southern Thailand
- South Thailand News
Police seize 2 million baht worth of illegal cosmetics
A 43 year old man was arrested for allegedly producing makeup and packaging it at his home in Hat Yai, Southern Thailand. Police also confiscated about 2 million baht worth of the illegal cosmetics. Both police and health officials gained information about a home in Hat Yai that was allegedly producing and packaging cosmetics for an unregistered brand. When police…
- South Thailand News
Thai immigration police arrest foreigners with fake IDs
Thai immigration officials have arrested 2 Pakistani men who were using fake Thai identification cards. Now the officers have opened an investigation to see if more foreigners might be connected to the case and are living in Thailand with a fake ID. Immigration officials in Pattani, in the far south of Thailand, were recently tipped off about a foreigner with…
- Environment News
Pattani company turns marine debris into new shoes
Flip flops, sandals, thongs, whatever you want to call them, are often seen washed up on beaches along with plastic bags and bottles. Those old, forgotten shoes are being transformed into new flip flops by a Pattani company called Tlejourn, a Thai phrase meaning “wandering across the sea.” Using old sandals found on the beach, Tlejourn cleans and shreds them…
- Crime News
Trang teen kills mother and brother, Buri Ram man kills nephew
A teenager in Southern Thailand allegedly shot and killed his mother and brother before killing himself yesterday. In another case in Northeast Thailand, a man allegedly stabbed and killed his nephew Sunday night. In Trang, the mother and her 14 year old son were found in bed with gunshot wounds. The suspected shooter, a 16 year old boy, was found…
- South Thailand News
Tour bus incident leaves 5 injured after flipping into ditch
A tour bus accident has left 5 people injured after flipping into a ditch on a highway leading to Nakhon Si Thammarat. The injuries were reportedly minor in severity with all 27 passengers and 2 crew members exiting the bus safely. The bus crashed in the area of Prachuap Khiri Khan as a bicyclist reportedly cut in front to cross…
- South Thailand News
Police arrest 3, find 250 kilograms of crystal meth in truck in southern Thailand
Police arrested 3 people involved in drug operations after stopping a 10 wheel truck at a security checkpoint and finding 250 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, hidden in 12 fertiliser sacks. That is a very large seizure of the crystal form of methamphetamine. The lorry driver, Koseng Cheha, was arrested at the checkpoint in Songkhla in southern Thailand. Cheha…
- Crime News
Police arrest man for robbery on 4 year old warrant
A man who allegedly posed as a police officer and stole a motorbike was arrested in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Southern Thailand after being on the run for nearly 4 years. There’s been a warrant for his arrest since 2016 for robbery charges. The 32 year old man, Thai media reports as ‘Beer’, along with 3 of his friends, allegedly stole…
- South Thailand News
Woman injured after falling through broken drain cover in Trang
A woman has injured her leg after slipping through a broken drain cover in the southern city of Trang. The woman, named only as “Ms B” was on her way home from a restaurant in the city when her right left slipped through a gap in the drain cover as she was walking to her car. Her leg, which was…
- Crime News
Police arrest man for running motorbike theft operation
The leader of an alleged motorbike-stealing gang was arrested yesterday in Southern Thailand. Police also seized 16 motorbikes that had been stolen from various districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Udomchai Sukyoi, who went by the name Sua Om, was arrested at a hotel in the province. Police found vehicle registration books, which Sukyoi allegedly kept as collateral while gang members…
- South Thailand News
Ranong slot machine. ATM glitch gives customers 10 times more cash.
An ATM in southern Thailand turned into a very generous slot machine as lucky customers were getting 10 times the amount they had asked to withdrew. One person withdrew 2,700 baht, but the machine handed out 27,000. Another withdrew 1,200 baht and got 12,000. Some people filed a report and handed the money immediately over to Ranong police over the…
- Crime News
Man rides in on jet ski, fires shots as hundreds raid his illegal shellfish farm – VIDEO
Like a scene in an action movie, a man rode in on his jet ski, firing a gun in the air as around 300 other fisherman raided his illegal shellfish farm off the Phunphin coast in Surat Thani. Apparently fishermen have been at ‘Cockle Wars’ for a while, with some claiming ownership to parts of the Gulf of Thailand near…
- South Thailand News
Police officer faces scrutiny after flying helicopter onto temple grounds
A high-ranking tourist police officer landed the department’s helicopter at a famous Buddhist temple in Southern Thailand. The senior regional officer for the Tourism Police Bureau parked the helicopter inside the compound of the Wat Chedi in Sichon, a district in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Why a car wouldn’t have been a sufficient means of transportation has not been addressed by…
- Crime News
Fugitive shot dead in gunfight with police in Nakhon Si Thammarat
A fugitive is dead after a gunfight with police in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The man, identified as 30 year old Pongsak Jessadarom, of the province’s Muang district, was wanted on three warrants for theft. Police were notified this morning by local residents of two thieves attempting to break into a house. A motorcycle patrol soon arrived…
- South Thailand News
Police and sniffer dogs search for 18 Rohingya who escaped from southern detention centre
Police and soldiers are searching forest areas around the border areas of Sadao district, south of Hat Yai in Songkhla, as they look for 18 illegal Royingha migrants. Originally 19 fled from the camp, about five kilometres from the border but one broke his leg during the escape and was soon found while hiding in a nearby village. 18 are…
- Politics News
