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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Norwegian’s home burgled, B600,000 missing
PATONG: A burglar made off with 600,000 baht in cash and valuables stashed in a safe that he stole from the home of a Norwegian man living on Soi Maneesri.The victim, Oystein Karlsen, 38, told the Gazette the burglar broke into his hillside home in Soi Maneesri, located off Petchakut Rd, opposite the entrance to Simon Cabaret, between 3 am and…
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Swiss man found dead in hotel room
KARON: A housekeeper in Karon discovered the body of a 64-year-old Swiss man, the victim of apparent heart failure, last Thursday.The man, identified by police as Beat Fritz Meier, was staying at the Marina Cottage bungalow resort.In her report to the police, a resort housekeeper said she found him naked under a sheet.Lt Col Chana Sutthimas, Inspector at Chalong Police…
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Boy drowns at Bang Wad
KATHU: A 12-year-old boy drowned in a canal near Bang Wad Dam after swimming there with five friends yesterday afternoon.Pol Sub Lt Pathaphi Srichai of Tung Tong Police Station told the Gazette, “Yesterday afternoon Songwut Chanmee and five friends went to swim in the klong, which is five meters deep.”Sub Lt Pathaphi explained that after swimming, Songwut’s friends went home,…
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2 die in Kusoldham high-speed smash
RASSADA: Two people died and five were injured when a Kusoldharm Volunteer Rescue Foundation truck rushing four accident victims to hospital collided with a Toyota sedan at high speed. The accident occured at the Tesco-Lotus intersection on Sunday morning.Phuket City Police Inspector for Investigations, Lt Col Adul Nirapai, identified the two dead as Kusoldharm volunteer Apirak Suemuang, 24, and Namfon Niewnaen,19.Namfon was one…
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Phuket beaches closed due to bad weather
PHUKET (Gazette, The Nation): Winds gusting up to 35 kilometers an hour and waves of up to two meters in height crashing along Phuket’s west coast forced lifeguards to close nearly all of Phuket’s main beaches today.Siripong Yukhonthorn, Deputy President of the Andaman Life Saving Club and a senior figure in the provincial government’s Life Guard project, told the Gazette,…
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Phuket OrBorTor to go to the polls
PHUKET: The four-year terms of 11 Tambon Administration Organizations (OrBorTor) in Phuket will end on August 29. Elections for new OrBorTor councilors and Presidents must be held within 45 days of dissolution.The 11 tambon are Wichit, Rawai, Chalong, Rassada, Koh Kaew; Kamala, Mai Khao, Srisoonthorn, Cherng Talay, Sakoo and Thepkrasattri.The Phuket Election Commission (PEC) has announced that the elections are…
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Local venues make Conde Nast “hot list’
PHUKET: Three local hotels and two spas have been listed on Conde Nast Traveler’s 2007 “Hot List”. The list is compiled by the prestigious international travel magazine to give “an inside look at the latest scene stealing hotels, restaurants, bars and spas”.The spa hot list, rated by undercover reporters, listed Lemongrass House in Cherng Talay as “laid back and funky”,…
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PIMEX 2007 relocates to Royal Phuket Marina
PHUKET: For the first time in its five-year history, the Phuket International Boat Show this year will be held at the Royal Phuket Marina, December 6 to 9. Gulu Lalvani, developer of Royal Phuket Marina, said he was delighted with the news and welcomed PIMEX as part of his dream to cement the position of Phuket as the first destination…
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Storm warning issued
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department this morning issued a regional weather warning for Southern Thailand after tracking a tropical depression that has been causing unusually rainy conditions in the region over the past few days. At 10 am this morning the depression was centered about 300 kilometers west of Chumphon. The system, with maximum wind gusts of about 55kmh, was…
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Suniran re-elected Mayor of Cherng Talay
CHERNG TALAY: Suniran Rachtapruek was re-elected mayor of Cherng Talay in the April 28 election, beating one challenger to retain the role. Voters also chose 12 new administrative members, six from each electorate. Of the 2,546 registered voters in Cherng Talay, 1,983 went to the poll, a 78% turnout. Mayor Suniran was re-elected with 1,300 votes, while the challenger, Manit…
