News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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Sponsored Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Burglar snatches almost 100,000 baht from Hong Kong tourist’s Pattaya villa
Pattaya’s thefts against tourists seem to never end… A burglar snatched almost 100,000 baht from a Hong Kong tourist’s rented Pattaya villa on Friday night, according to the victim. The victim’s villa is located in Jomtien Beach. The victim, Ng Ho Hin, told police the thief also nabbed a Bluetooth speaker. Hin said he had been out all day, and…
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6 victims injured after Bentley crashes into two cars
A millionaire driver crashed his luxury Bentley car into an SUV and a fire rescue pickup on the Chalerm Maha Nakhon Expressway in Bangkok in the early hours of Sunday, which left six victims injured. The driver fled from the scene and refused to take an alcohol test. A 53 year old businessman, Suthat Siwapiromrat, crashed his grey Bentley sedan…
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Indonesian couple’s suicide note requests no investigation
An apparent double suicide in Indonesia is raising eyebrows as the deceased left a surprising suicide note. The couple was found dead, fully clothed in bed and holding hands after allegedly poisoning themselves. In what appears to be a suicide note the couple left behind, they asked that their death not be investigated. According to police in Ciputat, South Tangerang…
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Koh Samui ferries prepare to welcome back Chinese tourists
Koh Samui ferries prepare to welcome back Chinese tourists this weekend. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese made up Thailand’s biggest tourist group. Yesterday, China finally allowed its citizens to travel abroad again. Thai media said yesterday that ferry companies in Koh Samui’s Angthong sub-district were preparing their ferries to accommodate tourists travelling to Koh Samed, Koh Pha Ngan,…
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Drunk British tourist allegedly destroys prized albino buffalo sculpture in Bangkok
A drunk, British tourist allegedly destroyed a giant albino buffalo sculpture exhibited in the Sam Yan area of Bangkok at the weekend. At 2am on Saturday, a group of drunk British and German tourists passed by the Bangkok Art Biennale 2022 art exhibition outside Samyan Mitrtown in Bangkok. This year, the concept of the exhibition is “CHAOS: CALM” and features…
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Despite China risk, Malaysia will not change Covid rules
Thailand has implemented new blanket Covid-19 restrictions from today in an effort to fight an infection spike without offending China, which just opened to international travel despite a massive coronavirus outbreak. Malaysia went in another direction, declaring that they would make no changes to their entry procedures despite the increased risk of Covid in travellers from China. The Minister of…
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Delivery driver beaten by students over shoe colour
A misunderstanding over the colour of his shoes allegedly led to a food delivery driver in Bangkok being beaten by a large group of teenage students. The incident took place last month on Thursday, December 22 but has come to light as the driver was so traumatised by the attack he is afraid to go back to work in the…
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Volvo solar charging stations, charging free of charge
Volvo solar charging stations have been installed at four Volvo Car Thailand dealerships, where customers can charge their cars for free. As the number of electric vehicles (EVs) in Thailand is rising, however slowly, the demand for electricity from charging stations is growing along with it. More EVs means more power generation, which usually involves other fossil fuels that create…
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BREAKING: Unvaccinated tourists can fly to Thailand, so long as…
After facing an international backlash for reintroducing the two-dose Covid-19 vaccine entry requirement at the last minute, Thailand will allow unvaccinated tourists to fly into the country so long as they have either proof of recovery from Covid in the past six months OR a doctor’s letter explaining why they are not vaccinated. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT)…
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Princess Bajrakitiyabha remains unconscious 3 weeks after collapse
Princess Bajrakitiyabha remains unconscious for more than three weeks since she collapsed with a heart problem, according to a statement from the Bureau of the Royal Household on the health of the potential heir to the throne. Princess Bajrakitiyabha, King Vajiralongkorn’s eldest child, remains unconscious after she was hospitalised on Wednesday, December 14. The Princess, 44 years old, was reported…
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Driving penalty points system in effect from today
Thailand’s new driving penalty points system will come into effect today but the police are focusing on encouraging general public awareness so they understand the new rules before fully cracking down. The new points system for motorists is aimed at improving traffic law compliance, reducing accidents, and improving road safety, according to the commander of the Highway Police Division. The…
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Indian man jailed for urinating on 70 year old female passenger
An Indian man has been jailed after he urinated on a 70 year old woman passenger on an Air India New York to New Delhi flight. A New Delhi court sentenced Shankar Mishra to 14 days in prison for outraging the modesty of a woman while police investigated the incident on Saturday, November 26, 2022. If convicted, he faces up…
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Romanian diver missing at sea in Phuket, Thailand
The search continues today for a Romanian man who went missing while diving in the waters of Phuket in southern Thailand yesterday. At 12.40pm, officers at Chalong Police Station were informed that a Romanian diver went missing off the coast of Promthep Cape. At 9am, 46 year old Sebastian Emil Somesan, 47 year old Alexandru Florin Miron – both of Romanian…
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Two Thailand population reports reveal conflicting data
Statistics provided by the Central Domicile Registration Office revealed that on December 31, 2022, Thailand’s official population stands at 66,090,475. The Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data contradicts this however, saying it is over 70 million residents. Last year, an announcement formally published in the Royal Gazette stated that the official population of Thailand as of December 31,…
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NEW Thailand Entry Restrictions & Chinese Tourists Return | GMT
In today’s episode, Dog-eating Thai man gets three months in prison, Covid travel restrictions return tomorrow, and Floating beach club party barge requests to anchor in Phuket.
