Hat Yai
- World News
Songkhla hotels demand longer opening hours on Malaysian border
Longer opening hours for a controversial night entertainment strip which borders Malaysia in Ban Dan Nok, Songkhla, will boost the local economy and attract visitors according to the Hatyai Songkhla Hotels Association, who have a lot to gain if the change goes ahead. Association president Sitthiphong Sitthiphatprapha said Ban Dan Nok had been left out of tourism promotions, despite many…
- Crime News
Teacher murders her 5 year old autistic son in southern Thailand
Today, a teacher at a famous school in Hat Yai murdered her autistic 5 year old son by smothering him with a pillow in Songkhla Province, southern Thailand. After the murder, she tried to commit suicide by drinking toilet cleaner but ended up critically ill in hospital. Officers from Hat Yai Police Station were called to the scene – a condo…
- Thailand News
Thai motorcycle taxi rider rips off Malaysian tourist
A Thai motorcycle taxi rider in the southern province of Songkla said he ripped off a Malaysian tourist because his washing machine was broken. The rider claims it is the first time he overcharged a customer after demanding 500 baht from the stranded tourist for a trip that is only two kilometres. A member of the Hat Yai Municipality Council…
- World News
Earthquake in Indonesia felt throughout southern Thailand
An earthquake in Indonesia was felt as far away as southern Thailand. The quake, which had its epicentre on Sumatra Island, measured 6.2 on the Richter scale and took place yesterday morning. People reported feeling the tremors in Phuket, Phang Nga, and Songkhla provinces in Thailand, some 500 to 550 kilometres away. The earthquake struck at 3.52am yesterday and was…
- Thailand News
Cat goes missing in Hat Yai, turns up 1000km away in Bangkok, Thailand
‘Moota’ the stripy cat turned up in Bangkok after going missing more than one month ago, almost 1000 kilometres away near the border of Malaysia in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, southern Thailand. On Wednesday, the Facebook page ‘Traffic on the Si Rat – Outer Ring Road Expressway of Bangkok‘ posted pictures of a beautiful striped cat with a red collar…
- South Thailand News
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…
- World News
Travel between Thailand and Malaysia by train for just 50 baht (RM7)
After two years, the Shuttle Train which connects Thailand and Malaysia will resume services on Friday. The Shuttle Train connects Padang Besar in Malaysia to Hat Yai in southern Thailand. The journey takes around one hour and tickets cost just 50 baht or 7 Malaysian ringgits. The service was temporarily suspended as a Covid-19 prevention measure by the Malaysian government…
- South Thailand News
Songhla food festival hopes to draw tourists with its Hat Yai fried chicken
A food festival in Songkhla province’s city of Hat Yai is promoting the city’s chicken fried chicken to tourists. The festival, called Street Food Festival @ Hatyai, kicked off in the southern city yesterday and will continue until July 3. Foodie bloggers and Youtubers have praised Hat Yai’s fried chicken in the past. Now, the chairman of Songkhla Chamber of…
- Thailand News
Slow loris dies from electric shock in southern Thailand
A slow loris climbed up a broken communication cable and died from electric shock this morning in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province, southern Thailand. Residents say it is the third slow loris to climb up the cable and die from electric shock. Locals say a fire caused some of the electric wire to become exposed, presenting a risk to animals…
- Northern Thailand News
Nok Air announces domestic flights from Korat to Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Hat Yai
The low-cost carrier Nok Air has been given the “okay” to run round-trip domestic flights from the Isaan province Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, to the popular tourist destinations Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Hat Yai. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand is allowing the airline to offer seven flights per week to each destination starting in the second quarter…
- South Thailand News
Police arrest suspects who defrauded monk out of 140,000 baht
Police have been making progress in tracking down members of a call centre group that defrauded a monk in the south of Thailand out of 140,000 baht. Another arrest was made by cyber police, this time a 45 year old woman from Roi Et, whose bank account received payments from the monk. The group of scammers had tricked a monk…
- South Thailand News
Thailand’s first Omicron variant Covid-19 death in Hat Yai
An official from the Ministry of Public Health announced that today Thailand had its first reported death from the Omicron variant of Covid-19. The death recorded in Songkhla province in the south of Thailand was an 86 year old woman from Hat Yai. She had Alzheimer’s and was bedridden. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health said the elderly…
- Phuket News
Police apprehend man who killed 2, injured 3 at Phuket market
After a shooting on Friday at the Phuket City Municipality Fresh Market 1 that left 3 injured and 2 dead, police announced today that they have apprehended the suspect they hold responsible for the shootout. Investigators have been tracking his escape after he fled the scene of the crime and managed to pick him up this morning. He allegedly confessed…
- South Thailand News
Night of drinking with a woman on the beach gets monk defrocked
After a long day of work, there’s nothing wrong with sneaking off for a romantic night, perhaps some drinks on the beach with a date, right? Well, maybe not if you are a Buddhist monk. One monk from a famous Hat Yai temple learned the hard way that sneaking off for an alcoholic beverage in the company of a woman…
- South Thailand News
Songkhla prepares for tourism across the Southern land border
Despite having the second most daily Covid-19 infections in the country today with 441 and becoming the 6th most infected province overall, the Deep South border province of Songkhla is preparing to reopen in December and bracing for a surge of overland international visitors. Local tourism operators are saying they expect around 10,000 tourists from Malaysia and Singapore per week…
- Crime News
72,000 meth pills found in drug bust with some twists
