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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Security stepped up for the end of Ramadan in Songkhla, Thailand
FILE PHOTO Police and troops are stepping up security in Songkhla and the southern province, especially the town of Hat Yai, ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival – the end of the annual Ramadan – tomorrow (Wednesday). Today is the last day of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. A security source said intelligence agencies believed Muslim insurgents would…
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Airports of Thailand open bidding for new duty free contracts at three airports
Airports of Thailand (AoT) says they will finalise the bidding process to announce who will manage the commercial areas at three provincial airports – Phuket, Had Yai and Chiang Mai – on June 10. King Power Duty Free has had a stranglehold on the duty free concession areas of the country’s four main airports but are having to bid for…
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Gunman shoots and kills village head in Narathiwat mosque
PHOTO: Nation Channel A gunman walked into the Ban Arware Mosque and shot dead the village head in Narathiwat’s Ra Ngae district last night, in southern Thailand. Stray bullets also injured a man praying next to the man at the mosque. Police report that 48 year old Pakruding Tohdeng, the village head of Ban Arwar in Tambon Mareubotok, was killed inside…
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30 False killer whales sighted of Koh Tao – VIDEO
PHOTO: DMCR VIDEO: Ban’s Diving Resort (Official Fan Page) About 30 of false killer whales sighted off Koh Tao, Surat Thani over the weekend. The Department of Marine and Coast Resources reported that they were notified from Ban’s Diving tours operator on Koh Tao that that they were on a speedboat with tourists just off the coast of Koh Tao.…
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Suspect who killed ex-wife’s new husband in Phattalung, arrested at Phuket checkpoint
A suspect who killed his ex-wife’s new husband in Phattalung last Sunday has now been arrested at the Phuket checkpoint at the top of the island. 32 year old Ms Rattana Nookong, Kringkrai Kotchapan’s ex-wife, sustained injuries from Kringkrai’s gun shots. Kriengkrai also shot and killed 40 years old Mr Sarawut Srinoon, Ms Rattana’s new husband in Phattalung on May…
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Villagers taken in under martial law for questioning over Yala shoot-out, Southern Thailand
PHOTO: Charoon Thongnual Security officials have interrogated 18 people living near the site of this week’s clash between soldiers and suspected insurgents in Yala’s Yaha district. “They were brought in for questioning under martial law as authorities intend to go after the unidentified gunmen in Monday’s clash,” a source said yesterday. The Nation reports that the gunfight lasted several hours…
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80 year old Malaysian tourist dies during Thai massage in Songkhla
PHOTO: Thai Rath A tourist has died during a ‘traditional Thai’ massage in a hotel in Sadao, in the southern province of Songkhla, just across the border from Malaysia. Pol Lt Thanatsak of the Sadao police found the 80 year old Malaysian man dead in his hotel room. He was laying on his bed and clothed in a t-shirt and brown…
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OrBorTor president shot dead in Yala
PHOTOS: Work Point News An OrBorTor president in Yala’s Raman district has been fatally shot while riding his motorcycle home last night. Police say 55 year old Sama-ae Sama was shot on a main road in Moo 2 village in Tambon Tha Thong at 8.15pm. He was rushed to the Raman Hospital but died later. Police said Sama-ae was returning home…
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Woman killed, nine injured in seven-vehicle pileup in Nakhon Si Thammarat
A woman has died and nine others injured in a pileup involving four pick-up trucks, a sedan and two motorcycles on a road in Nakhon Si Thammarat this morning. Police say the accident happened at 9am on the Nakhon Si Thammarat-Pak Phanang road in front of the 17th regional office of the Government Saving Bank in Tambon Pak Nakhon, Muang…
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Ouch! Man falls from mango tree, ends up with metal rod through his testicles
PHOTO: Daily News Daily News reports that an iron rod, sitting under a mango tre,e had gone right through a man’s testicles after he fell from a mango tree in Nakorn Si Thammarat yesterday. The poor man, Piyapong, was fighting extreme pain as friends tried to keep him in consciousness with smelling salts. Meanwhile, according to the report, the Tai…
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Corals bleaching off Pattani
PHOTOS: Thon Thamrongnawasawat Corals at Koh Losin, off the coast of Pattani in the south of Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand, have started to bleach and are reported to be in a ‘critical situation’. Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, assistant dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University and a marine biologist says, “Koh Losin is in the Gulf of Thailand…
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Four southern islands to be closed to tourists during monsoon
PHOTO: Koh Kradan Four islands in the Haad Chao Mai National Park in Trang, southern Thailand, will be closed to tourists for four months starting June 1. The chief of the Haad Chao Mai national park, Narong Kong-iad, says that access to the park will be denied to tourist from June 1 to September 30 for “the nature to rehabilitate…
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Mother blames rescuers for damage to her car after trying to get her daughter out of the locked SUV
PHOTOS: Gimyong News Locals who tried to help a one year old baby who has was locked inside an SUV are being blamed as the mother claims they have caused scratches and damage to her car. Gimyong News is reporting that the incident happened at 7.30am today in Hat Yai Songkhla. A one year old girl was stuck inside a SUV…
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Nakhon Si Thammarat Police chief orders “shoot to kill” if necessary
PHOTO: Daily News A police chief in Nakhon Si Thammarat has told his police to shoot to kill if necessary as the hunt for a Thai man continues. Thanakorn Saiyut was described as “armed and dangerous” by Pol Col Suthat Songsayom of the Chawang police who said he wanted the man dead or alive. Nakhon Si Thammarat is just south of…
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“Don’t you know who I am”? Southern judge ridiculed.
