News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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Tsunami memorial website launched
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial government has launched a website to commemorate the December 26 tsunami. The website, www.phuketremembers.com, which is in Thai and English, has a section for the posting of personal tributes, including photos of people lost to the tsunami; a memorial guestbook where people may post personal thoughts; and a photo gallery showing the damage caused on December…
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Police press for Talbot to be tried for murder
PHUKET CITY: Kathu Police today turned over to the Provincial Public Prosecutor’s Office the case file on Paul Chetwynd-Talbot, who stands accused of the murder of his girlfriend, fellow Briton Debra O’Hanlon, on July 31.Chetwynd-Talbot has been held in custody since he surrendered at the Kathu Police Station on the evening of August 3 and confessed to killing 31-year-old Ms…
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La Flora owner lashes out at govt, TAT
KHAO LAK: The Minister of Interior, ACM Kongsak Wantana, said yesterday that he was proud of the speed with which Thailand was recovering from last December’s tsunami.Speaking at the reopening of the 200-million-baht La Flora Resort & Spa, which originally opened the day before the tsunami, the Minister said, “After inspecting many places [in Thailand] affected by the tsunami I…
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Airport bus service off to a slow start
PHUKET: Despite getting off to a slow start on its October 1 launch, the new Airport Bus service is slowly gaining in popularity as the public becomes aware of the new low-cost transport option, say its operators.Wiched Radomkij, Manager of Phuket Mahanakorn Co (PMC), which runs the service, said part of the problem stemmed from the fact that the company…
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Ruampaet hospital to close
PHUKET CITY: After being open for 26 years, Phuket’s first private hospital, Phuket Ruampaet Medical Center on Phuket Rd, will close on November 30.Dr Mitr Theva-Aksorn, the hospital’s Director, told the Gazette, “We don’t have the money to continue the lease on the building, so we have to stop operating.”The hospital opened on November 22, 1979, with 36 inpatient beds.…
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“Impending tsunami’ rumors slammed
PHUKET: The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) and Patong Municipality have dismissed as unfounded rumors circulating in Phuket and neighboring provinces that there will be a tsunami today or tomorrow.The rumors were initially sparked by a spam email two weeks ago, citing a soothsayer as predicting that a tsunami would happen between October 13 and 15.Today, in addition to people…
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Carnival “to be more international’
PHUKET: The annual carnival in Patong, held to mark the opening of the tourism high season, will take place this year from November 1 to 3, and has been renamed “Phuket Carnival 2005”.Phuket Tourist Association President Pattanapong Aikwanich explained that the yearly event is to have more of an international flavor. “We need to accept that 80% of Phuket’s tourism…
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Bypass road 6 months behind schedule
PHUKET: Work on the 111-million-baht project to widen the bypass road will be completed about six months behind schedule, in March 2006, the government official in charge of the work estimates.The artery is being widened to 24 meters in order to accommodate Phuket’s ever-growing number of vehicles. The section from Tesco-Lotus to the Darasamut School Intersection will be six lanes wide…
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Four Phuket hotels get five-star rating
PHUKET: JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, Dusit Laguna Resort, Sheraton Grand Laguna Phuket and the Mangosteen Resort & Spa have each been given a coveted five-star rating, marking them out as among the best in Thailand.The accolade was awarded by the Foundation for Standards and Human Resources Development in the Service and Tourism Industry (Hotel Standards) on September 27,…
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Sales of gasohol soar in Phuket
PHUKET: Energy Minister Viset Jupiban has confirmed that gasohol is an effective fuel, saving users money and also reducing pollution.Gasohol, also known as E10, is developed in Thailand by the Royal Chitralada Project and is made up of 99.5% pure ethyl alcohol sourced from sugarcane, blended with gasoline in a 1:9 ratio. This results in an alternative fuel with properties…
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Korean guide dies in car smash
WICHIT: (Kom Chad Luek) Korean tour guide Song Won Park, 44, was killed instantly when the gray Honda Accord he was driving slammed into a power pole on Chao Fa West Rd at 2:30 am on Saturday.Witnesses said they saw Park speeding toward Chalong from the Darasamut School intersection. He appeared to lose control on the wet road in front…
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New banknote to commemorate end of slavery
THAILAND: The Bank of Thailand will launch a new 100-baht banknote on October 21 to commemorate the abolition of slavery in Thailand 100 years ago.The side of the banknote featuring HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej will remain unchanged.The reverse side, however, will feature a picture of HM King Chulalongkorn Rama V, who reigned from 1868 to 1910, standing above the slaves…
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Viagra overdose may have caused Finn’s death
PATONG: Pekka Juhani Laakso, 47, from Finland, was yesterday found dead in his room at the Sun, Sea & Sand Hotel on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, seemingly from an overdose of Viagra.Pol Lt Padungpong Sukkaew told the Gazette that he had received a call at 3:30 pm from Preecha Nuwongsri, the hotel’s manager, telling him that a corpse had been…
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Mom Tri plans to open international school
KATA: Famed architect and developer ML Tridhosyuth Devakul has unveiled plans to establish a new International Baccalaureate (IB) school in Phuket.Mom Tri, as he is widely known, was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for the Villas Grand Cru, a new residential project in the Kata Hills.In 2001, Mom Tri founded the Prem Tinsulanonda International School (Prem Center) in Chiang…
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Landing fees for charter flights halved
PHUKET: In an effort to attract more flights to the island, Airports of Thailand (AOT) has halved landing fees for all international charter flights arriving at Phuket until December 31.The airport Director, Sq/Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree, told the Gazette that the airport had originally suggested halving fees on all services, but that the Cabinet had approved the reduction only for charter…
