southern Thailand
- Phuket News
Two Ukrainian fugitives arrested in Phuket over US tax evasion scandal
Two Ukrainian nationals wanted for fraud and tax evasion in the US were arrested in Phuket on Tuesday. The men fled to Thailand after warrants for their arrest were issued in Florida earlier this month. The pair are accused of providing employment for hundreds of illegal immigrants in America from 2007 – 2021 and evading $10 million in employment taxes.…
- South Thailand News
Southern Thailand province gets a wave of income from Full Moon Party, Songkran
Thailand’s southern province of Surat Thani saw a wave of tourism income generated during the Songkran holiday. Many tourists came to the province for the famous Full Moon Party on Kho Pha Ngan, among other tourist attractions. Tourism officials said the province gathered up a total of 895.7 million baht from 83,000 visitors between April 13-17. The income is up…
- Crime News
Village chief kills thief who stole his chickens
A village headman shot and killed a thief who allegedly stole his chickens at around 6am this morning in Songkhla province, southern Thailand. The shooter said the man was threatening him with a machete so he shot him three times in the chest out of self-defence. Police are speaking with eyewitnesses to determine what happened. When police arrived at the…
- Crime News
Death penalty for Thai man who killed high school student
A Thai man has been sentenced to death over the murder of a high school student in Trang province, southern Thailand, in 2018. The man shot and killed a 16 year old boy and shot and wounded another man who was the only witness to the murder. The victims’ families are satisfied with the Supreme Court’s ruling after fighting for…
- Crime News
Armed man robs gold shop in Pattani, southern Thailand – VIDEO
An armed man has robbed a gold shop in a Big C supermarket in Pattani province, southern Thailand. Police say the thief stole a total of nine necklaces worth 15 baht weight in gold (a ‘baht’ in gold is about 15 grams). According to CTV footage, the robber walked by the Yang Hub Teng gold and jewellery shop in the…
- South Thailand News
Rebel group PULO won’t engage in peace talks if independence is off the table
The leader of a rebel group in Thailand’s Deep South said the rebels will not engage in peace talks with the Thai government if the possibility of independence in Thailand’s southern border region is off the table. Under the framework of Thailand’s current constitution, the kingdom remains indivisible. The group’s leader Kasturi Makhota made the announcement days after his rebel…
- Thailand News
100 year old banyan tree falls down, kills 10 year old boy
A 10 year old boy was crushed to death by a 100 year old banyan tree which fell down this morning at a temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand. The boy was sitting near the tree studying online when the incident happened. The boy sadly died instantly when the tree fell on him, crushing him underneath. The boy’s…
- South Thailand News
Man in Southern Thailand believed to have drowned after fishing in flooded rice field
The body of a man in Southern Thailand was found yesterday. His mother believes he drowned while fishing in a flooded rice field. The man’s mother said the rice fields near her house were under about 70 centimetres of water after several days of continuous rain. She says her son went to catch fish in the fields. When she noticed…
- Events
Creamfields Festival is coming to Thailand
Get your rave gear ready because one of the world’s most prestigious electronic dance music festivals is coming to Thailand next month. The UK’s Creamfields Festival will take place in Pattaya from May 28-29 and the line up so far doesn’t disappoint. Early bird tickets are sold out, so if you want to attend the festival, be prepared when the…
- Thailand News
Rare sea creatures spotted in Krabi, southern Thailand
Rare marine animals were spotted enjoying Thailand’s coastal waters last week in Krabi, southern Thailand. Dugongs (manatee’s little cousins), humpback dolphins and sea turtles were seen from above in an aerial survey conducted by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) from March 27 – April 1. A total of 34 dugongs, colloquially known as “sea cows”, were seen…
- World News
Thailand’s navy captures 3 Vietnamese fishing boats off Songkhla
Thailand’s navy captured three Vietnamese fishing boats off Songkhla this morning. A commander admiral from the navy said a total of 15 people were arrested and charged for illegally fishing in Thai territorial waters without fishing licenses, using unregistered boats, and being immigrants working in Thailand without a work permit. The boat skippers were charged with directing fishing without skippers’…
- Thailand News
Tourist impaled in the neck by needlefish while swimming at Thailand beach
A needlefish impaled a tourist in the neck while he was swimming at a popular beach in Thailand on Thursday. Careful not to remove the needlefish from his neck, lifeguards gave the man first aid on Ao Tan Khu beach in the eastern province of Trat by Cambodia before taking him to a local hospital at around 1pm. Local officials…
- World News
Southern Thailand officials allocate 252 baht for Sadao connection with Malaysia
Now that Thailand’s Sadao border with Malaysia will finally reopen tomorrow, officials in southern Thailand have approved nearly 252 million baht to connect the two countries there. Thailand’s Deputy Minister of Interior announced today that the development committee of the southern border provinces approved construction of the road to connect the new Sadao Customs House and Bukit Kayu Hitam border…