Anti-corruption commission says government officials guilty of taking bribes in power plant agreement
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is accusing the Thai government of accepting bribes from Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, the Japanese company awarded the contract to build a power plant in the southern Thai city of Nakhon Si Thammarat. NACC secretary-general, Worawit Sukboon, alleges that four government officials accepted a 20 million baht bribe from the Japanese firm in exchange for…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Cooler in the north, more rain for the south
The north of Thailand is in for some thundershowers from today and for the next two days, as a result of another high-pressure system from China that is currently over the region. The showers will be followed by a further dip in temperatures and strong winds, according to a forecast issued by the Thailand Meteorological Department. Temperatures in the north…
- South Thailand News
Thai military says martial law in south will not be lifted
PHOTO: Sumeth Panpetch, Associated Press Following the insurgent attack that killed 15 volunteers at a security checkpoint earlier this week, the Army says it’s not planning to lift the emergency laws currently in place in the south of the country. The attack is believed to have been carried out by a militant group identified as the BRN or National Revolution…
- South Thailand News
Whale freed by drilling team in Gulf of Thailand
On Saturday six drilling team members at Erawan offshore field spent about 30 minutes cutting a rope tied to the tail of a Bryde’s whale that apparently swam towards the structure seeking help, according to the Bangkok Post. The rope was believed to have been tied to its tail by fishermen after the whale became trapped in a net, but…
- South Thailand News
Judge Kanakorn Pianchana, another victim of the southern insurgency
Five men were awaiting the judge to hand down his verdict. Charged with murder and facing either life imprisonment or a death penalty, or being acquitted. On October 4 Judge Kanakorn Pianchana, at the Yala Provincial Court, announced the five men were acquitted, in a 25 page document. What was to follow was both profound and tragic. The judge claimed, as…
- South Thailand News
Investigative panel to probe alleged judicial meddling – reports in 15 days
“The 3 member panel will now have 15 days to wrap up the initial probe and submit their conclusions to the Judicial Commission.” PHOTO: Mariyam Ahmad/BenarNews In a story that has shaken Thais, who have broadly rallied behind the Yala Chief Judge, the government has been forced to act swiftly with an independent enquiry. Yesterday, the Judicial Commission has announced…
- World News
Southern Thailand smog well above safe levels
PHOTOS: Charoon Thongnual – The Nation Hat Yai, the main city in Songkhla, has been among the worst hit by the smog engulfing parts of southern Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The business district of Hat Yai has been hard hit with PM2.5 particles exceeding the safety standards of 50 (set by the World…
- World News
Malay tourist allegedly ploughs into roadside workers, killing five
“Five Thai workers were killed and another injured on the Asia Highway.” Khao Sod reports that a Malaysian tourist has been charged with reckless driving causing death and injury after her car allegedly ploughed into six Thai road workers in Songkhla, southern Thailand, on Tuesday. The workers were from the Kamphaeng Phet Highway District Office doing routine maintenance along the…
- Tourism News
Phuket Town – the UNESCO City of Gastronomy reveals some secrets
VIDEO: Thai PBS A UNESCO City of Gastronomy, Phuket Town is a real foodie town. Among their amazing arrays of local delicacies is a variety of tea snacks, many of which are the integral part of their daily life. The delicate and cute and delicious Pang Pia is among the oldest recipes. Phuket Town has gone through several transformations. Once…
- South Thailand News
21 undocumented Burmese migrants found in Songkhla, alleged Thai trafficker arrested
FILE PHOTO: Malay Mail A Thai man has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle 21 undocumented Burmese migrants from Thailand’s south across the border into Malaysia. A resort in Tambon Patong of Songkhla’s Hat Yai district was searched by soldiers and police earlier today (Monday) and discovered five Burmese men and two women in two of the rooms. Their account…
- South Thailand News
History of Thailand’s Southern Insurgency
Whenever there’s news about violence in southern Thailand, Thaiger readers may wonder who’s fighting who, and why. So we present a brief history of the insurgency which has gripped Thailand’s southernmost provinces for decades. The area has been coined the ‘deep south’ or the ‘restive south’ and has become, statistically, a more bloody conflict than the situation on the Gaza…
- South Thailand News
Marine scientist fears impact to marine life from Pabuk
Marine scientist and vice dean of the Faculty of Fisheries of Kasetsaart University Thon Thamrongnawasawat has posted his concerns about the massive amount of fresh water pouring into the Gulf from rivers in the wake of the Pabuk storm. “Besides damages inflicted on properties, live stocks and farmlands by tropical storm Pabuk, the storm is likely to have caused extensive…
- South Thailand News
Policeman killed and four injured in insurgent ambush in Yala
FILE PHOTO – The Nation A policeman has been killed and four villagers injured in an apparent ambush by insurgents in Yala’s Raman district yesterday (Wednesday). Tha Thong police in Raman were alerted just after 5pm about the attack on a pickup truck at the boundary between Raman and Pattani’s Thung Yang Daeng district. When police and an Army unit…
- South Thailand News
Major ‘ice’ haul intercepted in the South
FILE PHOTO An enormous haul of 280 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as “ice”, was found hidden in a pickup truck that was spotted abandoned in an oil palm plantation in Satun’s Manang district. Supoj Sirisaeng, an assistant chief of Tambon Nikhom Pattana, alerted police to check the vehicle after it was found in the plantation. The pickup was taken…