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Fifth time unlucky for furniture thief
CHALONG: A man was placed under citizens arrest by the owner of a furniture shop after he was caught stealing three large wooden clocks at 3:45 am on April 25. It was the fifth time within a month that the man had broken into Watthana Wood Furniture on Chao Fa East Rd.Lt Col Chokchai Sutthimek, an Inspector at Chalong Police…
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Phuket brings home boating awards
BANGKOK: Phuket has been named Asia’s Maritime Capital at the prestigious Christofle Asia Boating Awards at the Peninsula Hotel in Bangkok by popular vote among the 20 judges, who rewarded Phuket for its “first-class boating facilities, which include modern marinas, state-of-the-art boatyards and prime chartering”.The annual King’s Cup sailing regatta won Yachting Event of the Year while Phuket-based Asia Marine…
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Chancy chat at chick shop
TRANG: An employee at the Trang branch of Tesco Lotus had a lucky escape April 19 when an angry KFC worker attempted to shoot him at point blank range with a shotgun. The cartridge, however, misfired. About 10 am, Sombun Sikhajan, 31, was working in the tape section as usual when Phichet Kanmak, 33, who worked at the store’s branch…
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Kathu Chief moves to close Safari Pub permanently
PATONG: Kathu District Chief Khantee Silapa will ask Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit to order the permanent closure of Safari Pub as the venue has been caught repeatedly trading after hours, most recently early Friday morning.Chief Khantee told the Gazette, “I have ordered the police to watch the Safari Pub closely and to not allow it to reopen. This will be…
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Public Prosecutor defers Valentino land charges
BANGKOK (Kom Chad Luek, The Nation): Prosecutors in the land encroachment case against Malaysian Tan Teik Hai, better known as “Valentino”, and his associates have delayed bringing the trial to court as they are still waiting for the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) to submit more evidence.The first Public Prosecutor’s hearing of the case was held yesterday morning at the…
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Phuket Immigration clarifies 90-day rule change
PHUKET CITY: Following a spate of complaints from confused foreigners entering Thailand on “visa exemptions”, Pol Capt Krissarat Nuesen of the Phuket Provincial Immigration Office has made a statement to clarify the 90-day rule and how it was changed, effective April 1.Visa exemptions, commonly referred to as “visas on arrival”, allow tourists from certain countries who arrive at the border…
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Island’s official population up by 2,262
PHUKET: Between March 21 and April 20, Phuket’s three District Offices registered 2,262 new residents, bringing Phuket’s official population to 315,557.Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Piya Bharatasilpin reported the increase to Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit during the monthly meeting of the Phuket Provincial Security Committee yesterday.There were 1,881 new registrations during the previous reporting period, from February 21 to March…
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Crocodiles spotted at city tin mine lagoon
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office (PPFO) is warning the public to stay away from an abandoned tin mine on the south side of town, following reports by local residents that two or three crocodiles were spotted there yesterday morning.Provincial officials are trying to track down and catch the dangerous reptiles, but thus far to no avail.Aroon Kerdsom, Chief…
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Drunk falls down well, drowns
CHALONG: Police are treating the death of a Chalong man whose body was recovered from a well in the Soi Palai area Monday afternoon as an accident.Pol Lt Col Sanguan Muangtham of the Chalong Police told the Gazette that the victim was probably drunk, fell down the well and drowned.“This is not a big case, just a guy getting drunk…
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Woman killed in water truck crash
CHALONG-KATA: A woman on her way to work at a hotel in Kata was killed this afternoon when she was struck by a water truck that crashed into a pickup truck and her motorcycle before plunging down a steep embankment on the hill between Chalong and Kata.Pol Lt Col Peeraphan Meemak, an Inspector with the Chalong Police, identified the dead…
