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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Spanish star’s son sentenced to life for murder on Koh Pha Ngan
In a chilling case that shocked both Spain and Thailand, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, son of prominent Spanish actors Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre and Silvia Bronchalo, has been sentenced to life in prison for the premeditated murder of Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga. The gruesome crime took place last August on the idyllic Thai island of Koh Pha Ngan. Originally handed…
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Phatthalung village head assaults woman over cattle dispute
A 59 year old woman was brutally assaulted by a local village head in Phatthalung province following a heated argument over grazing cattle. The incident left her severely injured, leading to her hospitalisation. The woman’s 31 year old daughter Wannapa took her mother, Kasem, to Phatthalung Hospital at 5.45pm yesterday, August 27, after she was violently attacked. Kasem suffered severe…
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Cat found abandoned at temple in Songkhla
A CCTV camera captured a man and a woman on a motorcycle with a sidecar abandoning a cat in a sack at a temple in Songkhla. The Hope Songkhla urges the owner to help find it, as abandoning animals is illegal. A report from Songkhla detailed footage from a surveillance camera showing two individuals on a three-wheeled motorcycle, likely scrap…
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Music is the food of love for TAT festival in Hat Yai this weekend
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is rolling out the red carpet for a spectacular celebration of art, music, and culture in southern Thailand with the HATYAI OUTLOUD festival. Scheduled from August 30 to September 1, this vibrant event will light up the Robinson Department Store parking lot and the Sino-European Building Sai 1 on Niphat Uthit 1 Road in…
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Southern Thailand court to hear Tak Bai massacre case
Narathiwat Provincial Court’s decision to hear a lawsuit against seven officials accused of murder and kidnapping during the 2004 Tak Bai massacre has been welcomed by activists. Srisompob Jitpiromsri, director of Deep South Watch, described the court’s move as a significant step toward justice and peace in the troubled region. He made these comments at a talk in Pattani‘s Mueang…
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Surat Thani police initiate successful Ban Klang rehabilitation
The police in Surat Thani launched a sustainable community rehabilitation project to address drug problems comprehensively, in line with national strategy. Following successful implementation in the Islamic community of Santisuk, the project has now been introduced in another Islamic community, Ban Klang. Yesterday, August 25, a meeting was held at the Raotul Jannah Mosque in Ban Klang, Bang Kung subdistrict,…
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Thai teacher suspected of creating explicit images of schoolgirls
Thai schoolgirls in the southern province of Pattalung suspected their male teacher of creating explicit images of them and sharing them on the Instagram application. A schoolgirl and her parents filed a complaint at Khok Cha-ngai Police Station today, August 23, after she came across nude images of herself on Instagram. She brought the matter to teachers but the school…
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Thai-Myanmar gates reopen after sudden closure
The Burmese border town of Phayathonzu, straddling Thailand and Myanmar, was thrown into chaos when its gates were abruptly shut on August 16. The gates, crucial for the movement of goods and people, left locals in a lurch. However, on August 20, relief came as the gates were reopened, much to the delight of residents and traders, one Phayathonzu local…
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Gunmen kill two durian sellers in Yala night attack
Gunmen attacked a durian stall in Yala province, killing its two owners. The incident occurred near a cemetery in Ban Saikaew, Taling Chan subdistrict at around 11pm yesterday, August 21. Security officials have begun investigating the crime scene. Two men were found dead near their durian stall after a group of approximately 10 assailants emerged from a mountain path and…
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Koh Pha Ngan shopkeeper’s laughing gas caper goes up in smoke
A Koh Pha Ngan shopkeeper has been caught red-handed peddling balloons stuffed with nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, without a licence, and it’s no laughing matter! Rangsiman Jaisamer was busted by police in his Haad Rin shop early today, August 22, where officers discovered two cylinders of the giggly gas and a stash of balloons ready for sale.…
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Forest ranger killed in Phatthalung after motorcycle hits truck
A forest ranger tragically died after his motorcycle collided with the back of a 22-wheel truck loaded with palm oil, dragging him for over 1 kilometre. The incident occurred at approximately 1.30am today, August 21, on a road in Phatthalung province. The accident involved Sumet Khemdam, a 32 year old forest ranger, who was riding a Honda Click motorcycle. His…
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Trang manhunt after fatal shooting over family dispute
A tragic shooting incident occurred in Trang, resulting in the death of a 56 year old Thai man. The man was allegedly shot over a perceived insult to the perpetrator’s dignity. Police launched a manhunt for the suspect. Police officers, led by Deputy Inspector Vechan Hiranyasuwan from Mueang Trang Police Station, were alerted to a shooting at house number 21/5…
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Thai man rescued after 4 days trapped in cave in southern Thailand
Lanska Police Station officers and a rescue team saved a Thai man trapped in the Nam Wang Si Thamma Sokarat Cave in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat for four days. A resident in the Lanska district of Nakhon Si Thammarat alerted the police after noticing a Yamaha off-road motorcycle parked outside the cave for several days, suspecting that…
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Thai man stabs transgender girlfriend to death in Koh Samui
A Thai man fatally stabbed his transgender girlfriend at a shopping mall on Koh Samui Island in the southern province of Surat Thani. He said he stabbed her to death because she insulted and belittled him. Officers from Bor Phut Police Station rushed to the shopping mall after receiving a stabbing report. The injured victim, 23 year old Rinlada, was taken to…
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Terminal confusion: Trang Airport’s billion-baht project still up in the air
Residents demanded clarification after the new 1.2 billion baht passenger terminal at Trang International Airport in southern Thailand missed its opening deadline and remains unfinished and in disrepair. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) received a complaint from locals in the southern province of Trang, stating that the unfinished airport caused them to lose potential opportunities from the tourism industry. Many…
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Naked foreign man gored by cow after alleged sexual abuse
