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Patong tourist attackers remain in custody – investigation continues
PHOTO: Patong Police Six Patong taxi and tuk tuk driver suspects remain in custody following the assault of a middle eastern tourist. Two video clips of taxi drivers attacking the tourist in Patong went viral in social media last week. Read more about the attack HERE. Six suspects were arrested by Opting Police last week. Read more about their arrests HERE. Patong…
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Koh Phangan and Koh Tao try to shake off monthly boom and bust
by Bill Barnett Thailand’s idyllic Koh Phangan island is renowned globally for its marque Full Moon parties. On the heels of soaring demand for the big event, visitor numbers surpassed the one million ceiling two years ago and over a five-year period registered compound annual growth rate of 17%. While the numbers are impressive, the reality for resorts on the…
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Patong lifeguard wins first prize in the Thai lottery, 30 million baht
“I will continue doing my job as a lifeguard. I love my job and I am happy with it.” 32 year old Nara Nalack, Patong lifeguard, has won first prize in the bi-weekly national lottery, receiving a prize of 30 million baht. The Thai lottery is announced twice each month (the 1st and 16th of each month). The first prize ticket…
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Big farm companies causing the smoke problems in the north
by Chularat Saengpassa, Sakaorat Sirima Experts see little changing, even after Prayut’s visit to Chiang Mai today, and blame the government’s policy to push corn cultivation. The PM is in Chiang Mai today speaking to provincial governors. But eminent medical specialists based in Chiang Mai are warning that the health impacts from prolonged exposure to smog are real and urgent tangible…
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Pickup truck crashes into power pole in Wichit, causes five hour blackout
PHOTOS: PEA A pickup truck accident in Wichit has caused a blackout for over five hours. The Phuket Provincial Electric Authority (PEA) reports that at 10.20pm last night the pickup truck ran into the pole, pulling down the high voltage pole. The accident caused a blackout in the area around Soi Bang Yai (behind Big C Super Centre) for over…
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Thai businesswoman loses 71,000 baht in Cambodian scam
FILE PHOTO: Sa Kaew border with Cambodia A Trat businesswoman, in eastern Thailand, has accused a Cambodian couple of scamming her out of 71,000 baht on the promise of lucrative returns from a 5 million baht joint export venture. 59 year old Saensuk Khamsat filed a complaint with Klong Yai district police on Friday, saying the couple who she transferred…
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Russian arrested on Samui for theft, drugs and overstaying visa
A Russian man has been arrested for stealing a digital camera as well as taking drugs and overstaying his visa. The incident happed on Koh Samui yesterday, (Sunday). Police from Bophut station arrested 31 year old Kiirti Svami after a digital camera store in one of the island’s major malls caught him returning to their store after already being caught…
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Big Bike driver dies after slamming into cement truck in Thalang
PHOTOS: Kusoldharm Foundation A big bike driver has died after his bike crashed, at speed, into the back wheels of a cement truck over the weekend in Thalang. Emergency responders were notified of the accident on Thepkrasattri Road, northbound in Thalang at 4.30pm on Saturday. Emergency responders arrived to find the cement truck in the middle of the road. Near…
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Female motorbike driver dies in Bypass Road crash
PHOTOS: Kusoldharm Foundation A female motorbike driver has died in a motorbike crash on Chalerm Phrakiet Rama 9 Road (Bypass road) early this morning. Kusoldharm rescue workers headed to the accident scene on the Bypass road in Rassada at 3.30am today. At the scene they found a damaged motorbike. Nearby they found Wilai Jamjan lying on the road. She had…
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Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai suffer haze and smoke until at least May
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is flying to Chiang Mai tomorrow (Tuesday) to meet with with the northern provincial governors. Most of the northern provinces, including Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, are likely to face health-threatening haze problems from PM2.5 dust particles until at least early May according to meteorologists. The poor air quality has been a constant part of daily life…
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Kudo Beach Club in Patong charged after allowing under-age entry
A lawyer of a night club in Patong and a representative of an event organiser yesterday presented themselves to police to face charges after allowing customers younger than 20 years of age to enter the venue. The incident was highlighted by the Spotlight Thailand’ Facebook page. At Patong Police Station last night, the lawyer for the ‘Kudo Beach Club’ and…
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Protests demand results and transparency from the EC
by Kai Chanwanpen and The Thaiger The Thai Election Commission has to keep fending off criticism after protests yesterday were staged over its performance and the number of people demanding its members’ resignations was approaching one million. A former EC commissioner Sodsri Satayathum is calling on the agency to clear up all issues immediately before citizens launch an impeachment process,…
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Poll shows Thais are wary about the new government’s potential to end conflict
A new Suan Dusit Poll shows 31.8% of the respondents believe that the political situation will worsen due to the lack of stability of the new government while 28.1% are more optimistic. Most Thais believe the new government, be it led by Palang Pracharat or Pheu Thai, will not be able to end political division that have lasted almost two decades. The opinion poll sampled 1,752 people across the country. Nearly half said that…
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Buriram villager killed by rampaging wild elephant
by Surachai Piraksa A 37 year old man from a village in Buriram province has been stomped to death by a wild elephant early today in Tambon Lam Nang Rong. Following the discovery of his dead body at 6am in a rubber plantation, police and rescue workers, along with a medical examiner, went to inspect the scene. They found the…
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“Easier, faster and more watertight” – Surachate’s vision for Immigration
Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, Thailand’s Immigration chief, has outlined a few new directions for visitor and expat visas in Thailand. Speaking to TNA MCOT, the chief acknowledged the 1979 Act was “out of date” and “not in line with modern countries” and travel procedures. Surachate said that Thailand was the third most visited country in the world and was a place…
