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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Phuket Air slashes Andaman fares
PHUKET: Phuket Air has drastically reduced its economy class fares on flights between Phuket and Bangkok, and Krabi and Bangkok. The promotion offers one-way fares at 1,500 baht and round-trip fares at 3,000 baht. Previously, the best prices were 4,350 baht for the Krabi service, round-trip, and 3,950 baht for Phuket. Busara Dusadeeisariyawong, Southern Branch Manager of Phuket Air, told…
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Land probe targets Nai Harn resort
NAI HARN: The developers of a resort being built in Nai Harn, near Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club, will likely be ordered to dismantle it by June 10. The order is expected to be issued after government officers found that no permission had been given for the resort’s construction. Vice-Governor Pongpow Ketthong told the Gazette yesterday that he visited…
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Milkmaid of human kindness
BANGKOK: You won’t find many 71-year-old women bragging about their bosoms, but a fortune teller in Bangkok recently invited reporters to squeeze her breasts to prove that they were filled with milk. And not just any old milk. The woman, whose chest measures an impressive 38 inches, claims to have an abundant supply of “supernatural” milk that can ease pain,…
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The iceman cometh
NAKHON PATHOM: One of the primary targets in the Government’s war on drugs are dealers of ya bah (methamphetamine), one form of which is the highly addictive recrystalised form, known as “ice”. But if the tale told by a man in Nakorn Pathom’s Muang District is to be believed, dealers in ice made from water are now being targeted by…
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Soi Moodies sign goes up in flames
PATONG: The illuminated sign overhanging the entrance to Soi Moodies entertainment plaza, on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, burst into flames on Saturday night. The sign caught fire at about 10 pm. Phuket Vice-Governor Pongpow Ketthong, who was dining directly underneath, was one of the first to notice the flames and called the fire department. Restaurant Manager Banai Ngamsri told the…
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OrBorJor officers elected
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization OrBorJor has elected Hutt Katanchaleekul as Chairman. At the inaugural session of the newly-elected body on April 29, Chaivichit Dattvatkanee was elected deputy chairman and Wacharapong Kuawong second deputy chairman. All three are Democrat Party members. The 24-member body, dominated by its 19 Democrats, was elected in polling on March 14. The election results…
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Entire police squad transferred over murder probe
THALANG: The entire team of police officers investigating the double murder of Prasert and Thavorn Trairat have been transferred after an internal probe into their conduct by officers from Provincial Police regional headquarters in Surat Thani. K. Prasert and K. Thavorn, the parents of Thepkrasattri Mayor Prasong Trairat, were gunned down in their shophouse home on May 5 last year.…
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Phuket police on heightened alert
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has ordered a heightening of security for all government buildings and tourist areas in Phuket following Wednesday’s killings in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, and warnings by a Muslim separatist group that foreigners should stay away from the South and neighboring provinces. Phuket’s Provincial Police Commander, Maj Gen Veerayuth Sittimalic, said “We have seen the trouble…
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Thaksin okays B38m for stadium upgrade
PHUKET CITY: The race is on to repair Surakul Stadium in time for a key inspection in June by officials from Fifa, international soccer’s ruling body, who will decide whether Phuket’s most important sporting event yet can go ahead. Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura told the Gazette yesterday that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has approved the budget of 38 million required to…
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Narathiwat “still safe for visa runs’
NARATHIWAT: Visa-run businesses are still operating normally to Narathiwat despite the outburst of violence in the South yesterday, which resulted in more than 100 deaths. Those who organize the visa-run services say that foreigners are safe. Kanitha Saelao, Manager of the Patong branch of Royal Silk Travel, which organizes visa trips to Kota Bahru via Narathiwat, told the Gazette that…
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Cop heading South vows to be “careful’
PHUKET: The 26th police officer seconded from Phuket to the turbulent South of the country left today for Narathiwat, vowing to be “very careful” after yesterday’s gun battles resulted in more than 100 deaths. Pol Capt Sanya Potchsalee, 32, Deputy-Inspector of Phuket Tourist Police, has been detailed to join a new unit of Tourist Police that has been established at…
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Pongtorn murder probe faltering
PHUKET: A year after the assassination of Pongtorn Hiranyaburana – the Deputy Chief of the Phuket Land Office ordered to investigate suspect land titles – the trail leading to his killers has apparently gone cold. Pol Col Ronapong Saikaew, Superintendent of Investigation of Police Region 8, based in Surat Thani, told the Gazette today, “We still need more time to…
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B255 million airport upgrade begins
PHUKET: Work has begun on a 255-million-baht expansion of Phuket International Airport. A 120-million-baht expansion of the passenger terminal – to be completed early next year – will be augmented by the creation of two additional berths for aircraft, taking the total number of berths to 27 and costing another 98 million baht. A further 37 million baht has been…
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Airport departure tax to rise 40pc
PHUKET: Departure taxes for international flights from Phuket will be hiked by 40% next year, soaring from the current 500 baht to 700 baht. Domestic passengers, who currently pay 50 baht a flight, will also face a hefty rate increase. The amount has yet to be set but according to Lt Cdr Boonchart Prompoon, Director of the Airports Authority of…
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Apply early for one-year permits – Immigration
PHUKET: Pol Capt Krissarat Nuesen, the Deputy Inspector of the Phuket Provincial Immigration Office (PPIO), yesterday urged foreigners seeking extensions to one-year permits-to-stay to apply at least a month before their current permits expire. “We need to receive applications about a month before the current permit expires to give us enough time to check the documents [submitted with applications],” Capt…