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2 men found frozen in the belly of Colombian plane
An aircraft maintenance technician in Colombia made a shocking discovery. Under the belly of an Avianca plane at the airport in Bogota, the bodies of two young men were frozen to death. The airline technician was inspecting and performing regular maintenance on the aircraft of Colombia’s flagship airline when he was horrified by the corpses. The bodies were found today,…
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Bangkok mother claims murder, dismisses ‘playing Russian roulette’
The Bangkok mother of the 16 year old boy who died “playing Russian roulette” last week has spoken out, claiming that her son may have been murdered. Waraporn Tumgen dismissed testimony given by six teens who witnessed her son’s death. Waraporn said… “Our family would like the police to consider all options, and not rule anything out.” Wongsatorn “Bee” Tumgen…
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Trivial tech at CES – tomorrow’s eyebrows today
Tech companies showed off their latest products this week at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, with new developments in video as well as lifestyle enhancements among the trivial tech at CES. The world’s biggest brands do business and meet new partners at CES, the most influential tech event in the world. It’s a proving ground for new…
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Fire destroys 7 speedboats on Koh Mak
Disaster struck the island of Koh Mak in Trat province over the weekend when seven speedboats docked at Thong Lang Bay were destroyed in a fire. A group of tourists from the mainland who had taken a day trip to the holiday island were briefly stranded as the speedboats to transport them back burned and sank. Local villagers came to…
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Doi Kloselo tourist attractions threatened by hydropower dam
In Mae Hong Son province, Doi Kloselo tourist attractions are to be created in a desperate attempt by locals to stop a planned hydropower dam on the Salween River. The Salween is one of Asia’s last largely free-flowing rivers. About 3,300 kilometres long, the Salween flows from the Tibetan Plateau south into the Andaman Sea, primarily within southwest China and…
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Man bites dog: Dog-eating Thai man gets three months
A dog-eating Thai man has been sent to prison for three months for killing, cooking and eating his pet dogs, according to the Soi Dog Foundation. The charity said on Facebook yesterday that concern was raised by Soi Dog mobile clinic staff who encountered a puppy in the Chalerm Prakiat district of Nakhon Si Thammarat with a deep laceration to…
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Covid travel restrictions return tomorrow
It’s probably just a coincidence, but just as China is easing their travel blocks and allowing its citizens to travel abroad, Covid-19 travel restrictions are officially back. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has recently announced a set of rules that will apply to all non-Thai arrivals between January 9 and 31. These rules come as the country anticipates…
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Nephew of former Pattaya deputy mayor surrenders on shooting charges
After losing control and shooting a British man in a road rage incident, the nephew of a former deputy mayor of Pattaya turned himself in yesterday. The 32 year old man identified only by his first name Apichat surrendered to police in Pattaya. According to Apichat’s account of the incident, the deputy mayor’s nephew was driving his car when he…
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Koh Pha Ngan packed with back to back parties
Business in Koh Pha Ngan has been booming with the biggest New Year’s Eve Countdown party in three years followed by the first Full Moon Party of 2023. Tens of thousands of visitors flocked to the island to take part in the (nearly) all-night beach party last night. The event was a success, though not quite as big and rowdy…
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Indian travel slowing due to new restrictions
The massive Indian demographic for Thai tourism has been slowing due to new Covid-19 travel restrictions the Indian government has implemented. Travellers returning from Thailand are now required to take an RT-PCR test, an expensive inconvenience that is discouraging many from travelling. The so-called meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) segment and independent travellers have been particularly put off by…
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Parks officials speak to DNP bribery inquiry
Seventeen officials from the Department of National Parks (DNP) made statements to police yesterday in connection with the DNP bribery inquiry into former department chief Rutchada Suriyakul Na Ayutya. Rutchada was arrested at his office in Chatuchak district on December 27 on suspicion of demanding or taking bribes from subordinates and malfeasance. His arrest came when Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn, former head…
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Teacher shot by 6 year old student in US
A shocking and disturbing incident occurred at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia in the US yesterday. A 6 year old student shot and wounded a teacher, a woman in her 30s, during an altercation in the classroom. The teacher was taken to a local hospital with injuries believed to be life-threatening, but there has reportedly been “some improvement”…
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Monk accused of raping his daughter
A 42 year old monk in Samut Prakan has been arrested for raping his daughter after visiting her for New Year blessings. On December 28, Naen, a 14 year old girl from a family with a history of sexual abuse, was violently raped by her father, Wirachai, a monk at a temple in the Greater Bangkok area province of Samut…
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Global food prices, hunger hit record highs
Global food prices for grain and vegetable oil were the highest on record last year, even after falling for nine months in a row, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said, as Russia’s war in Ukraine, drought and other factors take the blame for inflation and global hunger. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in food prices, dipped…
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Italian legend Gianluca Vialli dies after long battle with cancer
Former Italy, Sampdoria, and Chelsea star Gianluca Vialli died at the age of 58. The Cremona-born Italian, who also managed Chelsea and Watford, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017 but was cleared three years later only for it to return in 2021. Vialli played in Serie A, for Sampdoria and Juventus, before moving to Chelsea in England to finish…
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