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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Sponsored Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Wife’s ex-husband shoots new husband in the penis
A man was arrested yesterday after he shot his ex-wife’s husband in the penis. The man claims that the shooting was an accident. Officers from Mueng Chumporn Police Station investigated a shophouse on Klomma Luang Road in the Mueng district of Chumporn province in southern Thailand after being notified of a shooting. A shophouse can be used as a shop…
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Failed 14 million baht temple lighting system may quash UNESCO nomination
A failed 14 million baht lighting system isn’t helping southern Thailand’s temple of Phra Mahathat Woramahavihan’s bid to become a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. The lighting system was installed around the main stupa of Phra Borommathat Chedi in 2014, but those responsible for the project have largely left it in disarray. The lighting is now in need of repairs due…
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No fury like a ladyboy scorned – toyboy pulls gun
Fury gripped a middle-aged ladyboy in Phatthalung when she caught up with her toyboy lover at a hotel with a woman until he pulled his gun on her. On November 1, Phatthalung police arrested 18 year old Apichart Thongdeepeng on suspicion of threatening to shoot Amnuay Sukkaew, 28 years his senior. The pair say they have been together a year.…
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Biologist warns that upcoming Songkhla Lake Bridge construction will hurt dolphins
A marine biologist warned that a new bridge planned across Songkhla Lake will hurt the inhabitant Irrawaddy dolphins. Dolphins are considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The biologist, Thon Thamrongnawasawat, said the number of Irrawaddy dolphins in the lake is likely to drop every year. He noted that the future of dolphins is uncertain,…
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Too big to fail: Full Moon Party revives Koh Pha Ngan
In the US, the phrase “too big to fail” is applied to financial institutions whose defaulting would cause the national or even global economy to collapse. So these institutions receive bailouts to keep them afloat in times of economic crisis. In Thailand, our too-big-to-fail institution might be the Full Moon Party. The legendary party, running for nearly 40 years on…
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A man in South Thailand causes floods by stealing drainage equipment worth 2 million baht
A man in the Trang province of South Thailand has caused floods by stealing public drainage equipment worth 2 million baht, Thai media reported yesterday. The man, 30 year old Permpol, allegedly stole the equipment in Trang’s main city district. He reportedly stole parts including gears, gate valves, water drainage screws, and panelboards. Residents complained to Trang police, who gathered evidence…
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Thai military denies torturing and killing Deep South rebel
The Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) said peace talks with the Thai government will be harmed if they are responsible for the torture and murder of a Deep South rebel whose body was found in the Golok river, on the border of Thailand and Malaysia, last month. The tortured body of 42 year old Zahri Bin Abdullah – also known as…
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A rare flowering plant species found in South Thailand
Researchers have found a rare flowering plant species in southern Thailand’s Narathiwat province. A team of biology researchers from Chiang Mai University found the plant in an evergreen forest in Janae and Sukhirin districts. The rare flowering plant belongs to the Annonaceae family, with the scientific name Phaenthuspiyae Wiya, Aongyong & Chaowaskul. The organisation Thailand Science Research and Innovation described…
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Soldier arrested for stabbing 15 year old at a nightclub
A soldier has been charged with attempted murder after he stabbed a 15 year old boy at a nightclub in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat last weekend. The teenager was stabbed in the back with a chisel in front of a nightclub in the Tung Song district of Nakhon Si Thammarat at about 2.45am last Sunday, October 16.…
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This South Thailand province’s unexpected beauty will wow you
“We hope to put Pattani on the world tourist map,” tour operator Fareeda Abdullah told Bernama. South Thailand’s Pattani province is not the first place people usually imagine for a holiday getaway. The province often makes headlines for sectarian tensions. But Pattani has an up-and-coming tourism industry. The province boasts breathtaking nature, including a beautiful mangrove forest in the Yarang…
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Thai Cabinet approves 6.6 billion baht for bridges in South Thailand
Two upcoming bridge projects in South Thailand have had a budget approved for them. Thailand’s transport minister announced yesterday that the Thai Cabinet has given the green light on the plans, which will cost about 6.6 billion baht. One bridge will cross Songkhla Lake in the Koh Yai sub-district of Songkhla’s Krasaesin district, to the Jong Tanon sub-district in Phatthalung’s…
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Plan to push Pattalung into world’s top green destinations
The government reported yesterday that it plans to push Pattalung province in the southern part of Thailand into the world’s top 100 green or sustainable destinations by 2027. The Minister of the Tourism and Sports Ministry, Piphat Ratchakitprakarn, reported yesterday that his department and the Organization for the Development of Sustainable Tourism have a project to raise awareness of green…
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Armed, drunk father tried to snatch his child from school
One day after a former police officer killed his wife and child and slaughtered 24 children and 13 others at a daycare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu, another man was stopped and arrested before he could commit a similar act. In the Southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, an inebriated armed man was arrested near a school trying to grab…
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Angry American man smashes up a Thai man’s car
An American man was arrested yesterday after smashing up a Thai man’s car and threatening his family in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The Thai man, Sunthorn, notified officers from Kanom Police Station that an American man, 45 year old Andigo, threatened his mother and daughter and threw rocks at his pickup truck. The video of the incident…
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Tangmo defendant repays vow with 5-metre Ultraman figure
A defendant from the Tangmo case, Tanupat “Por’’ Lerttaweewit, repaid a vow he made at a famous temple in the southern part of Thailand by offering a 5-metre Ultraman figure. Thai netizens believe he made a wish related to the Tangmo case after Tangmo’s mother agreed to accept compensation and dropped murder charges. The Kom Chad Luek platform reported that…
