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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Thai massage shop owner accuses police of rape and extortion
A massage shop owner in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan accused police officers of raping one of her Laotian employees and extorting money from her. The shop owner, 40 year old Aom, appeared on Channel 3’s Hone Krasae news programme on September 30, following her corruption allegations against a deputy superintendent and his subordinates. Aom explained that she…
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Royal Thai Navy targets Cambodian casino in border crackdown (video)
The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) is demolishing Cambodian structures built on Thai territory in Trat, with a casino complex set to be the final target of the operation. The RTN has confirmed it is pushing forward with the dismantling of 17 Cambodian-built structures that encroach into Thai territory in Trat province. The operation, which began earlier this month, has already…
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Russian man arrested on Koh Pha Ngan for illegal motorcycle rental business
Police arrested a Russian man on Koh Pha Ngan, an island in Surat Thani province, today, September 25, for illegally offering a motorcycle rental service. Officers from Koh Pha Ngan Police Station, the Immigration Bureau, and the Surat Thani Special Taskforce received a complaint from a local that a foreign man was illegally operating a motorcycle rental business on the…
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Thai girl commits suicide amid alleged expectations from parents
A 16 year old Thai girl committed suicide at her home in Phattalung province yesterday, September 24, allegedly due to the stress of disappointing her parents. Officers from Pa Bon Police Station were called to a house in the Tung Naree sub-district, Pa Bon district, to investigate the death of the teenage girl, known as Look Mod. She was found in…
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Hat Yai thief takes tourist’s gold necklace in bike snatch
A man was arrested in southern Thailand after snatching a tourist’s gold necklace while riding a motorbike, prompting a swift police investigation and arrest. Sakrin “Kae” Chayapan, a 25 year old Thai man, was arrested after CCTV footage and a police investigation linked him to the daylight robbery. He later confessed, claiming financial hardship, but firmly denied any ties to…
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German man arrested for illegal e-bike tours on Koh Pha Ngan
A German man and a Myanmar national were arrested on Koh Pha Ngan for illegally operating a tour business using electric motorbikes to guide tourists. Tourist police swooped in at midday on Monday, September 22, following complaints that high-speed electric motorcycles, reportedly rented out by the pair, were causing safety concerns among locals and visitors. The suspects were identified as…
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Ranong police stabbed during motorcycle theft arrest, suspect dies
A motorcycle thief died, and a police officer sustained serious injuries during an arrest yesterday, September 22, in the southern province of Ranong. The owner of the stolen motorcycle, Kannika Paeng-on, filed a complaint with Mueang Ranong Police Station after the thief rode her motorcycle out of her home in front of her and her husband. Kannika reported that she,…
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Malaysian tourists complain after hours-long wait at Thai border checkpoint
Malaysian tourists complained after officials at the Sadao Customs Checkpoint in the southern province of Songkhla made them wait two to three hours to enter Thailand due to delayed document processing. Senator Chaiyong Maneerungsakun planned to raise the issue of delays at the border checkpoint in Parliament. He revealed that he had received numerous complaints from Malaysian tourists travelling to Thailand…
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Child with special needs found dead in Hat Yai canal
A young boy with special needs was found dead in a canal in Hat Yai, southern Thailand, after going missing, prompting a desperate overnight search by police, rescue teams and family. The boy, known as Nong Inter, vanished on Wednesday afternoon, September 17, from a car repair shop in Hat Yai District 8. He was last seen wearing a camouflage…
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Pickup driver busted for fake tax sticker trick in Chumphon
Police in Chumphon, southern Thailand, arrested a pickup driver who altered his expired tax disc with a marker to avoid fees after he was caught during a routine highway checkpoint. The man, identified as 39 year old Nakarin from Ubon Ratchathani, was stopped at a checkpoint on Highway 41 in Wisai Tai, Sawi district, around 11am on Tuesday, September 16.…