- Thailand News
UPDATE: Iranian tourist’s body found after white water rafting accident
The body of the Iranian tourist who went missing yesterday after a white water rafting accident in Phang Nga province has been found. Police are preparing to investigate everyone involved in the incident. 42 year old Bahzadifar Javad Gholamabbas was white water rafting in Song Phraek with his four friends and two tour operators when their rubber boat hit a…
- Thailand News
Iranian tourist missing after white water rafting accident in Thailand’s Phang Nga
UPDATE: The tourist’s body has since been found. Read more HERE. An Iranian tourist has gone missing after a white water rafting accident yesterday in Southern Thailand’s Phang Nga province. A group of five foreign tourists alongside two tour operators were white water rafting down a river in Song Phraek village when they crashed into a rock causing their rubber…
- Thailand News
Flash flood warning for 8 Southern Thailand provinces
Flash flooding from heavy rainfall is expected over the weekend in eight provinces in Southern Thailand. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has announced a flash flood warning from April 2 to 4 in Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. The situation is likely to be severe in some areas and the department…
- Thailand News
Body of Burmese fisherman found in oil tank in southern Thailand’s Surat Thani
The body of a Burmese fisherman was found in an oil tank on a fishing boat docked in the southern province of Surat Thani. The tank was on a fishing boat where the man had worked which was found by a painter who was going to clean and paint the boat’s engine room. He tried to move the tank out…
- Thailand News
Massive water monitor lizard disturbs Southern Thailand home
Possibly one of the heaviest Asian water monitor lizards ever reported was found at a home in Southern Thailand. The massive lizard weighing around 100 kilograms was safely relocated by a rescue team yesterday after lying in front of the door at a house in Nakhon Si Thammarat. 29 year old Teerasuk Pudee returned from work to find what he…
- South Thailand News
Director of Betong Airport transferred to inactive post
Oh dear, it all looked so promising… Following on from Nok Air’s declaration that it was suspending services to the newly-opened Betong Airport due to low uptake, the airport’s acting director has now been sacked. According to a Nation Thailand report, Duangporn Suwanmanee was removed from her position just 4 days after Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha arrived on the airport’s…
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Update | Pattaya’s Songkran Covid-19 restrictions
The mayor of Pattaya has approved the Songkran celebration but has changed the focus of the event to traditional and religious activities instead, obviously aiming at domestic tourists without a lot of international tourists to cater for this year. With fears and concerns about Covid-19 lingering, water and foam events, as well as alcohol consumption and any big celebrations will…
- Thailand News
“Thai Riviera” coastal road planned for province along the Andaman Sea
CORRECTION: An earlier report incorrectly stated the cost of the road. The proposed budget for the design is 80 million baht and the total cost for construction has not been determined. A “Thai Riviera” road is being planned to be built along the coast six of Thailand’s Andaman provinces, if the Office of Transport’s request for 80 million baht for…
- Crime News
Drug trafficking suspect who allegedly shot at police last year arrested, South Thailand
Police in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat arrested an alleged drug trafficker and his girlfriend last night. The two were hiding in a rented house in Muang district. Nakhon Si Thammarat police found 80 meth pills, drug paraphenalia, and nearly 300,000 baht cash. They also found bank account books showing deposits of several million baht, guns and ammunition…
- South Thailand News
No flights to new Betong airport, Yala tourism officials talk promotions to boost travel
After the highly-publicised launch of the new airport in Southern Thailand’s Yala went sour, with Nok Air suspending flights to the airport due to a lack of passengers, tourism officials in the Betong area plan to offer discounts on hotel rooms and food for travellers to help the flights takeoff. Nation Thailand says the Betong Airport was “built to boost…
- Crime News
Southern Thailand police find large haul of methamphetamine hidden in deep fryers
Officers in Southern Thailand found hundreds of kilograms of crystal methamphetamine hidden in electronic deep fryers packaged to be shipped overseas. A couple was arrested after officers raided a home and a motorcycle repair shop, seizing methamphetamine from both locations, which, in total, weighed more than half a tonne with a street value of 117 million baht. Officers suspect the…
- Thailand News
Man caught with endangered tortoise faces charges for hunting in Thailand wildlife sanctuary
Thai authorities caught a man with an endangered tortoise he reportedly caught in a wildlife sanctuary and planned to cook up and eat. The man was found in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan province with firearms and a yellow elongated tortoise which he claimed he was cooking. The man faces charges relating to illegally entering a wildlife sanctuary, hunting…
