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.

  • Trat tourism hit by UK travel alert over martial law fears | Thaiger

    Trat tourism hit by UK travel alert over martial law fears

    The tourism industry in Trat province, southeast Thailand, is facing severe financial losses after a UK travel advisory urged against non-essential visits, prompting widespread cancellations. Trat’s once-bustling tourist hotspots are reeling after a UK travel advisory urged citizens to avoid non-essential trips to the eastern Thai province due to ongoing martial law — a move that has sparked widespread cancellations…

  • Chak Phra festival fuels lucky number frenzy in southern Thailand (video) | Thaiger

    Chak Phra festival fuels lucky number frenzy in southern Thailand (video)

    A wave of lottery fever is sweeping Trang province in southern Thailand as festival-goers hunt for lucky numbers during one of the region’s most revered religious events. Trang’s annual Chak Phra festival has once again stirred a blend of spiritual devotion and lottery excitement, drawing large crowds to Mueang district as locals seek both merit and fortune ahead of the…

  • Thai man arrested for murdering neighbour allegedly over lottery dispute | Thaiger

    Thai man arrested for murdering neighbour allegedly over lottery dispute

    Police yesterday, October 15, arrested a Thai man who murdered a woman and dumped her body in a pond in Phetchaburi province. He was arrested while hiding in Krabi. The body of 55 year old Thai woman, Ladda Dodesang, was discovered tied to a wooden log in a pond in Phetchaburi province on September 29. Her neck was wrapped with…

  • Police bust 5 illegal tour guides working for Israeli-Thai couple on Koh Pha Ngan | Thaiger

    Police bust 5 illegal tour guides working for Israeli-Thai couple on Koh Pha Ngan

    Police arrested five illegal tour guides for offering ATV trips to foreigners on Koh Pha Ngan in Surat Thani province and launched a further investigation into an Israeli man and his Thai wife, who are alleged to be behind the illegal business. Officers from the Koh Phangan Tourist Police and the Immigration Office monitored the area near the entrance to an…

  • Lebanese man becomes aggressive after arrest for illegal motorcycle rental shop | Thaiger

    Lebanese man becomes aggressive after arrest for illegal motorcycle rental shop

    A Lebanese man reportedly became aggressive towards police officers after he was arrested yesterday, October 14, for illegally operating a motorcycle rental shop on Koh Pha Ngan in Surat Thani province. Officers at Koh Pha Ngan Police Station are continuing a crackdown on foreign nationals who are illegally operating businesses or working without permits on the island. As part of…

  • French tourist’s complaint leads to arrest of 4 Israeli soldiers in Koh Pha Ngan drug party | Thaiger

    French tourist’s complaint leads to arrest of 4 Israeli soldiers in Koh Pha Ngan drug party

    A complaint from a French national led to the arrest of four Israeli soldiers who threw a drug party at a villa on Koh Pha Ngan, an island in the southern province of Surat Thani.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by The Thaiger (@thethaigerofficial) Koh Pha Ngan Tourist Police received a complaint through the 1155…

  • Israeli tourist boom sparks tension on Koh Pha Ngan | Thaiger

    Israeli tourist boom sparks tension on Koh Pha Ngan

    Following an incident last week where a Koh Samui restaurant denied claims it removed Israeli diners amid online backlash, officials on Koh Pha Ngan held a meeting to address rising tensions involving Israeli tourists and foreign-run businesses. Surat Thani Governor Teeruth Supawiboonpol chaired a high-level meeting with provincial agencies this week to address the concerns, which echo similar unrest seen…

  • Teen gunmen shoot 13-year-old in back in Hat Yai revenge raid | Thaiger

    Teen gunmen shoot 13-year-old in back in Hat Yai revenge raid

    A teenage gang attacked a rival’s home in Hat Yai, shooting a 13 year old boy in the back when they failed to find their intended target during the raid. Police from Thung Lung Police Station were alerted at 11.20pm yesterday, October 9, and rushed to the scene near a railroad crossing on Kanchanawanit Road in the Ban Phru subdistrict.…

  • Triple bomb attack hits Yala Youth Centre ahead of Buddhist festival | Thaiger

    Triple bomb attack hits Yala Youth Centre ahead of Buddhist festival

    Three bomb explosions rocked Yala’s Mueang district yesterday night, just hours before a traditional Buddhist ceremony was set to begin at a local youth centre. The blasts occurred between 9.05pm and 9.40pm yesterday, October 7, at the Yala Municipality Youth Centre. The first device detonated near the gate leading to a Tai Chi field, followed by a second explosion near…

  • Durian warehouse owner cancels assault reward and cuts ties with son | Thaiger

    Durian warehouse owner cancels assault reward and cuts ties with son

    A durian warehouse owner in Chumphon cancelled his reward for a physical assault on his son’s mistress and announced that he is severing ties with his son in an effort to resolve the matter peacefully.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by The Thaiger (@thethaigerofficial) The prominent businessman in Lang Suan district, Chumphon province, Arnon Rodthong,…

