South Thailand News
Stay updated with the latest Southern Thailand news at The Thaiger, your ultimate source for regional information. Keep informed on local events, business developments, and lifestyle stories in popular locations beyond Phuket, Koh Samui, and Krabi. We’ve got reports of the latest goings on in Trang, Songkhla, Yala, and more.
Whether you’re a resident or a visitor, The Thaiger’s Southern Thailand news page is your essential guide to exploring this stunning tropical region. Dive into the vibrant community and rich culture with our expertly curated content, designed to keep you connected and well-informed.
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Sponsored Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management
Maximising revenue and profit–isn’t that the ultimate goal for every business in the hospitality industry? If you run a hotel, you might have heard that revenue management is an effective way to boost your top-line revenue. It involves using data...
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4,000 Muslims protest against construction of Kuan Yin statue in southern Thailand
More than 4,000 Muslims gathered yesterday to protest against the construction of the largest Kuan Yin statue in the world on Khao Lon mountain in Songkhla province, southern Thailand. President of the Islamic Committee of Songkhla Province Sakkriya Bilsal alongside an imam from every mosque in the province were among those opposing the construction of the 200-metre-tall statue of a…
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Hotels in South Thailand eager for surge in visitors this year
South Thailand’s hotels are eager for a surge in visitors during Thailand’s high season from October to December. About 80% of hotels in Songkhla province have reopened after ‘Thailand Pass’ was scrapped on July 1, according to the Songkhla Tourism Industry Council. Since Thailand Pass was scrapped, Songkhla has welcomed a rush of Malaysian tourists driving across the border. The…
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Pedo father & 2 stepbrothers jailed for raping 12 year old Thai girl
The father and two stepbrothers of a 12 year old Thai girl have been jailed for the alleged rape of the child. The father, 46 year old Yapard Aree-air, and two stepbrothers, 19 year old Arun Saeng-atit, and a 17 year old Khao, were arrested and charged, after the girl reported the incident to police in the southern province of…
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Southern Thailand rebel group considers 3 month ceasefire for Buddhist Lent
Another round of “peace talks” between the Thai government and rebel groups in Thailand’s Deep South was wrapped up yesterday at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) – one of the most active and well-established insurgent groups in the south – is considering Thailand’s request for a three month ceasefire for the duration of Buddhist…
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Patient dies after the route of emergency rescue van blocked
A heartless nurse who blocked the path of an ambulance, and therefore delayed its journey to help a critical patient, is threatening to sue the emergency services and netizens who criticised her after she complained about the ambulance. The patient later died because the emergency service van did not get there in time. Tal Sulawan, a practical nurse in the…
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Thailand has 2 of the world’s most beautiful beaches, UK newspaper says
After all these years, Thailand continues to be renowned for its breathtaking beaches. Thailand has two of the “World’s 20 Most Beautiful Beaches” on a list published by UK’s Daily Star newspaper. Thailand’s Sunrise Beach was ranked in sixth place, and Maya Bay came in at 12th place on the list. Both beaches are located in South Thailand. Sunrise Beach is…
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Rescuers carry injured Dutch hiker down steep mountain in South Thailand
Rescuers have carried an injured Dutch hiker in a stretcher down a mountain on South Thailand’s island of Koh Pha Ngan yesterday. The man, 48 year old Jan Harm Kedde, broke his ankle after slipping and falling on a rock on Hat Khom mountain. He had been hiking with a friend. After trekking down the mountain for two and a…
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Malaysian man arrested in Thailand for laundering gambling money
Luck may have run out for a rich Malaysian businessman who allegedly laundered money from online gambling as police picked him up in Sadao in the Deep South Thai province of Songkhla. Teow Wooi Huat also known as Tedy or Jho Low 2, is accused of laundering money connected to online gambling in Thailand and is also wanted in Macau…
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18 passengers rescued after ferry explodes off South Thailand coast
Eighteen people were rescued after a ferry exploded on its way from Chumpon to Koh Tao today at about 2.30pm. All 18 passengers suffered injuries. The ferry, named Lom Phraya, caught fire about 4-5 kilometres off the coast of the Haad Sai Ree sub-district, Mueng district in Chumpon province in the south of Thailand. The rescue team reported on its…
