Surat Thani

  • Crime NewsMan rides in on jet ski, fires shots as hundreds raid his illegal shellfish farm – VIDEO

    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…

  • Crime NewsSurat Thani police extortion case – police chief promises swift and thorough investigation

    Surat Thani police extortion case – police chief promises swift and thorough investigation

    Police in the southern Surat Thani province have been ordered to speed up their internal investigation into allegations that 3 of their officers demanded 5 million baht from a trader to drop charges relating to the purchase of seafood from local fishermen. The report will be submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. A spokesman said today that the investigation is…

  • South Thailand NewsOfficers demand 5 million baht bribe, hundreds riot – VIDEO

    Officers demand 5 million baht bribe, hundreds riot – VIDEO

    All claiming to be police officers, 3 men in Southern Thailand tried to extort a man for 5 million baht so he could avoid arrest. Somehow hundreds of villagers in Surat Thani got involved and surrounded the policeman’s Toyota Fortuner, according to Thai media. A video from Thai PBS shows villagers rocking the vehicle back and forth, and the rear…

  • Covid-19 NewsKoh Tao residents caught without face masks made to do push-ups and jumping jacks – VIDEO

    Koh Tao residents caught without face masks made to do push-ups and jumping jacks – VIDEO

    Officials on the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand have come up with a novel way to punish people for not wearing face masks, still a legal requirement under the Covid-19 emergency decree when people are out in public. The Pattaya News reports that both tourists and Thais caught without protective face coverings are being made to…

  • Crime NewsSpaniard arrested for brutal Koh Phangan murder

    Spaniard arrested for brutal Koh Phangan murder

    Police in the southern Surat Thani province have arrested a Spanish man on the island of Koh Phangan for the stabbing death of a Chilean man. Authorities say the brutal murder took place at 1am yesterday. Officers say when they arrived at the scene of the murder, a rented house on Koh Phangan, they found 31 year old Chang San…

  • Hot NewsSurat Thani governor confirms that residents coming back from Phuket will be quarantined

    Surat Thani governor confirms that residents coming back from Phuket will be quarantined

    With the exodus of people from Phuket heading back to their home provinces, officials from Surat Thani have confirmed that they will be quarantined at home for 14 days when they arrive. Surat Thani is about a 3-4 hour drive northeast from Phuket. The Surat Thani governor Witchawut Jinto has ordered all district chiefs in the province to quarantine visitors…

  • Covid-19 NewsThousands of tourists stranded on a trio of Gulf islands

    Thousands of tourists stranded on a trio of Gulf islands

    An estimated 10,000 foreign tourists are stranded on three islands in the Gulf of Thailand, more than half of them, around 5,700 on Koh Samui, after passenger flights were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Surat Thani province’s tourism and sports chief Tikamporn Sutti-udomrat, said yesterday that apart from the 5,700 visitors on Koh Samui, there are another 3,300 foreign…

  • Covid-19 NewsSurat Thani man “goes berserk” after 5 days in quarantine

    Surat Thani man “goes berserk” after 5 days in quarantine

    Wiang Sa Police Station in Surat Thani province was notified that a 32 year old Thai man was unable to control himself and was screaming continuously inside his house. The man’s mother says that her son had just arrived back from Bangkok and she had locked him inside the house following the quarantine order. But after the 5th day of…

  • ExpatsSwiss man nabbed on Koh Phangan, overstayed visa by more than four years

    Swiss man nabbed on Koh Phangan, overstayed visa by more than four years

    PHOTO: Naew Na A 52 year old Swiss expat has been arrested on Koh Phangan in violation of his visa conditions. Naew Na reports that the man had overstayed his entry visa into Thailand by over four years. Police tracked him down at a rented house on Koh Phangan, a small Gulf of Thailand island near Koh Samui. He had overstayed…

  • Tourism NewsThailand’s Ang Thong National Marine Park, the ‘new’ Maya Bay

    Thailand’s Ang Thong National Marine Park, the ‘new’ Maya Bay

    With Thailand’s Maya Bay in Koh Phi Phi Ley remains closed indefinitely to allow the tourist-magnet some much-needed time to recover, it’s time to look for another natural wonder. One of Thailand’s astonishing natural wonders, not as well known as Maya Bay, is the Ang Thong National Marine Park, located about 40 kilometres north west of the coast of Koh…

  • Koh Samui NewsSpanish tourist falls to his death at a waterfall trail on Koh Samui

    Spanish tourist falls to his death at a waterfall trail on Koh Samui

    PHOTO: Thai PBS A Spanish tourist fell to his death as he attempted to walk down from a waterfall on Koh Samui. The incident happened on Saturday and police believe the man’s death was an accident. Friends told police that 26 year old David Alejandro Rocamudi Conesa became separated from their group as they were exploring the Na Muang 2…