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Engine fire sinks Phi Phi ferry
PHI PHI ISLANDS: More than 100 tourists were safely rescued by the Krabi Marine Police today after a fire broke out on the ferry they were taking from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi Don.Phuket Marine Police Officer Lt Col Prathueng Srilamontree identified the vessel as Jet Wave 3, which departed from Rassada Harbor in Phuket this morning bound for Koh…
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Police shooting sparks Koh Yao mob
PHANG NGA: Some 100 angry villagers on Koh Yao Noi descended upon the Koh Yao Police Station on Saturday after a youth, who was shot by a police officer the day before, died from his injuries.The villagers arrived around 1 pm with the body of 20-year-old Theerawut Kumuda, who died 10 am Saturday morning.Pol Col Jakkarit Srisuwan, Superintendent of the…
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Nok Air, One-Two-Go to launch Phuket-Haad Yai flights
PHUKET: After almost two years with no flights connecting Southern Thailand’s two busiest airports, lost-cost carriers Nok Air and One-Two-Go will launch regular services between Phuket International Airport and Haad Yai International Airport.From May 15, Nok Air flights using 150-seat Boeing 737-400s will depart Phuket daily at 2:05 pm and reach Haad Yai at 2:45 pm. The return leg will…
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Wolves win Phuket Sixes title
KARON (The Nation): Two teams from Perth fought out a dramatic final at the Phuket International Cricket Sixes on Sunday, with the Joondalup Kinross Wolves pipping the Leeming Spartans with a mighty 6 off the last ball to claim the Sixes title.Following heavy overnight rain, which washed out the second half of the charity Twenty20 match on Saturday night, hot…
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Lamma CC hot at Cricket Sixes scorcher
KARON: Lamma CC from Hong Kong are hot favorites to win the Montpelier Phuket International Cricket Sixes 2007 after beating 2005 champions and pre-tournament favorites Corner Tigers from Pakistan in the first day of play yesterday at the recently returfed Karon Stadium.Round 2 of the tourney was played today under a scorching Phuket sun, with both Lamma CC and Corner…
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Immigration denies dive shop crackdown
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration Office Superintendent Pol Col Ittipon Atchariyapradit has denied that Immigration officers were involved in what seems to have been a shakedown attempt at a Patong dive shop.He believes the men were impostors.In an email sent to the Gazette, it was explained that on April 3 a foreign dive instructor emerged from the company’s dive training pool, where he had…
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Gazette takes flight on Dragonair
PHUKET: From next Friday, April 27, the Phuket Gazette will be on board all inbound Dragonair flights from Hong Kong. Dragonair relaunched its direct daily Hong Kong-Phuket service in December, with CEO Kenny Tang saying, “We are excited about returning to Phuket, a destination that we first flew to in December 1986. We are confident that the route will be…
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Knife-wielding taxi driver defends his Jatukam
PHUKET CITY: Realizing that he had lost one of his precious Jatukam images, a motorbike taxi driver went on a rampage Monday, vandalizing a car and threatening residents of a government housing estate with a large knife.Pol Capt Nikorn Chuthong of Phuket City Police Station identified the man as Aphinan Chanthana, 41.“He went crazy after leaving one of his five…
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Five die in one-car accident
PHUKET CITY: Five Thai tourists from Krabi died after the pickup they were traveling in slammed into a power pole near Super Cheap on Thepkrasattri Rd early yesterday morning.The tourists were driving back to Krabi about 5 am when the driver lost control of the car, which careered off the road and into a power pole in front of Sor…
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Third death in the last hours of Songkran
KATHU: In the fading hours of the government’s “seven days of danger” road safety campaign over the Songkran holidays, a 17-year-old motorbike rider died after his motorcycle and a Toyota Fortuner collided at the junction of Wichit Songkram Rd and the entrance to Bang Wad Dam.At yesterday’s ‘Governor Meets the Press’ meeting it was explained that Eakasit Khamnoi was driving…
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