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Police arrest man wanted for South Thailand murder
Police arrested a man wanted for a murder in South Thailand in March. The suspect, 37 year old Somsak Plano, had allegedly shot at three brothers, killing one of them and injuring another. Somsak’s alleged crime was believed to be related to a personal conflict. The incident happened in the Phato district of Chumphon province on March 2. According to…
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Sleeping driver unharmed after seemingly deadly crash
Yesterday morning saw what looked to be a grizzly car crash in Nakhon Si Thammarat but, surprisingly, the driver walked away unharmed. A pickup truck brimming with durian fruit smashed into a power pole on the highway yesterday morning after the driver fell asleep at the wheel. A man from Phang Nga had been driving down Highway 41 in Thung…
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Train service resumed from Hat Yai to border town Padang Besar
With borders finally reopened, the train between Southern Thailand town of Hat Yai and the Malaysian border town of Padang Besar has resumed service. The train had ceased operation more than two years ago when international borders closed during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, passengers can once again take rail service to the border between Malaysia and Thailand…
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Ferry gets stuck on sand bar near South Thailand island
More than 100 ferry passengers in South Thailand were caught in a sticky situation on Wednesday- literally. A ferry got stuck on a sand bar in Koh Phang Ngan island in Surat Thani province. The ferry was heading to Don Sak district, when it got stuck on the sand bar 10 minutes after departing from Koh Phang Ngan, according to…
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Police search for 3 rogue cops & soldier involved in illegal gun trade
Arrest warrants have been issued for three rogue cops and a soldier for selling illegal firearms to the criminal underworld in the southern province of Phattalung. The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, reported a huge police investigation is still ongoing to determine the sources of firearms used by the different offenders. In the first…
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Suspected insurgent shot dead by police in southern Thailand
Thai police shot dead a suspected insurgent at a house in Pattani province, southern Thailand, yesterday at 4:30am. The suspect tried to escape the house by climbing out of the window and allegedly fired shots at police who shot back in self-defence. The deceased allegedly had a role in the 2019 Bangkok bombings. Police received information that a wanted, suspected…
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Songkhla officials investigate migrant smuggling network
Officials and police in southern Thailand’s Songkhla province are investigating an illegal migrant smuggling network. On Monday, officials and immigration police set up an ambush in a forest in the Hat Yai district. Illegal Burmese migrants had been staying there. After the authorities waited through the night and into the next day, 2 pickup trucks showed up, and the migrants…
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OIC commends treatment of Muslims and quality of life in Thailand
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation hailed Thailand as a shining example of how well a multicultural society can coexist during a visit to the Deep South provinces. Delegates from the OIC visited 3 of the southernmost provinces in Thailand on June 29 and 30 after the Thai government invited them to come and see local religious activities, education programs, and…
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Thailand tourism: 9.3 million arrivals predicted, south busy
In its latest estimates, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports predicts that the second half of 2022 will bring more than 7 million travellers to Thailand. The first 6 months nearly hit the 2 million tourist mark, with 1.987 million visitors arriving from abroad from the beginning of January until June 28. Tourism generated around 114 billion baht so far…
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Travel to Surat Thani, it’s where the fun begins | Jay and Natty’s Adventures
The Thaiger‘s Natty and Jay recently went on a long weekend trip to Thailand’s southern province of Surat Thani, and they’re dying to show our viewers their adventures. People typically see Surat Thani as a passing point to somewhere exciting like Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Phangan. But The Thaiger’s top news presenters want people to know about Surat…
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Songklha welcomes more Malaysian tourists after Thailand pass scrapped
