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.
-
Former land official in Phuket DSI case found hanged in cell
PHUKET: A former land department official under investigation in Phuket land-title cases allegedly committed suicide while in official custody yesterday. Tawatchai Anukul, who was under investigation for illegal registration of land deeds for about 1,000 plots in Phuket and Phang Nga, allegedly took his own life. Custody officials said the suspect was found to have hung himself just hours before…
-
Public outcry stops demolition of Vachira Hospital buildings
PHUKET: Vachira Hospital administrators have reached an agreement with concerned community members and employees over the proposed demolition of historic 100-year-old buildings and their surrounding mahogany trees. The plans to demolish the existing structures in order to make way for a new 298-bed hospital wing were halted after a public outcry from doctors and community members reached a fever pitch…
-
Police blame Russian for theft of B3mn in ATM hacks
PHUKET: Police have asked for an international arrest warrant for a Russian national believed to be involved in the theft of more than 12 million baht from ATMs across Thailand, including Phuket. Chief investigator Panya Mamen said Rustam Shambasov, 29, was caught on surveillance video footage after stealing more than 3 million baht from over a dozen ATMs last month.…
-
Phuket Town fruit vendors fed up with theft
PHUKET: Fruit vendors in Phuket Town are fed up with fruit from their stalls being stolen overnight and the lack of progress in apprehending the culprits, despite giving police CCTV footage showing teenagers pilfering the produce. Vipharat Na Kling, who owns one of the stalls along Srisana Road, said the thefts have cost her thousands of baht. “I reported the…
-
Man in debt found hanged at temple
PHUKET: A 53-year-old Thai man was found hanged by his neck from a concrete pillar in a Phuket Town temple yesterday. Lt Surachart Tongyai of Phuket City Police received word that a body, later identified as Charan Nakhanat, had been found at about 4:30pm and accompanied Kusoldharm Rescue workers to the scene. “We found the body of Mr Charan at…
-
Police: Europeans behind nationwide ATM scam
PHUKET: Royal Thai Police believe a group of thieves that have so far stolen more than 12 million baht from ATMs around the country to be Europeans based in Phuket. Police believe that an ATM located in Wichit was used to perpetrate the nationwide fraud. Royal Thai Police’s General Panya Maman briefed reporters on the extent of the losses while…
-
Biz Chat: The significance of ‘price’ in marketing
PHUKET: The second element of the ‘4 Ps’ of marketing is price. Price is what your customer pays you in exchange for goods and services received by them. There are many aspects to this deceptively simple element. In setting your price, you must first decide what is the value of the product or service to the buyer. If you set…
-
Opinion: Promoting sporting events in Phuket
PHUKET: Sirawee Waloh, originally a native of Pattani, was appointed as the new director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Phuket Office (MOTS) on July 25, 2016. She had previously been working as a human resource developer and nurse at Pattani Provincial Public Health Office for 18 years. She is a graduate of the College of Nursing, Songkhla. Here,…
-
Island View: Going over to the dark side
PHUKET: After about a year and a half of living in Phuket, I have finally taken the leap and upgraded from a scooter to a loud, notorious ‘big bike’. Cruising on my new ride, with an ear to ear grin plastered on my face, I feel an overwhelming sense of good fortune. The loud hum of the Yokishima exhaust does…
-
Rise in Phuket’s troubled teens
PHUKET: The director of the Phuket Juvenile Observation and Protection Center (JOPC) said she believes teenagers across Phuket are becoming more aggressive. Rawee Kuhamooka told the Phuket Gazette that every year JOPC staff have to work harder to control their detainees. Ms Rawee’s comments come after a riot at the center earlier this month left the building’s grounds, cafeteria, therapy…
-
Burmese busted selling hot phones
PHUKET: Police arrested a Burmese national at Central Festival shopping mall yesterday afternoon when he attempted to sell phones he had stolen from a shop in Karon to undercover police officers. Police cornered Moe Win Ko, 21, at the mall after tracking him down using CCTV footage that had captured him stealing 13 mobile devices from the Olay Phone store…
-
Public outcry sends Vachira wing back to the drawing board
PHUKET: Public outcry over plans to demolish an eight-story, 100 year-old building, along with a grove of old mahogany trees, has lead management at Phuket Vachira Hospital to reconsider the development of a new hospital wing. The issue came to public attention on August 25, when a Facebook user posted a statement in Thai. “Vachira Hospital will demolish this 100-year-old…
-
Labor minister applauds provincial efforts
PHUKET: Minister of Labor Sirichai Distaku urged Phuket’s officials to increase efforts to combat human trafficking, low wage rates and to increase the number of Thais working in skilled labor positions during his visit to the island on Thursday. Gen Sirichai’s visit comes after a period of escalating tensions between the provincial government and local employers of migrant laborers (story…
-
Annual SEACAT 2016 to come to an end tomorrow
PHUKET: Navies from the United States, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Malaysia will conclude their training and conference tomorrow, after spending two weeks at the Royal Thai Navy’s base in Phuket. The drills and conferences are part of the annual Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism 2016 (SEACAT16) and are being held at Cape Panwa. This year’s exercises…
-
Ministry of Farang Affairs: Why are they here?
