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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Sponsored Thailand vs. the West: What expats save on healthcare each year
Healthcare in Thailand is much cheaper than in Western countries, making it a great choice for expatriates looking for affordable medical care. Both public and private healthcare options offer high-quality services, with savings of up to 80% on procedures like...
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14 year old Phang Nga girl raped by 40 local men
On September 3, the mother of a 14 year-old girl from Takuatung, Phang Nga, reported to Kokloy Police that her daughter had been raped by 40 men from the same village – repeatedly from May to October last year. There are 3 men charged over the case so far. “We still can’t reveal the number of the criminals in this…
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Samui rubbish problem ‘critical’
Story from Thai PBS English… The warning came from Samui mayor Ramnate Jaikwang earlier this week as the garbage problem is getting worse. Mayor Ramnate said at present the island’s 30-rai landfill already holds mountains of garbage of over 200,000 tons, while 150-200 tons keep coming in every day for disposal. The local administration is calling for a bid to…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, September 4
Nigerian charged over shooting/robbery but claims innocence | Phuket’s favorite crocodile not eating | Five provinces still inundated with floodwaters | The Cambodian Daily forced to close paper today | Dolphins sighted between Koh Racha and Coral Island.
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Captured Croc isn’t eating. BKK specialist on the way.
Fisheries officers are investigating whether the captured crocodile comes from nature or was owned by an individual. After catching the crocodile spotted at Bangtao Beach on August 25 and which came from a tin mine lake near Laypang Beach, Phuket’s Governor visited the crocodile at the rehabilitation pond in Thalang. The 200-kilogram reptile still hasn’t eaten any food provided by…
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Jet auction. Starting bid only 30 million Baht.
Need a new way to get around? Need to avoid Phuket’s traffic? Get your own plane! And not just any plane but an Airbus A310. Here’s what Wikipedia says about this fine, slightly used, jet aeroplane… “The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engined wide-body jet airliner that was developed and manufactured by Airbus. Entering service in 1983, it…
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Rawai thief and girlfriend to face charges
Phuket’s Police Chief has announced that the Nigerian suspect, James Chukwunweike Chijioke, the suspect for a shooting robbery in Rawai (story here https://thethaiger.com/news/suspect-arrested-shooting-robbery-rawai) will be charged with robbery and attempted murder even though he denied all the charges. The Police say they have enough evidence to prove his guilt. Following the shooting robbery in Rawai, when 52 years old Russian expat…
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Thai Student’s bodies recovered from California river
From The Nation US rescuers has retrieved remains of two Thai postgraduate students at the South Florida University from their car that plunged into a river in the US more than a month ago.The retrieval operation sent rescuers go down from a helicopter to the Kings River where the car is stuck and pulled the car to a river bank.…
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DSI assisting Rawai’s Sea Gypsies with land probe
A DSI (Department of Special Investigations) team led by Deputy Director of the DSI, Pol Lt Col Prawut Wongsinil, visited the village yesterday (August 31) drawing a crowd of approximately 100 villagers. “We visited the sea gypsies today to advise them on how to present their proof in Court efficiently. If they forget or leave out some details, it can…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, September 1
Crocodile captured after two day hunt around Bang Tao beach | Songkhla’s much BIGGER croc problem | Huge individual drug haul in Krabi valued at 100 million Baht | 459 metre tower gets Government funding | Buddhist nationalists protesting Rohingya violence | Tricks from last week’s Flow Jam event in Bangkok.
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Crocodile being cared for after two day hunt
The crocodile captured in an old tin mine behind Bang Tao beach is now kept at the Phuket Coastal Aquatic Animals Development Centre. After a veterinary check, it was found to be healthy but quite exhausted after the two day hunt. It may take few days to recover. The Head of Phuket Fisheries Office, Paiboon Bunlipatanon, says the crocodile is…
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Suspect arrested over shooting robbery in Rawai
A 27 years old Nigerian, Chijcke Jamer Hukwunwe, has been charged over the alleged shooting/robbery of Russian woman, Elena Kharenko, in Rawai on August 30. He was found in a house in Rawai at 7.30pm last night (August 31) with many valuables such as gold necklaces, watches and some cash following the investigation of CCTV footage near the crime scene.…
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Bang Tao Croc Captured. Week-long search over.
That crocodile, that was first spotted swimming off Bang Tao beach and then making its way into an old tin mine lake, has been captured after two days and two nights of hunting. The 3 metre crocodile is a salt water crocodile, originally thought to be a fresh water croc. Headed by the Phuket Fisheries Office, croc experts and local…
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Phuket drownings – The Facts
In the first eight months of 2017 there have been 294 rescues recorded around Phuket’s beaches patrolled with surf lifeguards on duty. Of these, 265 have been foreigners and the remainder Thai locals. The good news is that these numbers are trending a lot lower than 2016. Last year there were 761 rescues recorded in the full 12 months. In…
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Crocodile – 1. Crocodile Hunters – Nil.
This afternoon (August 31), the croc-hunting team corralled for the search failed to capture the rascally reptile. The team includes Fisheries Officers, crocodile catchers from Surat Thani and experienced staff from Phuket Crocodile World. The team brought 4 rafts to chase the crocodile to where the nets were placed. However, the team failed as the crocodile dived 8-9 meters deep…
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100 million Baht drug bust. Krabi’s biggest drug network.