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BoI mulls tax break for IT investors
PHUKET CITY: An eight-year tax break for IT investors is among incentives being considered by the Board of Investment (BoI) to kick-start Phuket’s much-desired role as a software development center. The tax break proposal was revealed by the President of the Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA), Manoo Ordeedolchest, when he came to Phuket to exchange views with participants at a…
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New plan to tackle youth violence
PHUKET: New tactics are to be tried in an effort to control youth gang violence after police concluded that checkpoints are not the answer. “We have discussed this matter with the Phuket provincial government and have agreed to coordinate with local community leaders to obtain cooperation from parents,” said Provincial Police Commander, Maj Gen Veerayuth Sittimalic. “Other measures will be…
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Phuket sends reinforcements to South
PHUKET CITY: Police from Phuket are being sent as reinforcements to three troubled southern provinces to help quell continuing violence and attempt to improve relations between local agitators and law enforcement officers. The inclusion of 24 Phuket officers among 335 additional police being sent from Region 8 to Region 9 was revealed yesterday by Phuket Provincial Police Commander, Maj Gen…
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Anchalee’s election confirmed
PHUKET: The election of Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr as President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has been confirmed by the Central Election Committee (CEC) in Bangkok, though an official announcement has yet to be made in Phuket. Dr Prapa Kayee, Chairman of Phuket Election Commision (PEC) told the Gazette that the CEC had also confirmed the elections of other members…
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Rumors of Thaksin plans for Koh Yao denied
PHANG NGA BAY: Land prices on Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai are soaring, but local officials and residents have dismissed rumors that the boom is the result of speculation that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is planning a mega-project for the islands. Koh Yao District Chief Songpol Konkaew told the Gazette yesterday that many foreign investors have paid deposits…
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3 dead, 424 hurt on Songkran roads
PHUKET: Three people died in accidents on Phuket roads during the official Songkran period, which began on April 9 and ended at midnight on Sunday. Metha Mekarat, Chief of the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, yesterday announced that the latest two victims were Visanu Chulap and Kajornkiat Sae-iew, both 20 and from Mai Khao. The two men were…
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Wildlife touts arrested in Patong
PATONG: Four photo-taking touts have been arrested by police and charged with having young gibbons in their possession without the required wildlife licences. One has already been fined 20,000 baht. The men were taken into custody over Songkran in Patong after a steady stream of complaints from tourists. Further charges will be laid against the four if allegations that the…
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Water supply projects completed
PHUKET: Two new mains water projects by the Phuket Provincial Waterworks Department (PPWD) are now in operation, and the authority is nearing completion of three additional supply lines as part of its fiscal 2004 budget. Speaking at the Governor’s monthly press conference at the Phuket Provincial Health Office yesterday, PPWD chief Sayun Vareearoonrod said residents could now apply for hook-up…
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Green light for bypass road widening
PHUKET CITY: Work to widen Chalermprakiat Ror IX Rd (the bypass road) to four lanes and, along one section, to six lanes, is due to begin on May 7. The 111-million-baht project, which will be paid for by the central government, will run from just south of the Dara Samut School intersection (known to many people as the Thainaan intersection)…
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Songkran blitz holds road toll down
PHUKET: A Songkran crackdown by police and government officials has held Phuket’s Thai New Year holiday road toll to one death and 340 injuries so far. The figures, recorded up to midnight last night, were in line with last year’s, when the number of deaths was restricted to two during the 10-day festival. In contrast, the tally of arrests at…
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Laws of physics win
OOPS: Passers-by at the Thepkrasattri Rd – Komarapaj Rd intersection in Phuket City on Saturday night were astonished to come across this humpbacked pickup truck. Witnesses said that the truck, heavily laden with fruit, was not involved in an accident, but had jack-knifed – vertically – after its driver slammed on his brakes at the lights.
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First road death recorded in “Safe Songkran’
PATONG: Within minutes of government officials urging people to ride safely, Sarawuth Kohavee became the first road fatality in Songkran week in Phuket. About noon his motorbike, bound for Phuket City, slammed into the rear of a six-wheel truck as it turned into a soi in Chalong, near the entrance of Phuket Vanich Company. K. Sarawuth was not wearing a…
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Report to Immigration, foreigners told
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Immigration Office has renewed its warning that foreigners holding any type of one-year extension-of-stay must visit an Immigration office every 90 days to confirm their identity and address, or face a 2,000 baht fine. More stringent application of the rules – along with random visits by officers to check passports in areas where foreigners gather –…
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Air hostess grants offered to needy dreamers
PHUKET: The government is offering 60 scholarships for good-looking, tall, well educated Thai women living in poverty to realize their dreams of becoming air hostesses. Under the “Eur Ah-torn Air Hostess Project”, women granted the scholarships will attend the three-month basic cabin attendant course at the Civil Aviation Training Center (CATC) in Bangkok. The project, says an announcement from the…
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More Songkran water play zones designated
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has designated two more zones for Songkran water play, adding to the three previously announced by Phuket Provincial Police. In a pamphlet issued by the Provincial Public Relations Office, the Governor listed the following areas as places where people may legally fling water at one another during Songkran: Muang District: Saphan Hin, Tambon Rawai,…
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