in Songkhla
An army ranger carrying a military-grade firearm allegedly shot and killed his wife and mother-in-law last Thursday. The ranger turned himself in to authorities in the Southern province Songkhla yesterday and is now facing charges for premeditated murder. 37 year old Sgt Maj Pheeraphat Onchart surrendered to his commander at the 47th Ranger Regiment, yesterday. Pheeraphat was then brought to…
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Grenade attack kills ranger in Pattani
A ranger was killed last night during a grenade assault on his station in Pattani, a Deep South Thai province near the Malaysian border, a region that frequently witnesses violent episodes owing to the ongoing religious separatist insurgency. The assailants had thrown 3 hand grenades just before 7:30pm at the security booth that Chanachai Yodthong was stationed at. Chanachai died…
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5 billion baht loss as birds’ nest producing swiftlets found dead
Phatthalung authorities have requested help from the Department of Special Investigation to investigate the death of birds. These were no ordinary birds though; they were swiftlets, the birds that produce the saliva that make birds’ nest, prized as a health delicacy. And it wasn’t a few birds, it was over a million birds found dead in caves where Siamnest company…
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5 Pattani men arrested for allegedly posing as police officers to extort locals
5 men who were posing as police officers in southern Thailand’s Pattani province were arrested yesterday. The suspects allegedly extorted drug-taking residents or teenagers out of money or property. The Yaring police were alerted that men were portraying themselves as members of the Yaring police at a village in the Laem Pho Subdistrict. The Nation Thailand says the men dressed…
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Man stabbed his common-law wife in front of police station
After getting into an argument in front of a police station this morning, a man stabbed his common-law wife to death. The crime took place at about 9:30 am this morning in front of Cha-uat Police Station in Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south of Thailand. After an argument that became more and more heated in front of the police station, with the…
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Several markets and communities sealed off in Nakhon Si Thammarat following Covid outbreak
3 markets and 2 communities in Nakhon Si Thammarat, a southern Thai province, have been sealed off for at least 7 days following the discovery of hundreds of new Covid cases. Local officials say the Bang Wang, 100 years, and Wat Hu Long markets are in isolation, as well as the Moo 1 and Moo 3 villages. Since the week…
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Thai immigration official transferred amid allegations of bribery
A Thai immigration official has been transferred and an investigation launched following allegations of corruption. The officer is accused of demanding regular bribes from an immigrant in the Hat Yai district of Songkhla, in southern Thailand. Officers from Immigration Division 6 have now launched an investigation into the claims. They insist the investigation will be transparent and impartial, adding that…
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Nakhon Si Thammarat doctor says teenager suffered from cyst, not black magic
Doctors at a southern Thai hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat operated on a teenager to remove a cyst from her ovary. They want to reassure the public that the cyst just contained hair, bone, teeth, fingernails and an oily material, and the woman did not suffer from black magic, as some residents suspected. Sichon Hospital director, Dr Arak Wongworachat, posted…
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Train that was bombed over the weekend in Southern Thailand resumes service
A freight train that was bombed and experienced gunfire over the weekend in Southern Thailand is back up and running. The bomb exploded as the train was passing through Narathiwat on the Bangkok- Sungai Kolok route Saturday at around 12:30pm. Gunshots were fired at one carriage. The explosion damaged the train and the rail track, but luckily no one was injured…
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Nakhon Si Thammarat man rushed to the hospital after crab claw pieces got stuck in his throat
A grandfather in the southern Thai province of Nakhon Si Thammarat was rushed to the hospital after he swallowed a crab claw and sharp pieces got stuck in his throat. The man’s doctor shared the story to his Facebook. Dr Arak Wongworachat says the man came into the Sichon Hospital over the weekend after the man’s family rushed him to…
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Bomb rocks train en route to Bangkok from the Deep South
This afternoon a bomb exploded on a train bound for Bangkok as it was departing the Deep South province of Narathiwat. The explosion rocked a freight car, obliterating the wooden floor of the train and spilling its cargo onto the runway. The train had departed the Su-ngai Kolok district of Narathiwat heading for Bangkok, and had only travelled about 40…
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Soldier injured by pipe bomb in Yala
A soldier has been injured after a pipe bomb was tossed into a military base in Yala, the “deep south” province near the Malaysian border with occasional violence related to the religious separatist insurgency. The incident occurred last night and was detailed in a report from the Muang police station. The Bangkok Post reports that the attack happened around 8pm…
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Betong Airport in Yala is almost ready to be southernmost Airport
Thailand’s southernmost province is set to open Thailand’s southernmost airport as the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand is nearing completion of safety inspections for Betong International Airport in Yala province. The CAAT is doing safety and security inspections now, which will be followed by a license and certification that will allow commercial flights to operate in and out of the…
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Nakhon Si Thammarat man arrested for allegedly possessing 2 illegal firearms
Today, a man in the Southern Thai province of Nakhon Si Thammarat was arrested after police searched his dwelling and located 2 firearms. Serm Kwannimit, the deputy provincial police chief, says, officers were responding to information that military-grade weapons were being sold at 20 year old Teeradet “Bang Jack” Chuhai’s house. Police found an AK-47 assault rifle and a 9mm…
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Heavy rain causes flash flood in Surat Thani
Raging currents of flood swept away the roof of a shop at Surat Thani province. Due to heavy rain, water from the Nuea Khlong waterfall flowed down the mountain yesterday, flooding some houses in Wiang Sa District. Southern parts of Thailand get by far the most rain, with around 2,400 millimeters every year, compared with the central and northern regions…
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Rubber plantation workers severely injured, man’s leg blown off after stepping on bomb
A man’s leg was blown off in a bomb explosion while he was working in a rubber plantation in Narathiwat, a province in Thailand’s Deep South near the Malaysia border where small bombings and attacks happen occasionally due to the religious separatist insurgency. A woman’s face was also injured in the explosion. The two were working in the rubber plantation…
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Songkhla Birthday beach party busted
Recently, police in the Southern Thai province of Songkhla arrested 61 people at a birthday beach party. Reportedly, 35 suspects were minors. The birthday, which was thrown in the middle of the night, took place on the beach and included loud music and alcohol, says Thai media. Despite arresting 61 people, police suspect more people were present but managed to…
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Songkhla beach party sees 61 arrested violating Covid-19 rules
A reckless birthday beach party in Songkhla in violation of several Covid-19 restrictions resulted in 61 arrests, half of which were underage. Songkhla is a dark red zone, where any gathering with alcohol is prohibited and non-alcoholic gatherings are limited to a maximum of 5 people. Last night on Wang Nao Beach in Nath Thap sub-district of Songkhla, 61 people…
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