South Thailand News
Southern Thailand news, Phuket news, Koh Samui news, and Krabi updates—stay informed on business, tourism, and local events from Trang, Songkhla, Yala, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Southern Thailand news source.
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Music is the food of love for TAT festival in Hat Yai this weekend
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is rolling out the red carpet for a spectacular celebration of art, music, and culture in southern Thailand with the HATYAI OUTLOUD festival. Scheduled from August 30 to September 1, this vibrant event will light up the Robinson Department Store parking lot and the Sino-European Building Sai 1 on Niphat Uthit 1 Road in…
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Going bananas: Songkhla’s top fritter vendor in a slippery situation
A well-known banana fritter vendor in Songkhla is facing difficulties due to a sharp increase in the price of bananas and a shortage of supply. Sales have dropped, and profits have dwindled, forcing some vendors to raise their prices. However, one vendor decided to keep her prices the same out of concern for her customers. At the entrance to the…
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Southern Thailand court to hear Tak Bai massacre case
Narathiwat Provincial Court’s decision to hear a lawsuit against seven officials accused of murder and kidnapping during the 2004 Tak Bai massacre has been welcomed by activists. Srisompob Jitpiromsri, director of Deep South Watch, described the court’s move as a significant step toward justice and peace in the troubled region. He made these comments at a talk in Pattani‘s Mueang…
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Surat Thani police initiate successful Ban Klang rehabilitation
The police in Surat Thani launched a sustainable community rehabilitation project to address drug problems comprehensively, in line with national strategy. Following successful implementation in the Islamic community of Santisuk, the project has now been introduced in another Islamic community, Ban Klang. Yesterday, August 25, a meeting was held at the Raotul Jannah Mosque in Ban Klang, Bang Kung subdistrict,…
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Thai-Myanmar gates reopen after sudden closure
The Burmese border town of Phayathonzu, straddling Thailand and Myanmar, was thrown into chaos when its gates were abruptly shut on August 16. The gates, crucial for the movement of goods and people, left locals in a lurch. However, on August 20, relief came as the gates were reopened, much to the delight of residents and traders, one Phayathonzu local…
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Southern Thailand call centre scam gang jailed for 20 years
A notorious call centre scam operation has been dismantled by Thai police, leading to severe prison sentences for those involved. The criminal court handed a 20-year prison sentence to 14 members of the gang for deceiving a former doctor in Chumphon province, causing financial losses of 101 million baht. Additionally, those who provided mule accounts to the gang received nine-year…
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Gunmen kill two durian sellers in Yala night attack
Gunmen attacked a durian stall in Yala province, killing its two owners. The incident occurred near a cemetery in Ban Saikaew, Taling Chan subdistrict at around 11pm yesterday, August 21. Security officials have begun investigating the crime scene. Two men were found dead near their durian stall after a group of approximately 10 assailants emerged from a mountain path and…
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Koh Pha Ngan shopkeeper’s laughing gas caper goes up in smoke
A Koh Pha Ngan shopkeeper has been caught red-handed peddling balloons stuffed with nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, without a licence, and it’s no laughing matter! Rangsiman Jaisamer was busted by police in his Haad Rin shop early today, August 22, where officers discovered two cylinders of the giggly gas and a stash of balloons ready for sale.…
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Trang manhunt after fatal shooting over family dispute
A tragic shooting incident occurred in Trang, resulting in the death of a 56 year old Thai man. The man was allegedly shot over a perceived insult to the perpetrator’s dignity. Police launched a manhunt for the suspect. Police officers, led by Deputy Inspector Vechan Hiranyasuwan from Mueang Trang Police Station, were alerted to a shooting at house number 21/5…
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Swiss man paws for thought after dog bites on Thai beach (video)
A Swiss man sought a sustainable solution after he and more than 10 other Thais and foreign beach dwellers, were bitten by dogs belonging to an unidentified foreign man on Ban Suan Luang Beach in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan. The latest victim, a 76 year old Swiss man named Rolf Weber, told Naewna that one of the…
