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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Ranger stabbed by attacker linked to southern Thailand insurgents
PHOTO: Thai PBS World A paramilitary ranger remains in a critical condition in hospital after he was stabbed by a man who tried, unsuccessfully, to steal his service rifle. The man was quickly subdued by another ranger. The attacker reportedly died following the incident. The scuffle took place yesterday near Ban Suwo defence outpost in Narathiwat. It was reported that…
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Thai military says martial law in south will not be lifted
PHOTO: Sumeth Panpetch, Associated Press Following the insurgent attack that killed 15 volunteers at a security checkpoint earlier this week, the Army says it’s not planning to lift the emergency laws currently in place in the south of the country. The attack is believed to have been carried out by a militant group identified as the BRN or National Revolution…
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Thailand’s south in mourning after insurgent attack killed 15 in Yala
Thailand’s south is grappling with grief after 15 people died in an insurgent attack in the southern province of Yala on Tuesday night. Those who died were mostly defence volunteers, manning a security checkpoint in Yala – sitting ducks for the much-better organised and resourced southern insurgents. The south, accustomed to attacks from militant groups for nearly two decades, has been…
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Volunteer village guard system in Thailand’s south up for review after Tuesday’s deadly attack
PHOTO: Facebook/Yala ToDay The village guard system, used as part of the local volunteer security in the Deep South of Thailand, is set to be completely reviewed, or replaced by a more mobile system where village defence volunteer units will be on regular patrol to seek insurgents, instead of being a “sitting duck”. 15 volunteers and villages were killed after…
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Songkhla business man claims he was forced to sign dodgy drug test
PHOTOS: Sanook.com A Songkhla businessman is claiming that he was forced to sign a document admitting to using illicit drugs. 38 year old Somchai owns a banana business and is a special professor at the Songkhla Rajabhat University, and qualified electrical contractor, according to Sanook. Somchai and his lawyer faced the media this week and presented documents from Ramathibodi Hospital…
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Insurgents detonate car-bomb and fire at a security outpost in Pattani
PHOTO: Thai PBS World Southern insurgents have damaged eight vehicles in front of an old police station in Mai Kaen district in Pattani after detonating a car bomb. The incident happened last night in Thailand’s southern border province of Pattani. A security outpost in Yarang district was also under fire from a different group of suspected insurgents last night as well.…
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Five Burmese arrested trying to get into Thailand with dodgy passports
PHOTO: INN News Five Burmese, carrying fake passports to try and enter into Thailand, have been arrested at the Ranong checkpoint. Border control police reported the arrest of 22 years old San MG, 30 years old Hla Thein, 42 years old Nu Saw, 30 years old Than Tun, and 36 years old Aung Saw. They were arrested on October 13 by…
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Army hunting man who shot dog with a spear gun in southern Thailand
A man who shot and seriously injured a dog with a spear gun is being hunted by army officers in Songkhla province, southern Thailand. The man is accused of shooting the dog twice, with the arrows piercing its liver and stomach. The “Smiledog Home Hatyai” Facebook page says the dog is named Mee Dum. Photo:Smiledog Home Hatyai It was…
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Southern Thailand braces for rough weather and rain
The Thailand Meteorological Department issued a weather warning for southern Thailand with torrential rain forecast to hit the region throughout the weekend. The heavy monsoon over the Gulf of Thailand and south of the country is being blamed for the rough weather, with the TMD predicting flash flooding in many areas. (Phuket, Hat Yai and Hua Hin’s forecast below) “Waves are…
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Judge Kanakorn Pianchana, another victim of the southern insurgency
Five men were awaiting the judge to hand down his verdict. Charged with murder and facing either life imprisonment or a death penalty, or being acquitted. On October 4 Judge Kanakorn Pianchana, at the Yala Provincial Court, announced the five men were acquitted, in a 25 page document. What was to follow was both profound and tragic. The judge claimed, as…
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Five days to move out – restaurant encroaches on Nakhon Si Thammarat creek
PHOTO: Facebook/Strong Club – Sufficiency mind, anti-corruption A restaurant in Nakhon Si Thammarat has been exposed for illegally encroaching on the Baan Kiriwong creek and constructing permanent foundations and infrastructure. They’ve been ordered by authorities to move out. The Nation reports that a Facebook page titled “Strong Club – Sufficiency mind, anti-corruption” posted a photo with a caption on October…
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Thailand is facing “hybrid warfare” by “ill-intentioned politicians” – Army chief Gen Apirat
PHOTO: Screenshot – Matichon TV Thailand’s Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong is warning that Thailand is facing what he described as a “hybrid warfare”. The ultra-loyalist Army chief says the ‘war’ is being waged by a collection of “ill-intentioned politicians”, remnants of communist ideologues and “foreign forces” against the country’s major establishments. His speech was aimed fairly and squarely at…
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Police officer and local leader’s son arrested for drugs offences in southern Thailand
PHOTO: Bangkok Post A police officer and a local leader’s son have been arrested in a drugs raid on a house in Songkla, southern Thailand. The men were found in possession of 89 methamphetamine pills and 3.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine. A number of other items were also seized at the property, including drug paraphernalia and a pistol. The arrested…
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Special committee to investigate Yala judge suicide attempt
Photo montage: Bangla Tribune The Nation reports that a special panel will investigate the case of a judge in southern Thailand shooting himself in court, after he was allegedly made to change the verdict he handed down. The committee is expected to report back in 15 days, confirms deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Judiciary, Sarawut Benjakul. It’s understood…
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Investigative panel to probe alleged judicial meddling – reports in 15 days
“The 3 member panel will now have 15 days to wrap up the initial probe and submit their conclusions to the Judicial Commission.” PHOTO: Mariyam Ahmad/BenarNews In a story that has shaken Thais, who have broadly rallied behind the Yala Chief Judge, the government has been forced to act swiftly with an independent enquiry. Yesterday, the Judicial Commission has announced…