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
-
Finance: Alibaba proves naysayers wrong
PHUKET: It’s not been an easy market for many individual stocks over the last few years. Take the case of Chinese internet and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) – a stock I have been watching closely since its debut, when a client wanted to buy some shares. Many western investors do not appreciate just how big of…
-
Opinion: Youth deserves a second chance
PHUKET: The rioting by inmates at the Phuket Juvenile Observation and Protection Center (JOPC) earlier this month is a reminder of the need to try and steer troubled youth back onto the right track before they reach adulthood. The body of scientific research on what leads youths astray is enormous. But, like most social science research, there always remains that…
-
Thai Olympic medalists parade for the people
BANGKOK: Thai Olympic medalists are taking part in a parade today in Bangkok. The parade started at 3pm from Hua Mark Indoor Stadium and will go past Rama 9, Din Daeng and the Victory Monument before coming to an end at the Government House. Sukanya Srisurat and Sopita Tanasan won gold medals in the weightlifting competitions, Tawin Hanprab and Pimsiri…
-
Phuket biz: Save our Gov
PHUKET: Eight of the island’s local business organizations have appealed to the central government to reconsider moving the Phuket governor a month from now. The statement, issued in Thai language, was released on August 22 after the announcement to transfer Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada to Nakhon Sri Thammarat on October 1 (story here). The organizations issuing the plea to keep…
-
Emergency crews battle airport fires during drill
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport emergency crews battled fires near the main runway yesterday. Firefighters and rescue workers were deployed on the tarmac as part of regular drills aimed at improving response times and emergency response efficiency. This is the fourth such drill at the airport this year. Airport Director Monrudee Gettuphan said the emergency crews were timely and effective in…
-
Wichit marijuana dealer apprehended, bought stash through Facebook
PHUKET: Provincial police arrested a 28-year-old man yesterday after a raid of his home turned up 1.3 kilograms of marijuana. Nopparut Tongserikun was arrested after police found the category 5 drugs, along with drug paraphernalia at his house on Wirat Hong Yok Road in Wichit sub-district. Police received a tip from an informant that Mr Nopparut was allegedly selling marijuana…
-
Police recover bomb remnants from scene of Krabi fire
KRABI: Police in Ao Nang recovered two devices yesterday that they suspect were part of the incendiary bombs used to set fire to a souvenir shop in the tourist destination on August 12. Forensic Police Region 8 Colonel Surapol Jaisan said Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) personnel assisted in examining the wreckage of the Ao Nang shop for evidence linking the…
-
Police arrest six in another big krathom drug bust
PHANG NGA: Police arrested six members of an alleged krathom drug distribution network on Monday. The gang is charged with possession of 326 kilograms of the category 5 drug, which police estimate has a street value of 300,000 baht. A joint task force comprised of Thalang administrative officers, Khok Kloi police and civil defense volunteers reportedly detained two suspects after…
-
Krabi man shot dead in palm plantation
KRABI: Police are looking for an unknown assailant who shot dead a man in a Krabi palm plantation yesterday. Krabi City Police received reports of the shooting in Thapprik sub-district at about 3:30pm. “At the scene, we found the body of 39-year-old Jaran Petchseewong lying face up in a pool of blood, with a bullet wound to the chest and…
-
Bombings in Pattani kill one, injure several and damage hotel
PATTANI: Three bombs rocked the southern province of Pattani last night, killing one and injuring dozens. The first bomb exploded in a parking space behind a bar in Muang District around 11pm but did not result in any loss of life. The second bomb, hidden inside a vehicle, blew up a short time later in front of the Southern View…
-
Bus driver flees after Chinese tourists injured in crash
PHUKET: More than 30 Chinese tourists were injured when their tour bus crashed into a temple at the bottom of Patong Hill last night. Police are hunting for the bus driver, who reportedly fled after ploughing into the wall of Wat Suwan Kiriwong, around 8:30pm. “There was a lot of broken glass all around. A car and a van were…
-
Four bodies wash ashore in Krabi
KRABI: Four bodies that have washed ashore in Krabi over the past two days could be those of crew members who went missing when their fishing boat sank more than a week ago. Officials are awaiting DNA test results, but believe the bodies belong to the missing crew of the Bumroong Thai Nawa fishing vessel, which sank on August 15…
-
Trump or Clinton?
PHUKET: It’s going to be interesting. Gerard Baker, editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, is flying in from New York to join The Wharton Club of Thailand and The Nation in presenting, on September 15, a ‘discussion’ of the unprecedented story lines behind the two candidates and how they are reshaping America and rubbing off on the world. In the…
-
Four electrocuted in hotel water treatment pond
SAMUI: One man was killed and three others were hospitalized on Saturday night after they were electrocuted while working in a wastewater retention pond at a hotel on Koh Samui. The men were using a pump to drain water from the pond at a hotel in Baan Cherng Mon, Bo Phut, when the pump became submerged in the water, electrocuting…
-
French tourist drowns at Nai Thon
PHUKET: A French woman drowned after swimming in a red-flag zone on Nai Thon Beach on Saturday afternoon. Anne Sophie Marie Torrijos-Faisant, 23, reportedly drowned as her friends looked on. They were unable to help as she was dragged out to sea by a rip current. “We were told that Ms Torrijos-Faisant was swimming with her friends when she was…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.