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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Phang Nga OrBorJor elect new chairman
PHANG NGA: Members of Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) have elected Arkhom Thongjerm as their new Chairman to replace Nithas Siribenjakul, who was gunned down at Takuapa Bus Terminus on July 30.Phang Nga OrBorJor Deputy Chaiman Chot Chatpong told the Gazette that K. Arkhom – the only nominee – was elected unanimously at the OrBorJor‘s meeting on August 13.Members…
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Filipinos arrested over fake credit card
KATHU: Police on Monday arrested four men and a woman from the Philippines for using a fake credit card to buy expensive goods from a mobile phone shop in Patong.Pol Col Chalit Thinthanee, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told a press conference yesterday that the Filipinos were arrested at 11:55 pm at Ploy Telecom on Sainamyen Rd after shopowner Patchar Budtayotee…
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Caddy’s killer to surrender “soon’
TUNG TONG: Police in Tung Tong are waiting for a colleague, Cpl Nanthawat Thongkwanbua, to surrender and answer allegations that he killed his girlfriend, 23-year-old Supanee Yongtong, on Sunday.Nanthawat’s father told police that he would bring his son to the police station to answer the murder charge “in the next two or three days”.The victim, a caddy at the Loch…
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Surprise opinions at Patong plan public hearing
PATONG: A public hearing to discuss a town plan for Patong took place at Patong City Hall yesterday. The meeting drew about 80 people, an assortment of government officers, academics, local businessmen and residents.Listening to the feedback were researchers from Consultants of Technology (COT) Co, a Bangkok-based consulting firm, and representatives of the Department of Public Works and Town &…
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Chuan denies Phuket MPs plan to defect
PHUKET: Former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai has confirmed that Phuket’s two members of parliament will stand as Democrat candidates in the upcoming general election, quashing rumors that one or both of them were planning to defect to the Thai Rak Thai party of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.K. Chuan made his remarks yesterday while chairing the closing ceremony of the Cherng…
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Police Super’s bright idea
TAH CHAT CHAI: Officers from Tah Chat Chai Police Station will join forces with motorcycle dealer Phuket Numsang on August 14 and 15 to modify motorcycle headlights so that they come on automatically when the bike’s engine is started.The modifications will be provided free of charge to anyone bringing a bike to the Tah Chat Chai police checkpoint, just south…
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New science website launched
BANGKOK (The Nation): The National Science and Technology Development Agency, the Council of Science and The Nation Group have combined their resources to launch a Thai-language website, https://www.myscientists.com, aimed at the country’s scientific and medical communities. The Nation‘s editor, Pana Janviroj, explained, “We hope that anyone interested in science will not only visit the website, but will also contribute articles,…
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Engineer dies in hotel blast
PATONG: One man was killed and another was injured by an explosion at the Novotel Coralia Resort in Patong on Saturday.Police named the dead man as Chanyud Intrachai, 20, from Phuket. His colleague, 27-year-old Kittipong Kaileard, is recovering at home.Pol Maj Sanguan Muangtham of Kathu Police Station would not disclose details of the incident to the Gazette because, he said,…
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Police target teenagers on motorbikes
PHUKET: Police have launched a crackdown on traffic offenses, with particular focus on teenagers on motorbikes, Pol Col Kokiat Wongvorachart, Deputy Commander of the Provincial Police has announced.During the crackdown, which is part of a national road safety campaign that will continue until December 31, police expect to make safety and ownership checks on more than 200,000 vehicles in Phuket…
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Immigration goes online to boost security
PHUKET CITY: The Immigration Police have launched a project in Phuket that will eventually allow hotels and homeowners all over Thailand to report required data about their guests via the Internet. The project is intended to help combat terrorism and monitor the movements of suspicious foreigners visiting Thailand. Following refinement of the pilot project in Phuket, the system will then…
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Gov to talk fast for B2bn
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura will have just 10 minutes to propose development projects costing 2 billion baht to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during a whistle-stop visit by the PM on August 25.Speaking after a meeting this morning to prepare for the PM’s visit to Phuket, Provincial Highways Office (PPHO) Chief Wanchai Wattanasiri told the Gazette that the PPHO plans…
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Not enough “neighbor laborers’ – employers
PHUKET: A total of 31,473 Burmese, Laotian and Cambodian laborers were registered with the government before the August 1 deadline, but local employers say that many more are needed.Khitti Nuisri, the Deputy Chief of the Phuket Provincial Employment Service Office (ESO), explained today that 21,444 “neighbor laborers” were registered in Phuket City before the deadline, along with 5,399 in Kathu…
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Turk insists he is an FBI agent
PATONG: Police say that Turkish citizen Tuncay Orser, who was arrested on Friday for possession of a fake ID card identifying him as an agent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), continues to insist that he is a genuine FBI operative on a mission to hunt down international terrorists.Orser, 31, was arrested after he showed what he said…
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“13 reasons to kill’ Phang Nga politician
PHANG NGA: Police investigating Friday’s assassination of Nithat Siribenjakul, chairman of the Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), told the Gazette today that Nithat was involved in no fewer than 13 conflicts, any of which might have triggered his murder.Nithat was gunned down by at least three men riding in the back of a black Isuzu pickup as he drove…
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Gambling tops crime figures
PHUKET: Gambling has once again topped the crime statistics in Phuket, with 163 arrests recorded between July 1 and 25.The latest police figures show that other common crimes included possession or use of illegal narcotics, with 72 arrests and 541.05 ya bah (methamphetamine) tablets seized; and illegal immigration, with 43 people arrested.Twenty eight people were arrested on prostitution-related charges while seven…