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Bizarre death in elephant camp
PATONG: Bizarre theories surround the fate of an Asian woman, probably Thai, who was found dead Wednesday morning at the Safari Elephant Camp on Siriraj Rd, between Karon and Patong.Police have speculated that she may have been assaulted by unknown assailants who tried to rape her, and was then crushed to death by one of the elephants.The woman is thought…
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Gov halts work on housing project
RASSADA: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura and Muang District Chief Wirawat Janpen yesterday went to Soi Siang Tai to order a halt to the construction of an 80-unit residential housing project on Toh Sae Hill, citing seven different building code violations. Gov Udomsak said his inspection of the site followed complaints by Soi Siang Tai residents, lodged with the Damrongtham Center,…
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British Ecstasy dealer jailed
PHUKET: Briton Jason Crosby today pleaded guilty to charges of possession of 50 ya E (Ecstasy) tablets with intent to sell and was sentenced to nearly seven years in jail and fined 390,000 baht by Phuket Provincial Court.The court initially sentenced him to 13 years and eight months in prison and a 780,000-baht fine but, in accordance with standard practice,…
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11,000 hotel rooms for tsunami relatives “difficult to find’
PHUKET: (Gazette/The Nation) The Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) is unsure whether its member hotels will be able to provide the 11,000 hotel rooms requested by the government to accommodate family members of tsunami victims expected to attend the first-year memorial services in December. The official number of tsunami dead in Phuket was 279, with 620 reported missing. The disaster claimed…
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TTVI center to close before December 26
PHUKET: The Chalong-based Thai Tsunami Victim Identification (TTVI) center will close some time before the anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, police say. Pol Col Khemmarin Hassiri, Superintendent of the TTVI’s Thai disaster victim identification (DVI) unit, said that a written order from the Cabinet to close the center was received by the TTVI following a decision…
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Gambling tops August arrests statistics
PHUKET: Statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that gambling once again topped the crime table, with 149 people arrested in August for the offense. Thirty-four cases involved the sale of illegal underground lottery tickets.Eight murders were reported during the month with four cases solved, resulting in the arrests of six people.There were six cases of attempted murder with no…
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Vegetarian Festival begins
PHUKET: Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival has begun with the raising of bamboo go teng poles at each participating temple. Gods are then invited down the poles to join in the celebrations. Shrines around the island performed the same ceremony at exactly 5:09 pm Sunday.Minister of Energy Viset Jupibal chaired the opening ceremony at Phuket City’s Jui Tui Shrine, with more than…
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New police chief asks for feedback
PHUKET: The new commander of Phuket Provincial Police has asked for more help and feedback from Thais and also from foreigners, both tourists and those who live here.Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth, previously Deputy Commander of Phang Nga Provincial Police, took up his new post in Phuket today.Maj Gen Decha was at Phang Nga Provincial Police for a year, and…
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Patong-Kamala redevelopment to start this month
PHUKET: Work on the long-awaited Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) post-tsunami redevelopment projects for Patong and Kamala beaches will get under way in October, with first-phase landscaping work on both projects to be completed by the end of November, officials say.On June 13, the TAT received approval from the Budget Bureau of 194.7 million baht for the three-phase Patong project…
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“Public Point’ to ease pressure on govt services
PHUKET: The Department of Local Administration (DOLA) and the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) on Tuesday jointly opened a “Public Point” service center on the basement floor of Big C Supercenter on the bypass road.The center, open daily from 10 am to 8 pm, is connected to DOLA’s online system and offers most of the same basic services as a…
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Phuket “disaster academy’ opens
THALANG: The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Academy, Phuket Campus, opened on Monday at the old Phuket Provincial Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM) in Tambon Sri Soonthorn. It is one of six schools nationwide set up to help prevent disasters and minimize their effects.The plan for this scheme was approved by Cabinet in July last year and by the…
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Dead man found floating in canal
KOH SIREH: Local villagers yesterday morning found the body of an unidentified dead man floating in Klong Tha Chin, which separates Koh Sireh from Phuket.The body had 10 stab wounds to the neck and the base of the skull.The police believe that the victim, between 25 and 30 years of age, was killed more than two days before his body…
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Monkey on your back
CHIANG RAI: Having a monkey on one’s back might sound like the very definition of hardship, but for a dog in Mae Sai it is a labor of love. Guests at the Kung Pao 38 Restaurant in Mae Sai are greeted by a rather unusual welcoming committee when they arrive: a four-year-old Labrador retriever and “Jockey”, an orphaned baby monkey…
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Wind of change
PHUKET: The cool, wet and windy conditions Phuket is currently experiencing as a result of tropical storm Damrey will end tomorrow, when normal monsoon conditions will prevail, Chumnong Chitpukdee, Director of Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) Meteorological Department, has told the Gazette.He said that Phuket would likely not experience any more heavy rain from the system, but windy conditions could…
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Phuket gets another “sister’
PHUKET CITY: Nearly three years after the idea was first floated, Phuket and Hainan Island, in China, are now “sisters”.The special status relationship was ratified on Sunday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura and Hainan Governor Wei Liucheng, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel.The MoU, which became effective immediately, states having the…
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