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Thai man rescued after 4 days trapped in cave in southern Thailand
Lanska Police Station officers and a rescue team saved a Thai man trapped in the Nam Wang Si Thamma Sokarat Cave in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat for four days. A resident in the Lanska district of Nakhon Si Thammarat alerted the police after noticing a Yamaha off-road motorcycle parked outside the cave for several days, suspecting that…
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Thai man stabs transgender girlfriend to death in Koh Samui
A Thai man fatally stabbed his transgender girlfriend at a shopping mall on Koh Samui Island in the southern province of Surat Thani. He said he stabbed her to death because she insulted and belittled him. Officers from Bor Phut Police Station rushed to the shopping mall after receiving a stabbing report. The injured victim, 23 year old Rinlada, was taken to…
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Naked foreign man gored by cow after alleged sexual abuse
A foreign man refused medical treatment after being gored by a cow in the southern province of Surat Thani. Rescuers suspected that the foreigner attempted to sexually abuse the animal. Officers from Ban Naderm Police Station and the Ban Naderm Rescue Foundation were called to a roadside forest along Highway 44 (Surat Thani-Krabi Road) to assist the foreign man, who…
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Suspicious car linked to Pattani bombing found abandoned in Yala
Police discovered a suspicious car linked to the recent car bomb incident in Pattani, abandoned in a rubber plantation in Yala. The vehicle, a Nissan Almera, showed signs of attempted arson and had its licence plates removed. A bomb exploded near the entrance to the fish market bridge next to the Provincial Police Division in Pattani on August 9. Following…
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Muay Thai boxer flees after fatally slitting father’s throat
A Muay Thai boxer escaped and hid in the Yala mountain forests after fatally slitting his father’s throat at their home in the early hours of this morning. Mueang Yala Police Station officers responded to the incident at around 6am today, August 15, investigating the house in the Bannang Sareng sub-district, Mueang district, Yala province, following a report of the…
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Surat Thani police seize 404,000 meth pills after car chase
Police in Surat Thani arrested two men and seized 404,000 methamphetamine (meth) pills following a dramatic car chase. The suspects, 31 year old Suriyen, and 25 year old Sitthipong, were apprehended after attempting to flee from the police. Surat Thani Governor Jetsada Jitrat, who also serves as the Director of the Provincial Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), directed the operation.…
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Pipe bomb attack at Batu checkpoint injures volunteer in Narathiwat
Two assailants hurled pipe bombs at the Batu checkpoint in Narathiwat, injuring one paramilitary volunteer and damaging property. CCTV footage captured the incident, showing the suspects approaching the checkpoint on foot before throwing the explosives. The southern border province of Narathiwat has been plagued by unrest, and the recent attack at the Batu checkpoint is a stark reminder of ongoing…
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Hat Yai in southern Thailand hailed Asia’s most affordable travel destination
One of the globe’s most popular online travel platforms hailed Hat Yai district in the southern province of Songkhla as the most affordable travel destination in Asia. Agoda released a ranking of cities that offer the most affordable stays in Asia, providing suggestions for users seeking budget-friendly holidays or those wishing to extend their trips within a limited budget. The…
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Thai teen allegedly shoots himself in face while playing with gun
A Thai teenager in the southern province of Phattalung allegedly shot himself in the face while playing with a gun, but his father doubts this, believing that his son may have been attacked by someone. Officers from Kong Ra Police Station rushed to a wooden hut in the Kong Ra district of Phattalung after being notified of the shooting at…
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Russian-Canadian arrested for overstaying, begging on Koh Pha Ngan
Residents on Koh Pha Ngan island in the southern province of Surat Thani alerted the Tourist Police to a Russian-Canadian man found overstaying his visa and begging for food from locals. Residents on the island reported to the Tourist Police that they witnessed a foreign man begging for food from various households and sleeping on a footpath. The foreigner’s begging…