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Phang Nga politician assassinated
PHANG NGA: Nithat Siribenjakul, the chairman of the Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), was gunned down in a hail of bullets at the Takuapa bus terminus about 8 pm last night.Police officers investigating the murder told the Gazette that K. Nithat was heading home after visiting a fellow OrBorJor member.“K. Nithat drove his Jeep Cherokee into the parking lot…
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FantaSea owner facing smuggling charge
BANGKOK (The Nation): The owner of Safari World and Phuket FantaSea will be charged with illegally importing orangutans, Forestry Police commander Maj Gen Sawek Pinsinchai said yesterday.Safari World and FantaSea managing director and owner Pin Kiewkacha is accused of violating provision 23 of the Wildlife Conservation Law by importing orangutans without permission, and provision 53 for concealing the wildlife. The two…
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Crackdown on peddlers and ladyboys
PATONG: Police yesterday evening arrested about 30 people in a crackdown aimed at reducing the number of street peddlers pestering tourists to buy trinkets, plastic flowers, garlands or, in some cases, sex.Pol Lt Col Boonlert Onklang, of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that Kathu police officers arrested about 30 vendors who annoyed tourists walking along the beach road by…
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Stab victim recovering
PHUKET CITY: Briton Aden Simpson, 21, a teacher at Satree Phuket School who was stabbed on July 16, has been discharged from Wachira Phuket Hospital.Pol Capt Sathit Noorit, of Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette today, “Mr Simpson is still recovering, but he is feeling better and has left the hospital.”Now that Mr Simpson is feeling better, said Capt…
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High-tech cameras to boost security
PHUKET: Provided that the money is forthcoming, 100 security cameras using the latest-generation Internet communications protocol will be installed at 70 points across the island, including the tourist areas of Patong, Karon and Kata, to deter crime and monitor traffic flow.Manoo Ordeedolchest, President of the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa), told the Gazette, “The idea originally came from the former…
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High-speed bedmakers put to the test
PHUKET CITY: This year’s Hotelex Exhibition Food and Beverage Show, which will be held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel from August 12 to 15, will open with a thrilling “speedy bed-making” contest. The novel competition, with 6,000 baht in prize money up for grabs, will get underway at 1 pm on August 12, marking the start of the four-day…
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New airport proposed for Phang Nga
PHANG NGA: The Deputy–Minister of the Transport Ministry, Vichet Kasemthongsri, has backed a proposal to upgrade a disused World War II airfield into a new airport to serve Phang Nga Province, at a projected cost of 900 million baht. K. Vichet gave his backing during a visit on Saturday to the disused airstrip on Koh Kho Khao, an island off…
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Crackdown after “neighbor labor’ amnesty ends
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Wan Muhamad Nor Matha yesterday warned employers of illegal foreign laborers from Burma, Laos or Cambodia that they have until Saturday to register their illegal foreign employees, or face a fine of up to 100,000 baht or up to 10 years in jail, or both.The warning came at a meeting at the Pearl Village Hotel at…
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Downpours prompt flood and landslide warnings
PHUKET: Strong winds and heavy rain along the coasts of the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand have prompted the Meteorological Department to issue warnings of the possibility of flooding and landslides.Vichit Phuangsombat, Director of the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), which is near Phuket International Airport, today told the Gazette, “The heaviest recorded rainfall in Thailand yesterday was…
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Burmese sought over stabbing murder
KATHU: A Burmese worker is being sought by police after the corpse of a motorbike taxi driver was found last week by villagers near Talay Keeree village, in the foothills around Kathu.The body, with 15 stab wounds in it, was identified as that of 45-year-old Narongsak Bunyalertnimit from Phatthalung, a van driver with the Take-A-Trip travel agency, who worked as…
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Death by aromatherapy
BANGKOK: A woman in Bang-wa District died of asphyxiation after turning her bathroom into a makeshift sauna and aromatherapy chamber in an attempt to shed unwanted flab. Tanakrit Kianthong, a grilled pork vendor, told police he returned home on July 3 to find his wife Pattaporn, 43, lying dead on the floor of the second-story bathroom of the couple’s three-story…
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Businessman ordered off SorPorKor land
PHUKET: The Phuket Appeal Court today overturned a judgment of the Provincial Court and ordered Phuket businessman Narong Nopdara to vacate 21 rai of land in the Nakkerd Hills in Karon.The successful appeal was launched by the Phuket Land Reform Office (ALRO), which argued that Narong was not entitled to occupy land issued under the SorPorKor land reform program, which…
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Push to get tourists to shop till they drop
PHUKET CITY: As part of a drive to get tourists to do more shopping while in Phuket, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will stage an exhibition of Phuket batik designs on July 30 and 31 on the second floor of the Big C supercenter.Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the local office of the TAT, said that Thailand currently receives income…
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Hotels president slams oil pipeline plan
NAI YANG: Vichit Na Ranong, a former senator and current President of the Thai Hotels Association, yesterday spoke out against the oil pipeline slated to be built in Phang Nga, saying, “It will ruin all tourism here and we will never get it back.”Speaking at the opening of the new convention facilities at his Pearl Village Hotel in Nai Yang,…
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Government plans marina at Chalong
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has announced that Phuket province plans to build a marina in Chalong Bay. The announcement was made during a seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, attended by about 80 participants from both government and private sectors. Panjit Pissawong, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Commercial Office, told the Gazette that Chalong Bay is the most…
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