  • Durian tycoon offers 30,000-baht reward for attack on his son’s mistress | Thaiger

    Durian tycoon offers 30,000-baht reward for attack on his son’s mistress

    The owner of a leading durian warehouse in the Lang Suan district in the southern province of Chumphon offered a 30,000-baht reward for anyone who physically assaults his son’s mistress, fearing that the affair would tear apart his family. The warehouse owner, Arnon Rodthong, took to Facebook to reveal the adultery scandal within his family and made a shocking offer…

  • Body of missing woman found tied to log in Phetchaburi pond | Thaiger

    Body of missing woman found tied to log in Phetchaburi pond

    The body of a missing Thai woman was found floating in a pond in the southern province of Phetchaburi, bound to a wooden log with ropes around her neck. A Thai man, Chokchai Thipnate, filed a complaint at Nong Ya Plong Police Station on September 29, reporting that his 55 year old mother, Ladda Dodesang, disappeared from their shared home…

  • Former inmate kills neighbour in minor road dispute in Phetchaburi | Thaiger

    Former inmate kills neighbour in minor road dispute in Phetchaburi

    A former inmate remains at large after fatally shooting his neighbour following a road dispute in the southern province of Phetchaburi. Officers from Raisathon Police Station were called to investigate the death of 46 year old Rungarun Thiankham on a road in Raisathon Subdistrict, Ban Lad District, Phetchaburi, at around 5pm on Saturday, October 4. Rungarun sustained multiple gunshot wounds…

  • Armed gang steals 23 million baht in gold from Narathiwat supermarket | Thaiger

    Armed gang steals 23 million baht in gold from Narathiwat supermarket

    An armed gang of between seven and ten suspects escaped with gold accessories worth more than 23 million baht after a robbery at a gold shop in the southern province of Narathiwat yesterday, October 5.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by The Thaiger (@thethaigerofficial) Security cameras at the Big C supermarket in Su-ngai Kolok district…

  • 2 thieves steal 10 million baht safe from Trang industrial leader’s home | Thaiger

    2 thieves steal 10 million baht safe from Trang industrial leader’s home

    Two thieves stole a safe containing assets worth over 10 million baht from the home of the President of the Federation of Southern Industries in Trang province, stopping to drink wine before fleeing. One suspect was arrested, while a 100,000 baht reward is offered for information leading to the capture of the second. Officers from Sikao Police Station inspected an…

  • British actor flies in to boost morale at Trat border post | Thaiger

    British actor flies in to boost morale at Trat border post

    A British actor travelled from overseas to Thailand’s eastern border to donate solar panels and supplies to boost morale among local border patrol police. Actor Mark Shelley and his Thai wife, Naphatwarun Sirirattanasap, travelled from the UK to Trat province, making a patriotic stop at a Border Patrol Police base to donate vital equipment to officers stationed along the Cambodian…

  • Royal Thai Navy targets Cambodian casino in border crackdown (video) | Thaiger

    Royal Thai Navy targets Cambodian casino in border crackdown (video)

    The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) is demolishing Cambodian structures built on Thai territory in Trat, with a casino complex set to be the final target of the operation. The RTN has confirmed it is pushing forward with the dismantling of 17 Cambodian-built structures that encroach into Thai territory in Trat province. The operation, which began earlier this month, has already…

  • Russian man arrested on Koh Pha Ngan for illegal motorcycle rental business | Thaiger

    Russian man arrested on Koh Pha Ngan for illegal motorcycle rental business

    Police arrested a Russian man on Koh Pha Ngan, an island in Surat Thani province, today, September 25, for illegally offering a motorcycle rental service. Officers from Koh Pha Ngan Police Station, the Immigration Bureau, and the Surat Thani Special Taskforce received a complaint from a local that a foreign man was illegally operating a motorcycle rental business on the…

  • Thai girl commits suicide amid alleged expectations from parents | Thaiger

    Thai girl commits suicide amid alleged expectations from parents

    A 16 year old Thai girl committed suicide at her home in Phattalung province yesterday, September 24, allegedly due to the stress of disappointing her parents. Officers from Pa Bon Police Station were called to a house in the Tung Naree sub-district, Pa Bon district, to investigate the death of the teenage girl, known as Look Mod. She was found in…

  • Drunken family fight ends in fatal stabbing in southern Thailand | Thaiger

    Drunken family fight ends in fatal stabbing in southern Thailand

    A drunken row over a wife’s alleged affair ended in bloodshed at a workers’ camp in central Surat Thani, southern Thailand, after a man fatally stabbed his own relative. Police in Tha Chang district were called to a construction site yesterday, September 24, following reports of a fatal stabbing. The victim, 28 year old Rungtawan, a native of Bueng Kan…