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Dugong to the rescue: Calf gets a nursery boost after Krabi solo act
A young dugong calf, found alone near Koh Poda in Krabi, has been transferred to a nursery in Trang for care and medical attention. Tourists discovered the calf yesterday and promptly notified officials from the Andaman Sea Lower Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre. Pinsak Suraswadi, Director-General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, confirmed the incident and detailed…
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Teen shot dead in Yala amid rising gang violence
Yala witnessed a tragic incident when two teenagers on a motorcycle shot at another group of youths, resulting in one fatality and one severe injury. The police have been struggling to control frequent gang-related violence in the area. Yala City Police Station yesterday, August 8, received a report of a shooting at the entrance of Banogo Tuen Ngor Alley in…
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Thai cops trim crime: Israeli drug dealer & Russian barber snipped
Pha Ngan Tourist Police in the southern province of Surat Thani reported the successful arrest of an Israeli drug dealer and a Russian man illegally operating a barbershop on the island. Pha Ngan Tourist Police launched an operation to arrest foreigners working illegally and committing crimes on the island following multiple complaints from locals in the area. The investigation into…
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Khao Sok National Park to sue travel agency after fatal cave death
Khao Sok National Park in the southern province of Surat Thani plans to sue a travel agency after two Thai tour guides violated safety rules and took 22 foreign tourists to Nam Talu Cave during its closure, resulting in the death of one guide in the flash flood on Tuesday, August 6. National park rangers and rescuers saved the other…
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Three insurgents killed in Pattani clash with security forces
Security forces in Thailand’s southern province of Pattani engaged in a fierce clash with a group of insurgents in the Khlong Chang area, resulting in three insurgents being killed. This incident follows a sequence of violent events linked to the insurgents over several years. The confrontation occurred during a law enforcement operation in Khlong Chang, Naket subdistrict, Khok Pho district,…
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Nam Talu Cave flash flood: Thai guide dead, 22 foreigners saved
Khao Sok National Park rangers and rescuers saved a Thai tour guide and 22 foreign tourists from a flash flood while they were exploring Nam Talu Cave in the southern province of Surat Thani. Another Thai tour guide was initially reported missing but was later found dead in the cave. National park rangers were alerted to the flash flood on…
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Phatthalung police bust Honda Wave motorcycle theft ring
Police in the Bang Kaeo district of Phatthalung province successfully dismantled a motorcycle theft ring that targeted Honda Wave motorcycles for resale in neighbouring countries. This operation was led by Adirek Thongkamkaew, the superintendent of Bang Kaew Police Station, along with officers Wasan Wongruang and Danai Kaewnarn. Four individuals were arrested during the operation. The suspects include 46 year old…
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Wild elephant found dead from electrocution in Ranong sanctuary
A wild elephant was found dead from electrocution at the radar hill in the Thungraya-Nasak Wildlife Sanctuary in Ranong province. The elephant, believed to have pulled down a tree that fell on high-voltage power lines, was discovered by local government officials who are now working to protect the remaining five elephants in the area. Chawakun Sithisak, deputy inspector of Muang…
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12 year old girl seeks justice after gang rape by 13 men in Thailand
A 12 year old Thai girl fled the southern province of Narathiwat for help in the central province of Nonthaburi after a gang rape by 13 men, including her older brother’s friends and relatives. The 12 year old victim was accompanied by her 20 year old sister to seek help from social media influencer Guntouch “Gun” Pongpaiboonwet after the young…
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Thai woman arrested in Hat Yai for online fraud
Police in Songkhla apprehended a Thai woman linked to an online fraud network, where victims were conned into transferring money for goods they never received. The suspect, already facing four arrest warrants, was detained in Hat Yai. Police teams from three units collaborated to arrest 31 year old Wichuda, the owner of a mule account, in the Suthiphatra alley within…
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