A foreign man refused medical treatment after being gored by a cow in the southern province of Surat Thani. Rescuers suspected that the foreigner attempted to sexually abuse the animal. Officers from Ban Naderm Police Station and the Ban Naderm Rescue Foundation were called to a roadside forest along Highway 44 (Surat Thani-Krabi Road) to assist the foreign man, who…
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Muay Thai boxer flees after fatally slitting father’s throat
A Muay Thai boxer escaped and hid in the Yala mountain forests after fatally slitting his father’s throat at their home in the early hours of this morning. Mueang Yala Police Station officers responded to the incident at around 6am today, August 15, investigating the house in the Bannang Sareng sub-district, Mueang district, Yala province, following a report of the…
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Surat Thani police seize 404,000 meth pills after car chase
Police in Surat Thani arrested two men and seized 404,000 methamphetamine (meth) pills following a dramatic car chase. The suspects, 31 year old Suriyen, and 25 year old Sitthipong, were apprehended after attempting to flee from the police. Surat Thani Governor Jetsada Jitrat, who also serves as the Director of the Provincial Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), directed the operation.…
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Fake Thai monk arrested after trying to deceive police in Hua Hin
A fake Thai monk was arrested yesterday after visiting Hua Hin Police Station in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan and attempting to deceive officers. The fake monk, 29 year old Wichai Praisingh, arrived at the police station at around 4pm, yesterday, August 13, and asked officers to donate to a monastery in the Sam Roi Yot district of…
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Pipe bomb attack at Batu checkpoint injures volunteer in Narathiwat
Two assailants hurled pipe bombs at the Batu checkpoint in Narathiwat, injuring one paramilitary volunteer and damaging property. CCTV footage captured the incident, showing the suspects approaching the checkpoint on foot before throwing the explosives. The southern border province of Narathiwat has been plagued by unrest, and the recent attack at the Batu checkpoint is a stark reminder of ongoing…
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Thai teen allegedly shoots himself in face while playing with gun
A Thai teenager in the southern province of Phattalung allegedly shot himself in the face while playing with a gun, but his father doubts this, believing that his son may have been attacked by someone. Officers from Kong Ra Police Station rushed to a wooden hut in the Kong Ra district of Phattalung after being notified of the shooting at…
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Russian-Canadian arrested for overstaying, begging on Koh Pha Ngan
Residents on Koh Pha Ngan island in the southern province of Surat Thani alerted the Tourist Police to a Russian-Canadian man found overstaying his visa and begging for food from locals. Residents on the island reported to the Tourist Police that they witnessed a foreign man begging for food from various households and sleeping on a footpath. The foreigner’s begging…
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Thailand’s ‘call’ for scam help at Mekong meeting
The Government of Thailand will leverage the upcoming Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) meeting to seek regional support in tackling call centre scam gangs. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin tasked Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa with addressing this issue during the meeting and exploring effective strategies to combat cross-border crimes, including these scams. The 9th MLC meeting is set for Thursday and Friday in…
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Dugong to the rescue: Calf gets a nursery boost after Krabi solo act
A young dugong calf, found alone near Koh Poda in Krabi, has been transferred to a nursery in Trang for care and medical attention. Tourists discovered the calf yesterday and promptly notified officials from the Andaman Sea Lower Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre. Pinsak Suraswadi, Director-General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, confirmed the incident and detailed…
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Thai cops trim crime: Israeli drug dealer & Russian barber snipped
Pha Ngan Tourist Police in the southern province of Surat Thani reported the successful arrest of an Israeli drug dealer and a Russian man illegally operating a barbershop on the island. Pha Ngan Tourist Police launched an operation to arrest foreigners working illegally and committing crimes on the island following multiple complaints from locals in the area. The investigation into…
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Khao Sok National Park to sue travel agency after fatal cave death
Khao Sok National Park in the southern province of Surat Thani plans to sue a travel agency after two Thai tour guides violated safety rules and took 22 foreign tourists to Nam Talu Cave during its closure, resulting in the death of one guide in the flash flood on Tuesday, August 6. National park rangers and rescuers saved the other…
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Laotian man arrested for secret filming in public restrooms
A Laotian man has been arrested for secretly filming women, particularly young girls, in public restrooms and selling the footage to private groups. The suspect, identified as a 31 year old man confessed to the crime, which generated hundreds of thousands of baht. Yesterday, August 7, law enforcement officials, including Pattarawit Keetamotaneeyakul, the Trang Provincial Police Commissioner, along with Rattakhon…
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Three insurgents killed in Pattani clash with security forces
Security forces in Thailand’s southern province of Pattani engaged in a fierce clash with a group of insurgents in the Khlong Chang area, resulting in three insurgents being killed. This incident follows a sequence of violent events linked to the insurgents over several years. The confrontation occurred during a law enforcement operation in Khlong Chang, Naket subdistrict, Khok Pho district,…
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Phatthalung police bust Honda Wave motorcycle theft ring
Police in the Bang Kaeo district of Phatthalung province successfully dismantled a motorcycle theft ring that targeted Honda Wave motorcycles for resale in neighbouring countries. This operation was led by Adirek Thongkamkaew, the superintendent of Bang Kaew Police Station, along with officers Wasan Wongruang and Danai Kaewnarn. Four individuals were arrested during the operation. The suspects include 46 year old…
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Wild elephant found dead from electrocution in Ranong sanctuary
A wild elephant was found dead from electrocution at the radar hill in the Thungraya-Nasak Wildlife Sanctuary in Ranong province. The elephant, believed to have pulled down a tree that fell on high-voltage power lines, was discovered by local government officials who are now working to protect the remaining five elephants in the area. Chawakun Sithisak, deputy inspector of Muang…
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