- World News
Satun border between Thailand and Malaysia to reopen in April
The Satun border between Thailand and Malaysia will reopen on April 1 to all cross-border traffic. Thailand’s CCSA announced yesterday that more entry points will also be opened under the Test & Go and Sandbox schemes. These entry points include the sea port in Surat Thani for registered Thai vessels and Thai crews, as well as the airports in Hat…
- Koh Samui News
Koh Samui villa owner cuts rates in half for Ukrainian couple stuck in Thailand
A kind villa owner on the southern island of Koh Samui has reduced the rates of his villa by 50% for a Ukrainian couple who can’t return to their country due to the ongoing violence caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There are no commercial airlines are flying to Ukraine as the country closed its airspace to civilian flights following…
- Thailand News
Aircraft wreckage washes up on Nakhon Si Thammarat beach in Southern Thailand
Aircraft wreckage washed up on a beach in the southern province Nakhon Si Thammarat and provincial officers have called in aircraft specialists to investigate. A local official says locals found similar wreckage six years ago. A 3.16 metre long, 1.80 metre wide metal piece, weighing around 70 to 80 kilograms, was found on Tha Phraya beach. There were two spots…
- South Thailand News
Four military rangers injured in another Southern Thailand bomb
A bomb exploded in Mayo district of Pattani province in Southern Thailand this morning. Four paramilitary rangers were injured from the bomb on their way to fix a broken water pump near their base. One ranger was severely injured. One ranger’s left arm was injured. One ranger’s leg was wounded, and another ranger suffered chest pain. All the rangers were…
- South Thailand News
Prayut orders tight security amidst new Southern bomb attack
In the aftermath of a bombing in Yala province in Southern Thailand, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered investigators to hunt down the perpetrators. The attack injured four patrolling rangers and two civilians in front of a school in Bannang Sata district. This news comes after a government negotiator announced last month that the Thai government would have peace talks with…
- Thailand News
PM Prayut to board first official flight to Yala’s new airport, chair opening ceremony
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha will be onboard the first flight to the new Betong Airport in the southern province Yala to preside over the opening ceremony on Monday. The prime minister hopes the airport will stimulate the southern border provinces’ economic development, encourage domestic and international commerce and improve security in the area. The airport, under construction from 2017 to 2019,…
- South Thailand News
Songkhla archeological site threatened with destruction
A movement launched yesterday to stop an unnamed party allegedly illegally building a road on a historic mountain in Songkhla province. The mountain is Khao Daeng. It has historic archeological structures. The civic groups that gathered yesterday at the local fine arts office to support authorities told the Bangkok Post many trees were cut down, and soil had been dug…
- Thailand News
Southern Thailand flooding causes bridge collapse, 6 people reported dead
Six people have been reported dead and one missing after a bridge collapsed due to heavy rains and strong currents in the Deep South province Narathiwat. The bodies were found in a submerged pickup truck. Investigators are still searching for another body. Flooding from heavy rain over the past week has hit several provinces in Thailand’s southern-most region including Narathiwat,…
- Thailand News
Southern houses damaged by rainstorms and sea waves
Rainstorms and big sea waves damaged about 200 homes in the Southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat between Thursday and this morning. The storms hit the Gulf of Thailand, and drastically eroded about 500 metres of the beach at Na Saton village. The deputy provincial governor inspected the damage this morning, and the Na Satorn Municipality gave people tiles and…
- Thailand News
Ethnic group in Southern province complains losing residence due to tourism
Representatives of the Mani ethnic group in the Southern province of Satun in Thailand have handed a letter to the authorities complaining that they would lose their residence and couldn’t access a better quality of life due to the local tourism industry. The representatives told the authorities they didn’t even have a right to replace a thatched roof with a…
- Thailand News
MP sheds light on high-profile human trafficking case, head officer in exile in Australia
The story of a major human trafficking case involving Rohingya people being trafficked through Thailand and to the Malaysian border was brought back to light after an MP told another side of the story. During a general debate in parliament, he discussed how a former police officer, who is now living in exile in Australia, led the investigation which then…
- South Thailand News
Thai-Malaysia border to re-open from next month
The Thai government says it will re-open the country’s border with Malaysia from next month, in an effort to kickstart the recovery of tourism and the economy in the southern provinces. According to a Bangkok Post report, spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek says PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the CCSA to work with the tourism and sports emergency operation centre on Covid-19…