Thailand’s southern province of Songklha has welcomed about 5,000 Malaysian tourists who drove across the border today. Before Thailand Pass was scrapped today, the number of people crossing Sadao checkpoint each day had been averaging 1,000-1,500. Now, the president of Hat Yai Songkhla Hotels Association says hoteliers expect to see 150,000 tourists from Malaysia in July. The president, Sitthiphong Sitthiphatprapha,…
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South Thailand’s Muslim leaders reject weed, liquor and same-sex partnerships
South Thailand’s Muslim leaders are rejecting the kingdom’s growing liberalism on 3 issues. On Thursday (June 23), Muslim representatives from Yala, Narathiwat, Songkhla, Satun and Pattani provinces, read a statement against 3 draft bills that are currently being debated or yet to be presented to the Thai parliament Those bills were the Cannabis and Hemp Bill, the Progressive Liquor Act,…
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8 Burmese allegedly confess to murder of Thai man
Eight illegal Burmese immigrants have allegedly confessed to the murder of a Thai man in the Hat Yai district of Songkla province in the south of Thailand. The suspects allegedly admitted to the murder of Maddol Binson because he extorted money from them and tried to kidnap a woman from the group. The body of the 40 year old, a…
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German national falls to death from rooftop in Songkhla
An elderly German national fell to his death from an apartment rooftop in the southern province of Songkhla this morning. A security camera recorded the man’s body landing on the road below the 6-story building. Police were told that the man, 81 year old former marine Klaus-Dieter Buchholz, had lived alone in the apartment in the Hat Yai district for…
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Suspected insurgents hijack garbage truck, bomb police booth in southern Thailand
In a suspected insurgency attack in Thailand’s “Deep South,” men armed with guns hijacked a garbage truck, tied up four binmen on the roadside, and placed a 50 kilogram explosive inside the vehicle. The assailants drove to a police checkpoint where they detonated the bomb, blowing up the garbage truck and injuring one police officer. The incident happened yesterday evening…
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Full Moon Party in Koh Pha Ngan sees double the tourists
The third Full Moon Party of the year on Koh Pha Ngan has drawn double the number of tourists to South Thailand’s Koh Pha Ngan since the first party back in April. Last night, about 20,000 visitors arrived on the shores of Haad Rin. The tourists passed through 5 checkpoints to be screened for weapons and drugs before they could…
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Underwater utopia being created out of decommissioned oil rigs
An Aquaman-type underwater utopia is being developed near Koh Pha Ngan island in Surat Thani province, out of redundant oil and gas rigs. Thailand’s Natural Resources and Environment department revealed plans are well underway to utilise decommissioned oil rigs to develop a new diving destination for tourists located around 7.5 nautical miles north east of Koh Pha Ngan island. The…
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Pub fight in South Thailand leaves 3 dead
Three men were killed in a pub fight in South Thailand’s Nakhon Si Thammarat province in the early hours of the morning yesterday. Another man was seriously injured in the fight, which occurred in the main city district. City police said 2 rival groups were gathered at the pub’s car park after visiting the pub, when the deadly exchange began.…
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Police investigate whether killing in South Thailand was insurgency related
Police in southern Thailand are investigating whether a recent killing was related to a personal conflict, or the ongoing ‘South Thailand Insurgency’. Officers in Bannang Sata district Yala province found a man’s body in a fruit orchard yesterday. The body, identified as 43 year old Buraheng Roya, was lying near a motorcycle among the fruit trees. The police said Buraheng…
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After Songkhla storm, tree falls and kills man
Thailand’s monsoon season was fatal for one man in the southern province of Songkhla during the early hours of this morning. After a heavy rainstorm, a large tree crashed down on a house in Sadao district, crushing the man to death. The man is identified as 56 year old Chat, who worked as a driver for a temple. His house…
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Train hits car, killing young girl in South Thailand
A train hit a car at a railway crossing with no barriers in South Thailand’s Chumphon province yesterday. The crash killed 16 year old Piyamat Nilsuk, and injured her brother, 19 year old Payungsak Nilsuk. Police arrived on the scene to find Piyamat and Payungsak’s car badly wrecked, after the crash had made it turn over several times until it…
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