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Outpouring of public support for Thai judge who shot himself in Yala court
“Return verdict to the judge, return justice to the people.” People have been placing fresh flowers in front of the Yala Provincial Court to show their support for Khanakorn Pianchana, the local judge who tried to kill himself last Friday in the court room after reading a verdict. Among the flowers message, a message reading “Return verdict to the judge,…
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Judge forced to change “not guilty” verdict shoots himself in court in southern Thailand
A judge has shot himself in the chest at the provincial court in Yala, southern Thailand, after he was forced to change his verdict. Thai PBS World reports that Kanakorn Pianchana tried to kill himself following delivery of his verdict yesterday afternoon. It’s believed he is now out of danger and recovering in hospital. Meanwhile, Thai social media lit up…
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Dr. Thon pleads for dugong conservation plan
PHOTO: SCMP Thailand’s leading marine biologist is urging the Thai government to speed up conservation plans for the dugong, an imperiled sea mammal, aka. sea cow, after their death toll for the year in southern Thai waters has already climbed to a record 21. Dr. Thon Thamrongnawasawat says that the carcass of another deceased dugong was found this week off…
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Police officer caught drinking on the job
A police officer in Nakhon Si Thamarat, southern Thailand, is being investigated for allegedly consuming alcohol while working. The offence is understood to have taken place while Pol Lt-Col Somsak Faipakdee was at his office, during work hours. The Thai-language Daily News reports that the officer, a member of the Border Patrol Police of Tungsong District, is being investigated on…
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Another dead dugong found off the coast of Trang
PHOTO: The baby dugong Mariam, who brought a lot of publicity to the plight of the local dugong population, died in August Another dead dugong has been discovered floating in the Andaman Sea, between Koh Ya in Trang and Koh Ngai Island in Krabi. The corpse was discovered yesterday by a local tour boat. It’s been a bad year for…
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Arrest warrants issued over Saturday’s Songkhla 85 million baht gold robbery
PHOTO: Facebook/Persatuan Pemuda Pemudi Pattani The Na Thawi Provincial Court in Songkhla has issued arrest warrants for two men suspected to be involved in the 85 million baht gold shop heist on Saturday. Authorities have already linked the robbery to the southern insurgency claiming militants would sell the gold to finance operations. The warrants have now been issued for Wae-useng…
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Four beaches in Trang closed to swimming due to unsafe conditions
Officials from the Haad Chao Mai National Park have posted red flags along four popular Trang beaches to warn tourists against swimming because strong onshore winds were whipping up the waves to more than two metres in height. Haad Chao Mai National Park is a protected area located in the Sikao and Kantang Districts of Trang Province, Thailand. It is…
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Abdulloh’s family demands answers from Thai military as hundreds gather for funeral
Relatives of 34 year old Abdulloh Esormusor, who died in a Songkhla hospital after falling into a coma whilst being interrogated at a notorious Thai military camp in July, are demanding an investigation. Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Abdulloh in Pattani yesterday. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch told Reuters that the case has raised serious issues about rights violations in military…
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60 million baht of gold stolen in Songkhla heist
Five people have robbed a gold shop in the city centre of Na Thawee district in Songkhla province yesterday (Saturday). The robbers were dressed in military uniforms and armed with assault weapons, fleeing with gold and jewellery valued around 60 million baht. According to the Thai PBS report, the five bandits arrived at the Suchada Gold Shop in a white…
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Deputy PM scoffs at demands from southern insurgency group
FILE PHOTO Southern peace talks continue to go nowhere as demands from either side prevent meaningful discourse in the two decade-long border scuffle. In the latest salvo, the Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon has scoffed at a demand by the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, the most prominent of the southern insurgency groups, to release suspects in security cases before peace negotiations can…
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Train derails heading south from Bangkok
PHOTO: Chaiwat Satyaem Rail services between Bangkok and southern provinces were delayed yesterday after a passenger train jumped tracks in the Cha-am district of Phetchaburi province, about four hours south of the capital. There were no injuries reported. The incident happened around midday yesterday. The State Railway of Thailand reports that train 55 from Thonburi to Lang Suan station in Chumphon…
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Environment Ministry wants to increase dugong populations by 50% over a decade
“Dr. Thon Thamrongnawasawat says that trash in the seas was the main cause of the death of many endangered marine species.” Pinsak Suraswadi, deputy director-general of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, says the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment wants to increase the population of dugong in Thailand’s waters by 50% in the next ten years. The effort will…
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Thai PM visits the South amid tight security
The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha visited the southern border province of Yala yesterday (Thursday). During the visit, he opened the Southern Border Provinces Government Complex and the One Start One Stop for Development Centre, and met with local people amid tight security. Soldiers were assigned to keep a close watch for suspicious objects as well as people acting suspiciously at…
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Thai Police Chief admits difficulties in solving last Friday’s bombings
“Suspects had provided some useful information but are still reluctant to disclose the rewards they were promised.” Thailand’s national police chief says that it has been difficult for investigators to track down the real masterminds behind the recent bombings and arson attacks in Bangkok and neighbouring Nonthaburi province. Police have arrested at least two people and held others in custody…
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17 year old killed after school bus careers off road in Chumpon, 18 injured
PHOTO: Facebook/Tongsiasiangtueng Rescue A bus crew has been killed after a tour bus travelling from Hat Yai to Bangkok for a mathematics competition ran off the road and hit a tree. The driver and 18 student were all injured. The bus ran off the main road in Chumpon, about half-way through the journey north. Police and foundation rescue workers headed…
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