PHOTO: Judge Krairat Veerapattanasuwan refuses to show his driving license The police chief of Nakhon Si Thammarat says he has set up a panel to investigate an incident where a man, identified as a local judge, refused to show his driving licence to a policeman when asked, saying he was a friend of the policeman’s boss. The traffic policeman was…
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Hat Yai’s annual balloon festival bursts into the skies above Songkhla
The International Balloon Festival at Hat Yai 2019 is on again this weekend as Songkhla’s provincial capital bursts into colour with larger-than-life characters. It started on May 10 at the Jiranakorn Stadium in Hat Yai and is sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The three-day festival of inflatable fun features 15 spectacular hot air balloons from Thailand and…
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Dangerous fake JW Whisky heading for BKK
FILE PHOTO Excise officials have busted a factory in Thailand’s far south that was mixing up brews of fake Johnny Walker Red and Black label whiskey. Police say the man behind the faux booze is a foreigner. The whiskey was described by officials as “very dangerous” for consumers and was on its way for Bangkok. They warned it could also end…
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Wanted militant killed during security forces raid in Pattani
PHOTOS: InnNews.co.th A wanted insurgent has been shot dead by security forces during a raid on a hideout in Pattani yesterday afternoon. Thai PBS reports that the victim was later identified as 37 year old Sarisan Amri who was the subject of five outstanding arrest warrants for his suspected involvement in a series of offences in southern province. About 100…
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Python swallows a goat in Satun – VIDEO
PHOTOS: Sathaphon Samadee / Song Tai Satun Newspaper A python has swallowed a baby goat in Satun in southern Thailand. Song Tai Satun Newspapers reports that a staff member at the Tanyongpoe Tambol Administrative Organisation in Satun was notified of the incident yesterday. Rescue workers arrived at a rubber plantation to find the three metre python, with a noticeable bulge…
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Songkhla man accused of human trafficking of Burmese
FILE PHOTO A Songkhla man has been arrested for allegedly being a member of a human trafficking ring that has been smuggling Burmese migrants into Malaysia across the southern border. 60 year old Thammasak Boonyarit was arrested at a house in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district under an arrest warrant issued by the Chumphon Court. The arrest was made a day…
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Ranger killed in Pattani roadside bomb ambush
One ranger has been killed after southern insurgents detonated a roadside homemade bomb to ambush his patrol unit in Pattani’s Panare district this morning. Police say the attack happened at 10.20am on the main road in Ban Rawor village in Tambon Krawa. 34 year old Ranger Damrong Thong-u was killed by the blast. Police say the explosion occurred when Damrong…
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49 passengers on Bangkok-Phuket bus as it skids off road in Surat Thani
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket An express bus which was traveling from Bangkok to Phuket has skidded off the road in Surat Thani. 49 passengers escaped injury following the wayward bus careering off the main road into roadside gravel and bushes. Newshawk Phuket reports that, at 7.47am this morning, a bus travelling from Bangkok heading to Phuket skidded off the road in…
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12 women rescued from human trafficking ring at Malaysia border
Officials have raided a karaoke bar in Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district, on the Malaysian border, rescuing 12 Lao women from prostitution. The raid against the Relax Pub in the border town was carried out at 8.30pm last night by officials from the Provincial Administration Department and DSI (Department of Special Investigation), as well as staff of an international non-governmental organisation.…
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Baby dugong rescued in Krabi, taken back to its Trang home – VIDEO
PHOTOS/VIDEO: DMCR A baby dugong, found on a Krabi beach, has been taken back to its home. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources is reporting that yesterday the dugong was taken back to its home in Trang. “The dugong is aged around two to three years old. It is 120 centimetres long. No wounds were found on the dugong.…
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One killed, two injured in Pattani shootings
One person has been killed and two others injured during two separate shootings in Pattani province on Thursday night. In Sai Buri district, a 24 year old Narathiwat-based paramilitary ranger volunteer Pathompong Kaewthong and his 22 year old wife Nureehan Dengla, were shot and wounded in Tambon Kadunong while riding home on their motorcycle after shopping at a local market.…
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Boat carrying a Bangkok school group sinks at Chumpon pier
A boat carrying up to 40 schoolchildren has sunk after hitting underwater rocks next to a pier in Chumpon province last Monday. The vessel “Mattha” was carrying around 50 people, including the group from a school in Bangkok on a snorkelling day trip around the nearby islands. But when the boat returned later in the day, the tide was out…
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Five metre king cobra caught in Trang – VIDEO
PHOTOS/VIDEO: Trang DDPM (Kantang) / Rak Trang News / Maetee Mueangkaew A five metre king cobra has been caught in Trang, in southern Thailand, yesterday. 74 year old Amphon Srisombat, a resident at a house in Kantang district, Trang, called staff at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation to explain that the king cobra was inside her house. A DDPM…
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Chumpon plantation owner faces accusations of child sex abuse
“Jan said ‘Surin’ often took her daughter to his home. When the girl was seven years old, however, it was revealed that ‘Surin’ had allegedly molested or raped her over the previous five years.” In the latest in a string of serious child abuse cases, relatives of the alleged victims, in this case three girls aged 6, 10 and 14…
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Coral in Trang extensively damaged after tourist influx over Songkran
PHOTOS: Prueg Ubonkerd Tourists during Songkran have caused extensive damage to coral in the national park area of Trang, south of Thailand. Matichon Online reports that the damage was caused by the tourist numbers overwhelming the area during the week-long Songkran break. Many boats have dropped their anchors onto the fragile underwater area or tied ropes around corals as there…
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SUV catches fire sitting in Trang’s hot sun
PHOTOS: Earn Benjakun A SUV has caught fire while it was parked in the hot southern sun in Trang over the weekend. Fire fighters in Trang were notified of the burning SUV in Yan Ta Khao District in Trang at 2pm on Sunday. Fire fighters arrived to find the SUV ablaze. It took about 15 minutes to control the fire.…
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