Thailand News

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  • Koh Tao suspects not coerced, police tell human rights panel

    Koh Tao suspects not coerced, police tell human rights panel

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao suspects not coerced, police tell human rights panel The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have not used any violence against two Myanmar nationals detained over the murders of two British tourists on Koh Tao, a senior police officer told a subcommittee of the…

  • Prosecutors claim case against Koh Tao Myanmar pair is solid: source | Thaiger

    Prosecutors claim case against Koh Tao Myanmar pair is solid: source

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prosecutors claim case against Koh Tao Myanmar pair is solid: source The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Public prosecutors expect the case against two Myanmar suspects accused of murdering two British tourists on Koh Tao to be treated seriously by a court in the South because…

  • Govt urged to defer increase in VAT

    Govt urged to defer increase in VAT

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt urged to defer increase in VAT The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand’s leading private organisations are urging the government to delay the planned increase in value-added tax next year, saying that Thais will not be ready to pay more during what is expected to…

  • Charter panel brushes aside call for direct election of Cabinet, PM

    Charter panel brushes aside call for direct election of Cabinet, PM

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Charter panel brushes aside call for direct election of Cabinet, PM The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The suggestion for Thais to directly elect both the prime minister and members of Cabinet has been brushed aside by a subcommittee of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) working…

  • Police Corruption Scandal: Seized artifacts to be repatriated

    Police Corruption Scandal: Seized artifacts to be repatriated

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police Corruption Scandal: Seized artifacts to be repatriated The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Some of the 50 artifacts worth more than 50 million baht found in the treasure trove seized by officers raiding the homes of disgraced former crime-buster Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan will be…

  • Royal family to hold much-awaited public audience

    Royal family to hold much-awaited public audience

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Royal family to stage much-awaited public audience The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Their Majesties the King and Queen, HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, and HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, will grant a much-awaited public audience at the Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall at 10.30am on Friday.…

  • Court orders demolition of luxury Bangkok hotel | Thaiger

    Court orders demolition of luxury Bangkok hotel

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Court orders demolition of luxury Bangkok hotel The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: AETAS, a luxury 24-storey hotel in Soi Ruamrudee, Bangkok, faces demolition within 60 days on the orders of the Supreme Administrative Court, which yesterday upheld an earlier ruling that the construction violated building…

  • VAT hike will give more room for budget deficit: Sommai | Thaiger

    VAT hike will give more room for budget deficit: Sommai

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community VAT hike will give more room for budget deficit: Sommai The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Finance Ministry is likely to increase the value-added tax (VAT) by at least 1 per cent at the end of next year, giving it room to widen the budget…

  • Bank auditor jailed 20 years in billion-baht fraud case | Thaiger

    Bank auditor jailed 20 years in billion-baht fraud case

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bank auditor jailed 20 years in billion-baht fraud case The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A key suspect in the Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC) fraud scandal was yesterday sentenced to 20 years in prison, commuted originally from a total term of 155 years resulting from…

  • Anti-mine protest leader shot dead | Thaiger

    Anti-mine protest leader shot dead

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Anti-mine protest leader shot dead The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The leader of protests against a barite mining operation was shot dead in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Nopphitam district on Sunday night, police said. Pithan Thongpanang, 45, was shot two times – once in the body…

  • Prosecutors set to arraign Myanmar men for Koh Tao killings

    Prosecutors set to arraign Myanmar men for Koh Tao killings

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prosecutors set to arraign Myanmar men for Koh Tao killings The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Public prosecutors are preparing to arraign two Myanmar suspects today on charges related to the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao in September. “Evidence presented by investigators is…

  • Police corruption scandal: B1mn reward for ‘Sia Jo’

    Police corruption scandal: B1mn reward for ‘Sia Jo’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption scandal: B1mn reward for ‘Sia Jo’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A bounty of 1 million baht has been offered for information leading to the arrest of a much-wanted Pattani-based businessman accused of trading in contraband petrol and bribing police. Royal Thai Police…

  • Debt collectors arrested in police corruption scandal

    Debt collectors arrested in police corruption scandal

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two civilians arrested in CIB chief graft case The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The roundup of accomplices of the former Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief facing corruption probe continues with the arrests of two civilians yesterday and the scheduled surrender today of two soldiers to…

  • American arrested for sex crimes in Thailand and the US | Thaiger

    American arrested for sex crimes in Thailand and the US

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community American arrested for sex crimes in Thailand and the US The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have arrested an American man for sex crimes allegedly committed in the United States and Thailand. Thomas Andrew Erickson, 47, who is also known as Andrew McLean or Barry…

  • Hunt continues for more corrupt officials

    Hunt continues for more corrupt officials

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hunt continues for more corrupt officials The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are tracing more corrupt officials after probing lists of bribe-takers seized from a fugitive, Pattani-based businessman who ran an illegal band petrol trade in the far South. Initial findings showed some 12 million…