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50 Chumphon politicians jump ship to back Anutin’s Bhumjaithai
Around 50 politicians from Chumphon have defected from the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) to join Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party (BJT). The group was officially welcomed at BJT headquarters yesterday, September 17, by senior party figure Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn. Among the defectors were Chumphon MPs Chumpol Chulasai and Wichai Sudsawat, along with Nopporn Usit, president of the Chumphon Provincial…
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Trang man dies after ambulance fails to arrive in time (video)
A 60 year old man collapsed near a hospital in Trang and died after waiting in vain for an ambulance, raising questions over Thailand’s emergency response system. The victim, identified as Charoen, a hotel caretaker from Sikao district, was pronounced dead on September 12 after suffering an acute heart attack. His family say the tragedy highlights serious failures in the…
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Thai man arrested after murdering neighbour over sexual harassment dispute
Police successfully arrested a man for murdering his neighbour following a dispute over alleged sexual harassment. The suspect evaded capture for more than a week in the southern province of Songkhla. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Thaiger (@thethaigerofficial) The suspect, 43 year old Suthep, fatally shot his neighbour, 45 year old Pongsak, at…
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Thai woman saved from second suicide attempt after romance scam loss
Police and rescuers successfully intervened in the second suicide attempt of a Thai woman in the southern province of Trat yesterday, after she lost nearly 90,000 baht to a romance scam. The woman, 58 year old Amornrat, locked herself in her bedroom on the second floor of her home in Bang Phra sub-district. Her sister-in-law contacted Mueang Trat Police Station…
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Police raid kratom juice site in Hat Yai, seizing 138 litres
Yesterday, September 6, police from the Hat Yai Provincial Police Station’s drug suppression team, in collaboration with the Chang Suek Song Le Unit of Border Patrol Police 437, raided a significant kratom juice production and distribution site in the red zone of Hat Yai district, Songkhla province. The operation, led by Police Colonel Thammarat Phetnongchum and Police Major Baramet Yoddaeng,…
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Woman arrested in Hat Yai for smuggling drugs in brassiere
Yesterday, September 6, police units from the Royal Thai Police and the Provincial Police Region 9, led by Police Colonel Thammarat Phetnongchum, apprehended a 25 year old woman in the outskirts of Hat Yai. The arrest occurred as she attempted to deliver drugs hidden in her brassiere to customers at a concert. The operation took place in the Saphan Dam community,…
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15 year old Thai girl stabbed for viewing rival’s TikTok profile
A 15 year old Thai girl sustained an arm injury after being stabbed in a public park in the southern province of Phatthalung, allegedly over viewing a TikTok profile of her rival. Officers from Mueang Phatthalung Police Station were called to the park on Thun Bamrung Road in the Khuha Sawan sub-district at around 5.30pm yesterday, September 3. They found…
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Thai man shoots motorcyclist in Trang, mistaking victim for thief
A Thai man shot a motorcyclist, who was travelling behind him on a road in Trang province on Tuesday, September 2, claiming he mistook the victim for a thief. Monks at Rai Pru Temple in Mueang Trang district sought assistance from the Nam Phud Sub-district Office Rescue Foundation at around 7.30pm on Tuesday after the injured victim, 22 year old…
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Durian wholesaler shot dead in Yala’s Betong district
A mystery gunman fatally shot a well-known durian wholesaler at his business premises in Betong, Yala province. The incident occurred around 8.45pm yesterday, September 3, when Police Lieutenant Chatchai Channam, head of the special task force 444, was notified of the shooting. The victim, 68 year old Prasert Khananurak, known as Ko San, was found dead at the buying station yesterday,…
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Thai man attacked, seriously injured by wild bull in plantation
A Thai man sustained serious injuries after being attacked by a wild bull in a pineapple plantation in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan yesterday, September 2. The community leader, Arunchai Sommit, contacted the Luang Phor Nai Kuti Wat Kui Buri Rescue Foundation to transport the injured man, 64 year old Somsak, from the pineapple plantation in the Kui…