  • German man arrested for illegal e-bike tours on Koh Pha Ngan | Thaiger

    German man arrested for illegal e-bike tours on Koh Pha Ngan

    A German man and a Myanmar national were arrested on Koh Pha Ngan for illegally operating a tour business using electric motorbikes to guide tourists. Tourist police swooped in at midday on Monday, September 22, following complaints that high-speed electric motorcycles, reportedly rented out by the pair, were causing safety concerns among locals and visitors. The suspects were identified as…

  • Ranong police stabbed during motorcycle theft arrest, suspect dies | Thaiger

    Ranong police stabbed during motorcycle theft arrest, suspect dies

    A motorcycle thief died, and a police officer sustained serious injuries during an arrest yesterday, September 22, in the southern province of Ranong. The owner of the stolen motorcycle, Kannika Paeng-on, filed a complaint with Mueang Ranong Police Station after the thief rode her motorcycle out of her home in front of her and her husband. Kannika reported that she,…

  • Malaysian tourists complain after hours-long wait at Thai border checkpoint | Thaiger

    Malaysian tourists complain after hours-long wait at Thai border checkpoint

    Malaysian tourists complained after officials at the Sadao Customs Checkpoint in the southern province of Songkhla made them wait two to three hours to enter Thailand due to delayed document processing. Senator Chaiyong Maneerungsakun planned to raise the issue of delays at the border checkpoint in Parliament. He revealed that he had received numerous complaints from Malaysian tourists travelling to Thailand…

  • Songkhla puppy killer hunted with 20k reward on offer | Thaiger

    Songkhla puppy killer hunted with 20k reward on offer

    Police and animal welfare groups in Songkhla are investigating after three puppies were found brutally killed in a plantation, prompting outrage and a reward offer. A disturbing case of animal cruelty has shaken communities in Songkhla after three puppies were found gruesomely killed in a rubber plantation near the Prue To-Thung Ngai road in Thung Yai, Hat Yai district. Animal…

  • Pickup driver busted for fake tax sticker trick in Chumphon | Thaiger

    Pickup driver busted for fake tax sticker trick in Chumphon

    Police in Chumphon, southern Thailand, arrested a pickup driver who altered his expired tax disc with a marker to avoid fees after he was caught during a routine highway checkpoint. The man, identified as 39 year old Nakarin from Ubon Ratchathani, was stopped at a checkpoint on Highway 41 in Wisai Tai, Sawi district, around 11am on Tuesday, September 16.…

  • 50 Chumphon politicians jump ship to back Anutin’s Bhumjaithai | Thaiger

    50 Chumphon politicians jump ship to back Anutin’s Bhumjaithai

    Around 50 politicians from Chumphon have defected from the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) to join Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party (BJT). The group was officially welcomed at BJT headquarters yesterday, September 17, by senior party figure Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn. Among the defectors were Chumphon MPs Chumpol Chulasai and Wichai Sudsawat, along with Nopporn Usit, president of the Chumphon Provincial…

  • Trang man dies after ambulance fails to arrive in time (video) | Thaiger

    Trang man dies after ambulance fails to arrive in time (video)

    A 60 year old man collapsed near a hospital in Trang and died after waiting in vain for an ambulance, raising questions over Thailand’s emergency response system. The victim, identified as Charoen, a hotel caretaker from Sikao district, was pronounced dead on September 12 after suffering an acute heart attack. His family say the tragedy highlights serious failures in the…

  • Trang Airport opens new terminal after 4-year delay | Thaiger

    Trang Airport opens new terminal after 4-year delay

    Trang Airport has opened a new domestic terminal after years of construction delays, boosting capacity and marking a major step in regional air travel. The 1.07-billion-baht project finally saw a soft opening on September 5, when the terminal welcomed its first travellers. The launch followed extensive testing, including a simulation with 50 trial passengers to assess service procedures and identify…

  • Thai woman saved from second suicide attempt after romance scam loss | Thaiger

    Thai woman saved from second suicide attempt after romance scam loss

    Police and rescuers successfully intervened in the second suicide attempt of a Thai woman in the southern province of Trat yesterday, after she lost nearly 90,000 baht to a romance scam. The woman, 58 year old Amornrat, locked herself in her bedroom on the second floor of her home in Bang Phra sub-district. Her sister-in-law contacted Mueang Trat Police Station…

  • Police raid kratom juice site in Hat Yai, seizing 138 litres | Thaiger

    Police raid kratom juice site in Hat Yai, seizing 138 litres

    Yesterday, September 6, police from the Hat Yai Provincial Police Station’s drug suppression team, in collaboration with the Chang Suek Song Le Unit of Border Patrol Police 437, raided a significant kratom juice production and distribution site in the red zone of Hat Yai district, Songkhla province. The operation, led by Police Colonel Thammarat Phetnongchum and Police Major Baramet Yoddaeng,…