  • South Thailand NewsSurat Thani governor does spot checks on free school lunch program

    Surat Thani governor does spot checks on free school lunch program

    PHOTOS: Thai Rath Want to find out if the public school free lunches are up to scratch? Send out a team of people to ‘test drive’ the free lunch program that has come under scrutiny in recent years. There have been accusations of rorts, poor quality and downright corruption at some schools that were meant to be providing a nutritional…

  • Crime NewsManhunt for drug suspect who ran over policeman in Surat Thani

    Manhunt for drug suspect who ran over policeman in Surat Thani

    PHOTO: ThaiRath Surat Thani police are hunting for a drug suspect who allegedly ran over and killed a policeman while fleeing arrest in Ban Ta Khun district, west of Surat Thani, last night. The deputy provincial police chief says 46 year old Pol Sen Sgt Maj Poonkrit Buakaew was killed as he was shooting the tyres of a car that was…

  • Thailand NewsA mother and two young daughters killed when their car is hit by a train

    A mother and two young daughters killed when their car is hit by a train

    A mother and two young daughters have been killed when their car was struck by a train at a railway crossing in Surat Thani’s Phun Pin district this morning. The Nation reports that police say the accident happened at a rail crossing in front of the Tambon Phun Phin Administrative Organisation that is located between Maluan and Thung Pho railway…

  • South Thailand NewsBangkok-Yala Express Train crashes into pickup killing mother and child

    Bangkok-Yala Express Train crashes into pickup killing mother and child

    PHOTO: Coconuts A mother and son have died after a Bangkok-Yala express train hit their pick up this morning on a road between Ban Tham Khao Chawala and Ban Tham Namthip Villages in Surat Thani, southern Thailand. The victims were identified as 39 year old Weerawal Semrod and her 10 year old son Manoonsak. The incident occurred at a level…

  • South Thailand NewsMother and son killed after train collided with their pickup truck in Surat Thani

    Mother and son killed after train collided with their pickup truck in Surat Thani

    PHOTOS: fm91bkk A mother and a son have been killed after a train collided with a pickup truck in Surat Thani this morning. FM 91 Bangkok is reporting that the Tha Chana Police in Surat Thani were notified of the incident at a railway in Tha Chana. Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene where there were no barriers for…

  • Koh Samui NewsSouthern provinces battered by heavy rains and floods

    Southern provinces battered by heavy rains and floods

    PHOTO: Flooded Samui roads – Facebook/Thunder Road Reporters “The city Mayor says the municipality had arranged for medical staff to be on stand-by to help patients at evacuation centres already set up to deal with potential flood crisis in Nakhon Si Thammarat.” Heavy rain has been battering the southern regions of the Gulf coast for the past few days and…

  • Thailand NewsTour company owner fined 2,000 baht for threatening taxi driver with sword

    Tour company owner fined 2,000 baht for threatening taxi driver with sword

    PHOTO: Sanook A tour company owner has been fined a mere 2,000 baht by police in Surat Thani after threatening a taxi driver with a sword. The video (below) shows 39 year old Suphakit Sindamrern the alleged owner of Buddy Travel in the Kaset market area heading to his car to retrieve a sword from the boot. Suphakit told an official…

  • South Thailand NewsStorm forces Army helicopter into emergency landing

    Storm forces Army helicopter into emergency landing

    FILE PHOTO: Bell Helicopters 212 of the Royal Thai Army at Khon Kaen An Army helicopter flying senior military officers from Surat Thani to Ranong provinces has been forced to make an emergency landing in Chumphon this morning because of a thunderstorm cell that developed quickly along the route. The Bell 212 helicopter encountered sudden heavy rains, forcing it to…

  • Thailand NewsVillager missing following flash floods south of Surat Thani

    Villager missing following flash floods south of Surat Thani

    FILE PHOTO A villager has been swept away by strong currents after trying to escape from his house during flash floods in Surat Thani’s Phra Saeng district. The area is two hours drive, north of Phuket. The man remains missing as of this morning. Rescue officers and villagers searched for 55 year old Arunrat Phetcharat for over six hours until…

  • Koh Samui NewsKoh Tao businessman announces his suicide, then kills himself

    Koh Tao businessman announces his suicide, then kills himself

    PHOTO: Facebook/Diver Nino A Koh Tao dive shop and bar owner has broadcast a clip of himself announcing his suicide and then apparently killing himself just minutes before rescuers got to him. Police and rescuers rushed to a two-storey house at a housing estate in Surat Thani’s Muang district after learning that a man living there might commit suicide. Upon…