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Hat Yai Airport gets flashy facelift for 37th anniversary
From humble beginnings to high-flying growth, Hat Yai Airport is celebrating 37 years of connecting Thailand’s Deep South to the rest of the world, and it’s not stopping there. Airport director Kritsada Puksap, joined by deputy directors Nopphon Phayapphrai and Wing Commander Chaiyong Lamphrom, revealed impressive figures at a recent press conference. Between October last year and July this year,…
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Multiple bombings and tyre fires hit southern provinces overnight
A series of disturbances erupted across multiple locations in Narathiwat last night, August 31, as perpetrators detonated bombs near ATMs and set tyres on fire. Police responded and conducted investigations into these incidents. Reports indicated the unrest began around 7.40pm yesterday, August 31. The police at Su-ngai Padi station received information from a commander of the Ranger Company 4811 about…
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Malaysian man caught smuggling weapons into Thailand for 70,000 baht
A 45 year old Malaysian man was apprehended in Songkhla for smuggling military-grade weapons and over 400 rounds of ammunition into Thailand. He confessed to being hired by a Malaysian national for 70,000 baht to transport the arms. Police Colonel Surachit Phetchajom, together with administrative and military officials, announced Yeb Sun Ee’s arrest. Yeb was found in possession of two…
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Thai navy seizes 8,000 litres of smuggled diesel oil
The Second Naval Area Command in Songkhla recently detained a modified fishing vessel suspected of smuggling 8,000 litres of diesel oil without customs clearance. Three crew members were apprehended, and the vessel was brought ashore for legal proceedings. This marks almost 30,000 litres of oil seized in just one month. Yesterday, August 30, naval forces, including patrol boat T.266 and…
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Speeding pickup kills biker in deadly Phang Nga U-turn crash
A speeding pickup truck ploughed into a motorcyclist at a U-turn in Khao Lak, Phang Nga province, on Thursday, killing the rider instantly in a horrific crash. The fatal collision occurred at around 5.15pm on August 28 near the Kukkak Subdistrict Health Centre on Phetkasem Road, heading towards Thai Mueang district. Police at Khao Lak Station were alerted to the…
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Body of missing Thai man found buried in Nakhon Si Thammarat mountain
The family of a missing Thai man eventually discovered his body buried on a mountain in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Five drug suspects confessed to killing him over a dispute within their illegal business dealings. The family of 35 year old Patipon “Film” Pithak filed a missing person report at Chang Klang Police Station on July 17…
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Thailand’s rights body urges halt to mega land bridge plan
Thailand’s ambitious Ranong–Chumphon land bridge project has hit a major roadblock after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) called for it to be suspended over fears of human rights abuses, flawed economics, and a lack of genuine public input. At its meeting on Tuesday, August 26, the NHRC advised the government to put the project on hold until comprehensive public…
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Phatthalung man claims he runs naked in search of true love
A Thai man ran naked through a community in the southern province of Phatthalung, claiming he did it in search of true love, prompting neighbours to call the police to investigate. Residents living along Phetchakasem Road in the Tha Miram sub-district alerted officers from Mueang Phatthalung Police Station after witnessing the man running past their homes unclothed at around 11pm…
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Car bomb rips through Narathiwat checkpoint, 1 injured
Terror returned to Thailand’s Deep South last night when a car bomb exploded at a security checkpoint in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district, injuring a defence volunteer and triggering a brief gun battle. The attack unfolded at around 8.15pm yesterday, August 20, in Sala Mai subdistrict, where local volunteers were manning a regular security post. According to police reports, the explosion…
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Police accused of embezzlement during gambling raid in Nakhon Si Thammarat
Gamblers in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat accused police officers of taking 50,000 baht in cash, which should have been presented as evidence in a criminal case. A member of the Thung Song District Office, Chanin Jaidee, shared details of the alleged corruption with Channel 8 in the hope of seeking justice for gamblers arrested on August 13.…
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