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Canadian woman rescued from air-conditioning shaft at luxury Silom hotel
PHOTO: Daily News A 76 year old Canadian woman, missing since last Thursday in Bangkok, ended up spending 12 hours trapped in an air conditioning shaft at a luxury Silom hotel before she was finally found and rescued. Daily News reports that 76 year old Siona Aloni, who suffers from Alzheimers, went missing from her room at the hotel on…
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Child drowning cases – dramatic drop over two decades
The leading cause of death in Thai children, below the age of 15, is drowning. “Even though the cases have recently fallen to an all time low, it’s still not low enough.” “In nearly two decades there have been 22,700 drowning cases, that’s between the years 2000 and 2018. That averages nearly 1,300 child drownings every year.” These numbers from…
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New airport duty free bid split into two
The Government has insisted that the AoT rejig its awarding for the concession of duty-free shops at its airports. Up to now King Power Duty Free has had a monopoly on the lucrative duty free concessions. So the Board of the Airports of Thailand Company has now decided to split the concession to operate airport duty-free shops into two contracts – one for Suvarnabhumi…
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King revokes royal decorations from former PM Thaksin
PHOTO: Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra welcomes Princess Ubolratana of Thailand as they arrive for the wedding of Thaksin’s daughter last weekend in Hong Kong. HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn has stripped the royal decorations of former PM and fugitive billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, alluding to his convictions and “extremely inappropriate” flight from the country. The statement in yesterday’s Royal Gazette from…
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Two killed in Songkhla after their pick-up is sprayed with bullets
by Santiparb Ramasuta A man and a woman riding in a pickup have been killed this morning after a group of assailants opened fire on them in Songkhla’s Sabaiyoi district. The victims were identified as 34 year old Preecha Phetkaewthng and 33 year old Sathiya Saisuwan. Both were residents of the Sabayoi district. They were rescued from the scene of…
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Thai rice exports facing strong regional competition
Rice exports are down in February’s sales figures, in both total volume and value. High prices and competition from Vietnam are being blamed, along with the ongoing strong baht. Rice farmers also say they are concerned how long the hot season will last which will also affect their planting schedules for this year. The Thai Rice Exporters Association says that…
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Weather warning for summer storms in upper Thailand
The Thai Meteorological Department has announced weather warnings for potential summer storms in upper Thailand. They say a high-pressure system from China will extend to, and meet, the hot weather over upper Thailand. “From March 31 – April 3, outbreaks of summer thunderstorms will be likely in the upper country.” Thunderstorms, gusty winds and hail are possible, first in the…
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Thai businesses feeling pinch from china-US trade wars
Since the US China trade war kicked off in the middle of 2018, Thai businesses have begun to feel the pinch as indicated by a small downward trend in Thai export numbers. In the short run, some Thai export items may benefit from trade diversion as US and Chinese importers shifted to certain Thai products to avoid punitive tariffs. However, indirect…
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Future Forward’s 80 new parliamentary faces
The Future Forward Party, making an impressive debut in last Sunday’s election – finishing as the third-most popular choice with more than 6.2 million votes and more than 80 Lower House seats – is composed entirely of completely new faces. These fresh new political voices, partly fueled by the seven million new, young, eligible voters in this year’s poll, provides…
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Roll out the water trucks – Phuket’s water runs low
by Salinee Prap Many areas of Phuket have suffered a shortage of tap water, with inconsistent or no flow, prompting business operators and residents to buy water from the private sector. Phuket as an island, is usually self-sufficient with its water supply, with three large catchments on the island serving locals, expats and the 12 million annual tourists. Phuket governor…
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70 year old Austrian man dies after jumping from 14th floor of Patong hotel
A 70 year old Austrian man has died after jumping from the 14th floor at a hotel in Patong today. At 11am today Patong Police were notified that a foreign man had fallen from a hotel in Patong. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the body of a man who was later identified as 70 year old Austrian man…
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Darasamuth Underpass closing this Saturday and Sunday night
The Darasamut Underpass (adjacent to Central Festival) will temporarily close tomorrow and Sunday from 9pm until 5am (overnight). The Phuket Highways Chief Somwang Lohanut says, “Both the northbound and southbound lanes through the underpass will be temporary closed at those times.” “Workers will be carrying out repairs and replacing light bulbs and fans as part of the normal scheduled maintenance.”…
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Patong taxi driver suspects arrested after ganging up and beating a tourist
PHOTOS: Patong Police Six suspects have been arrested today following an assault by a group of taxi, tuk tuk and motorcycle taxi drivers. The incident was captured on video, as the drivers ganged together to beat up a tourist in Patong last night. The argument started over a taxi fee to take the family back to their hotel. Patong Police…
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“No need to join coalition government” – Democrat politician
PHOTO: Facebook/Parit Wacharasindhu With around 55 seats won after Sunday’s election, the Democrats are one of a few political parties which will hold the balance of power. They will be able to choose between joining an alliance with a Pheu Thai-led bloc or siding with the Phalang Pracharat-led camp. But Parit Wacharasindhu, a new generation Democrat Party member, says he…
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Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, continue to suffer under persistent haze
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times Air pollution levels remain high in many of the northern population areas with little respite on the horizon for the smog-stricken northern provinces. Chiang Mai Natural Resource and Environment Office director Saratcha Suriyakul Na Ayudhaya says that public, private and other sectors are contributing to the lowering the levels of air pollution by spraying water and…
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