45 year old Somporn Ratchapibun, from Surat Thani, has been arrested with the enormous haul of 486,000 amphetamine pills and 10 kilograms of meth amphetamine. The whole lot has a combined value of more than 100 million Baht. He was arrested at a rented house in Krabi with 3 mobiles phones and a Toyota Vios car. Police found drugs hidden…
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Progress on shooting/robbery of Russian woman in Rawai
Police report that they’ve learned that the two thieves used a car to commit the crime on Tuesday night. The car was parked 100 metres away from the house where they robbed and shot Russian expat, Elena Kharenko. However, the color, brand and plate number hasn’t yet been ascertained. The Chief of Region 8 Police, Maj. Gen. Pawat Prommakrit, has…
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Phuket’s Croc Hunters
A hunting team spotted the crocodile in an old tin mine lake near Laypang Beach yesterday afternoon (August 30). The 50-rai lake is located about 300 meters from where the crocodile was spotted earlier. Initially, a team from Thalang District Office was placed to block the crocodile from swimming out of the lake. At about 8.00 pm, a “crocodile whisperer”…
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“It’s a freshwater crocodile”. The latest from the Fisheries Office Chief
Freshwater crocodile in Australia’s Northern Territory. Photo: abc.net.au Phuket’s Fisheries Office believes that the crocodile spotted in Bangtao Beach is a freshwater crocodile which can only live in salt water for a few days and they assume that it comes from a tin mine lake in the nearby area. Governor Plodthong, along with the Head of the Phuket Office of Fisheries, Paiboon Bunlipatanon,…
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Two million Baht worth of drugs off the streets
A 43 year-old man from Phatthalung, Preecha “Ann” Utapala, was arrested in his house in Phuket with almost 4,000 amphetamine pills and one kilogram of meth amphetamine with an estimated market value of over 2 million Baht. With police reporting that drug trading volume in Phuket remains high, undercover police continue to investigate all the drug dealer networks. Preecha was…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, August 30
UK National Crime Authority under fire for leaking sensitive information during Koh Tao murder investigation | More about THAT crocodile | Thai PM doesn’t believe Yingluck is seeking asylum in the UK | Man caught with 400,000 Baht value of stolen goods in Thalang | Fake goods raid on beach road in Patong
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Russian Woman shot and robbed in Rawai
A 52 year-old Russian woman, Elena Ksarenko, was shot and robbed in her villa in Rawai. Police are on the lookout for the two thieves they believe are involved in the crime. Police found her bed and floor covered in blood at the scene. On the floor, police found .38 bullets and bloody footsteps around the bedroom. The shower’s glass…
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3,000 items snared in Patong counterfeit crackdown
A 33 year old Burmese man, Dam Bha Du and a 34 year old Vietnamese, Lam, have been arrested with a total of 3,000 counterfeit items from Patong. Following a report that a large number of counterfeit goods were being sold in Soi Kebsup on Taweewong Rd, a taskforce led by Phuket’s Governor, the ECD Police force and the Commander-in-Chief…
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Phuket Fisheries Department to survey crocodile location on Bang Tao
Thalang Fisheries Officers commented on the incident when two locals spotted a crocodile in the Bang Tao beach area, off the Movenpick Resort. He said the reptile are likely to have come from the neighbouring provinces as Phuket was never a natural breeding ground for crocodiles. Another similar reptile was spotted last year. “There was a report from a local…
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Fixing Phuket’s coral. Restoration projects around Phuket
For the past few years the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources – Phuket Office has been working on the construction and installation of artificial reefs around the island. Two main areas have been selected, Koh Racha Yai (Bay3) and Koh Mai Thon. The project consists of placing construction blocks on the seabed in order to provide ‘pads’ on which…
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Three metre crocodile spotted off Bang Tao beach
So this is how it happened… Phuket expat ‘Mike’, along with his wife, were walking their dogs along Bang Tao beach last Friday. They say they normally start their walk around 2 kilometres south of the small island adjacent to the beach near Layan. On this particular morning they decided to walk in the opposite direction to the south instead…
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Robber caught with a long list of items worth 400,000 Baht
This morning (August 29), a Ratchaburi man, Pinit ‘Nit’ Tuihun was arrested by Phuket police after robbing several houses in Thalang and the Phuket Town area. He was also found in possession of drugs. 52 items, worth about 400,000 Baht, stolen from houses across Phuket, were found inside Pinit’s house in Srisunthorn subdistrict, in Thalang, including 8 televisions, 5 notebook…
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Immediate attention to Phuket’s worst flood areas
Patong’s Mayor has announced, what she hopes are, solutions to the recurrent floods and set a budget to solve the problems in the long term. As Patong is one of the areas that always suffers from the flood on the island, the Mayor, Chalermluck Kebsup, said that she has surveyed several spots in Patong and can now specify the actual…
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Thailand’s Best Beaches 2017. How many are in Phuket?
The results are in for Thailand’s annual ‘beach star rating’ study by the Pollution Control Department. 13 beaches around Thailand have been awarded five-star ratings. Not a single one of them is in Phuket, not even close. According to the Pollution Control Department, this year’s beach evaluation was based on four important criteria. The Department studied water quality that included…
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“She wasn’t here. It’s only rumour.” Cambodian officials.
From The Phnom Penh Post Cambodian officials Sunday dismissed media reports that former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra fled the country to Dubai via Cambodia ahead of a court decision, saying they had “no record” of such activity and calling the reports “rumours”. Yingluck was scheduled to appear at the Thai Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on…
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Donations for 1,500 unprivileged locals during Por Tor festival
Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation has donated food to 1,500 underprivileged people for the Por Tor Festival. Yesterday (August 26), the foundation, with the help of Phuket’s Governor arranged a donation in front of the foundation building. The ceremony started with a worship to ancestral spirits, a rice donation for the lunch project for students then followed by donations for underprivileged people…
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