In a drug bust with a few interesting plot twists, 72,000 meth pills were seized in the city of Hat Yai in the southern province of Songkhla this morning, with 2 suspected drug dealers arrested. The pair were arrested in a morning raid on a house in Moo 6 in tambon Khuan Lang according to the chief investigator of the…
- Transport News
Bangkok Airways to resume Phuket-Hat Yai direct service flights
Bangkok Airways is resuming its direct service flights between Phuket and Hat Yai starting October 31. According to The Phuket News, the service will be operated by an ATR72-600 aircraft, starting with 1 flight daily. The outbound flight PG298 departs Phuket airport at 9:45am and arrives at Hat Yai airport at 10:50am. The inbound flight PG299 departs Hat Yai at…
- Crime News
Police seize 14 million baht in meth on Hat Yai roadside
Police in Hat Yai’s Songkhla province seized a total of 470,000 methamphetamine pills after finding the pills hidden on a roadside. They say the pills are worth around 14 million baht on the black market. A tipster informed police of the pills that were hidden in fertiliser sacks. Those sacks were covered by grass and Muslim clothing. Police waited around…
- Crime News
Meth busts yield 882,000 pills and 5.6kg of meth in Songkhla
2 drug busts over the last few days in Hat Yai and Bang Klam netted over three-quarters of a million methamphetamine pills and over 5 kilogrammes of crystal meth. Police in Songkhla had been conducting surveillance in order to uncover both suspected drug dealers before carrying out the raids that found 882,000 meth pills. On September 13, police arrested a…
- Thailand News
Hat Yai immigration officer investigated for alleged extortion
Immigration police are investigating an officer in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district for alleged extortion after an audio clip of an officer asking an immigrant for a monthly fee was shared on a watchdog Facebook page. A committee has been set up by Immigration Division 6 to investigate the case and to determine whether an immigration officer was involved. The division says the…
- South Thailand News
Driver killed after truck crashes from bridge, explodes in Hat Yai
A truck driver was killed in an explosion yesterday night after the vehicle drove off a bridge in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district and burst into flames. The truck transporting containers full of racks of eggs had passed the Sadao border checkpoint and was headed toward Nakhon Pathom. Officers investigating the incident say the truck crashed through a railing on the…
- Thailand News
Purchases of fancy street lamps being investigated for possible corruption
The purchases of fancy street lamps in several provinces are now being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The investigations were called for after the exorbitant 642 million baht purchase in Samut Prakan for thousands of fancy solar-powered street lamps, topped with Buddhist mythical figures, caught the attention of residents in the province just southeast of Bangkok. The commission’s secretary-general…
- Thailand News
Police raid Hat Yai restaurant and arrest 10 people for drinking alcohol
Police arrested 10 people for gathering and drinking alcohol in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district, a violation of the local disease control measures banning alcohol consumption at restaurants. A local had called police reporting people were having a party at the restaurant last night. Hat Yai district chief Chawakit Suwankhiri says police went to the Khru Pattakhan Ban Thung restaurant immediately…
- Covid-19 News
Investigation over Hat Yai woman’s death after vaccine
An investigation has begun into the death of a woman in Hat Yai who died 2 weeks after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine to see if the death was related to the jab. A friend had suggested the possibility of a negative reaction due to the birth control pills the woman was taking combined with the vaccine, as blood clotting is…
- South Thailand News
Man struck and killed by freight train just 2 days after being released from prison
Just 2 days after being released from prison, a 34 year old man was struck and killed by a freight train in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district yesterday. Police suspect the man intentionally ran onto the tracks in front of the moving train as it was leaving the Hat Yai railway station about 300 metres away and headed toward the Bang…
- Covid-19 News
Hat Yai’s Kim Yong market closed after trader infected with Covid
Thailand’s southern city of Hat Yai’s Kim Yong market is closed after a trader there became infected with Covid-19. The market, popular with both foreigners and Thais, has been closed for 3 days for disinfecting. The market, a major tourist landmark in the heart of the city, is closed until April 30. The market sells fruit, snacks, clothing and flowers.…
- South Thailand News
UPDATED: 1.1 million baht of gold necklaces stolen in Hat Yai
UPDATE: A man is now in custody for the robbery of 1.1 million baht worth of gold necklaces in Hat Yai yesterday morning. Pvt Ukrit Thongsomsri, a 24 year old naval deserter from the Songkla naval bank was identified and taken into custody at a house in tambon Khuan Lang in Hat Yai. The man allegedly confessed and showed police…
- Thailand News
Thai Visa Centre says former employee has been arrested for stealing
Thai Visa Centre says a former employee has been arrested for stealing money from staff and clients, including a family who were planning to travel to Thailand. They say the former employee, Asim Muhummad Mehran, was caught while “attempting to flee the country in Hat Yai with our clients’ money, staffs’ money, and a lot of records of transactions.” The…
- South Thailand News
Hat Yai nightclub raided, owner arrested
A nightclub in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district was raided at 2am this morning after police were tipped off about the venue staying open beyond the authorised hours. Nation Thailand says people at the nightclub were “partying without protection” and not abiding by coronavirus prevention measures. Nearby residents also say they were disturbed by the noise during the early hours. The…
- Crime News
Police seize 45 million baht worth of heroin and methamphetamine from Hat Yai home
Police arrested a man on drug charges and seized 45 million baht worth of drugs in the southern province Songkhla near the Thai-Malaysia border. Police raided a home Hat Yai district and found 76 bars of heroin weighing a total of 27 kilograms and 980,000 methamphetamine pills. 28 year old Sompong Mugem, who rents the home, was arrested. Police had…