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Songkhla factory fire injures 2
A fire broke out at a plastic factory in the southern Songkhla province yesterday, injuring two workers. Thai media reported that the workers had mild burns. The blaze ripped through the entire factory, and 10 fire trucks were deployed to put out the flames. The cost of the damages has not yet been reported. The fire broke out when hundreds…
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Roadside bomb blast kills police officer and injures four more in southern Thailand
A roadside bomb blast killed one police officer and injured four more officers in Pattani province in southern Thailand yesterday. The officers were patrolling Mai Kaen district in a pickup truck when suspected insurgents hiding nearby detonated a roadside bomb in front of Mai Kaen Hospital at around 7.40pm. In the blast, the pickup truck was launched into a power…
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Navy rescues foreign passengers in Krabi after yacht trip goes wrong
A yacht trip has gone wrong for a group of foreign passengers in the southern Krabi province on Thursday. The yacht broke down in the middle of the sea, although it is still unclear what caused the yacht to break down. The passengers were left waiting for help from the Royal Thai Navy. Fortunately, the navy arrived on the scene…
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Thai immigration authorities arrested over alleged bribes in illegal fishing case
A group of Thai immigration authorities has been arrested in an alleged bribery case involving illegal fishing that happened last year. The 11 individuals include six immigration police, and five other immigration officials working at marine border and disease control checkpoints. The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, announced their arrests yesterday. The group has…
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Whale sharks spotted off Koh Pha Ngan in South Thailand
Environmentalists spotted a pair of whale sharks off South Thailand’s island of Koh Pha Ngan. Members of the Phangan Sea Guardian Association had gone diving when they spotted two of the gentle giants. The association’s president said that one whale shark was four metres long, while the other was six metres long. The VP, Sittiroj Kaewnongsameta, told The Phuket Express… “This…
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27 people arrested for 1.5 billion baht Police Credit Union fraud
Twenty-seven credit union officials, police officers, and former police officers have been arrested for defrauding the Pattalung Police Credit Union out of 1.5 billion baht. On March 24, members of the Pattalung Police Credit Union filed a complaint to the Assistant Commissioner-General, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, that some police and credit union officials were working together to steal money from…
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Australian man kills 2 teens in Songkhla crash, another seriously injured
An Australian man hit and killed two teenage girls on a motorcycle with his car in the southern province of Songkhla, Thai media reported on Friday. Another teenage girl who was also on the motorcycle was seriously injured in the accident. The tragic accident happened on a road in front of a Royal Navy Shooting Range, and officers found the…
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52 kilometre car chase for suspects with millions of meth pills in South Thailand
Highway Police were sent on a wild goose chase in South Thailand this week in a mission to catch three drug suspects. The police reported on Wednesday that they had chased a car from the Lang Suan district of Chumphon province, all the way to Than Chana district in Surat Thani province, totalling 52 kilometres. The police found two million…
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French tourist rescued after getting lost in Koh Pha Ngan forest
A young French tourist was rescued on Saturday after he got lost in a forest on Thailand’s island of Koh Pha Ngan. Police and officials found the man, 26 year old Marouan Rouatbi, after almost an hour of searching through the hilly forest when it was dark, in the main Koh Pha Ngan district. The group trekked through about three…
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3 injured in possible insurgency bomb attack in S Thailand
An insurgency attack has not been ruled out as a bomb flipped over a truck injuring three passengers in the southern province of Narathiwat last night. The bomb went off on Highway No 4217 which runs through Ban Iso village in Narathiwat’s Chanae district causing the truck to flip about four times, knocking over an electricity pole, before it landed…
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Six children rushed to hospital after bridge collapses in South Thailand
Yesterday was a terrifying day for a group of 50 fifth graders and teachers on a nature field trip in South Thailand. As the group was walking across a bridge in the Chian Yai district of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, the bridge collapsed, causing everyone to fall into the water below. Six children were rushed to nearby hospitals for their…
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UPDATE: BRN insurgents admits to Deep South bombings
UPDATE The insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani (BRN) announced on its Facebook page that they were behind this week’s bomb explosions in the Deep South provinces. The BRN group said it was an act against capitalism that affected local businesses. Yesterday, the official Facebook page of the group expressed condolences for the death and loss. They said group…
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Alleged kidnapper arrested, girl reunited with parents after months
A man who allegedly kidnapped a young girl in Phuket in February was arrested in South Thailand on Tuesday. The victim, a 13 year old girl, has been reunited with her parents. The suspect, 33 year old Somsak, allegedly kidnapped the girl on Rawai Beach in the main city district of Phuket, where she had been selling flowers. The girl’s…
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Insurgents bomb petrol stations & shops in Deep South
Bomb explosions were reported last night at a number of petrol stations and convenience stores in three Deep South provinces including Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani. The media reported the bomb explosions went off between 12.20am to 12.40am in six districts of Narathiwas provinces. Six branches of 7-Eleven stores, a Mini Big C in Bacho, Si Sakhon, Su-ngai Golok, Rueso, and…
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Landmines kill 1, injure 10 in Deep South of Thailand
A soldier was killed and ten people were injured after two landmines were detonated at a rubber plantation in the Deep South of Thailand yesterday. Of the ten people injured in the explosion at the rubber plantation in Kok Ko, a village in Narathiwat province, southern Thailand, six were police officers and four were civilians. The injuries to the police…
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