  • Abuse against women on the rise: study

    Abuse against women on the rise: study

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abuse against women on the rise: study The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Moves to stem the rising incidents of violence against women have not succeeded and in Thailand there are almost 100 abuse cases reported daily, with most of the attackers a partner or family…

  • NRC panel in favour of direct election of Cabinet and PM | Thaiger

    NRC panel in favour of direct election of Cabinet and PM

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC panel in favour of direct election of Cabinet and PM The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A new parliamentary system that has never been seen before in Thailand – separation of the executive and legislative branches where the entire cabinet, including the PM, will be…

  • Elections ‘unlikely before 2016’

    Elections ‘unlikely before 2016’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Elections ‘unlikely before 2016’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The next general election could be delayed by a year, two top ministers said yesterday. In an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, Finance Minister Sommai Phasi said bringing back democracy any time before mid-2016 was…

  • Evidence mounts against 3 DSI agents in police graft scandal

    Evidence mounts against 3 DSI agents in police graft scandal

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Evidence mounts against 3 DSI agents in police graft scandal The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three DSI agents have been incriminated in the probe of the petrol-smuggling ring in the Deep South allegedly involving former crime-buster policeman Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan. Suwana Suwanjuta, director-general of…

  • Brakes not to blame for fatal car plunge from Bangkok mall car park: expert

    Brakes not to blame for fatal car plunge from Bangkok mall car park: expert

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brakes not to blame for fatal car plunge from Bangkok mall car park: expert The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Brake failure has been ruled out as a likely cause behind a fatal accident at a Bangkok shopping mall on Tuesday, a police expert has reported.…

  • British man arrested in Udon for sex offences in the UK

    British man arrested in Udon for sex offences in the UK

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community British man arrested in Udon for sex offences in the UK The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A British man, wanted for 17 counts of sexual violation and molesting girls under 14 in the United Kingdom, was arrested on Tuesday at a local school in Kumphawapi…

  • Military units to be opened for sale of cheap goods and ‘freebies’ | Thaiger

    Military units to be opened for sale of cheap goods and ‘freebies’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Military units to be opened for sale of cheap goods and ‘freebies’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday he would open all military units in Bangkok and encourage business operators to hand out “freebies” to the public in the New…

  • PM visiting Laos, Vietnam to discuss trade | Thaiger

    PM visiting Laos, Vietnam to discuss trade

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM visiting Laos, Vietnam to discuss trade The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha left Bangkok yesterday on a three-day trip for official visits to Laos and Vietnam to boost cooperation on trade and investment. Vientiane and Hanoi are the third and fourth…

  • 36 ‘illegal’ resorts face demolition in Thap Lan National Park

    36 ‘illegal’ resorts face demolition in Thap Lan National Park

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 36 ‘illegal’ resorts face demolition in Thap Lan National Park The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thap Lan National Park officials set up signs early yesterday warning that 36 resorts allegedly encroaching on the park will be demolished, despite reports of officers being threatened while putting…

  • Sierra Leone man found, clear of Ebola

    Sierra Leone man found, clear of Ebola

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Sierra Leone man found, clear of Ebola The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Immigration authorities met the Sierra Leone man they have been hunting just as he was about to board a flight at Suvarnabhumi Airport. As of press time, Samuel Sesay, 31, was with officials…

  • ‘Billion baht’ police arrested linked to insurgency, oil smuggling

    ‘Billion baht’ police arrested linked to insurgency, oil smuggling

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Billion baht’ police arrested linked to insurgency, oil smuggling The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two crime-fighting agencies agencies have been assigned to investigate a series of high-profile arrests – including Central Investigation Bureau Commissioner Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan – over a longstanding contraband petrol trade…

  • Police, health officials hunt Sierra Leone man amid Ebola fears

    Police, health officials hunt Sierra Leone man amid Ebola fears

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police, health officials hunt Sierra Leone man amid Ebola fears The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Public Health Ministry has sought police help to try to locate a Sierra Leone man who failed to report for a mandatory 21-day observation to see if he develops…

  • Billions of baht found at police general’s home

    Billions of baht found at police general’s home

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Billions of baht found at police general’s home The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have found billions of baht’s worth of assets at the home of Central Investigation Bureau commander Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan, who has been suspended from service after being charged with several…

  • Drafting of new Constitution to begin after New Year

    Drafting of new Constitution to begin after New Year

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Drafting to begin after New Year: CDC The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Borwornsak said 2015 was the most appropriate time to start the process after charter drafters receive opinions and proposals on reforms from the National Reform Council on December 19, while the CDC’s public…

  • Corruption: B1bn deals tied to nationwide school futsal pitch scandal | Thaiger

    Corruption: B1bn deals tied to nationwide school futsal pitch scandal

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Corruption: B1bn deals tied to nationwide school futsal pitch scandal The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: More than than 10 legal entities, with the help of several individuals, conducted transactions worth more than Bt996 million related to a futsal-pitch corruption scandal, according to the Anti-Money Laundering…