- Northern Thailand News
Family of slain teen ask CSD for help in seeking justice
The murder of an 18 year old man in the northeastern province of Maha Sarakham has been solved, yet no legal action has been taken. Now, the man’s family are calling on the Crime Suppression Division to step in and see that justice is done. They say the investigation into the case, launched in January of last year, has been…
- Politics News
No legal action from Facebook: minister
Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society said yesterday he doesn’t believe Facebook will take any legal action against the government and the ministry in relation to legal requests to take down or restrict access to some of its content, since the platform has cooperated well with previous requests. Buddhipongse Punnakanta was speaking at a press conference at the DES…
- Crime News
6 Chon Buri men fall victim to dating app scam
At least 6 men in the eastern province of Chon Buri have fallen prey to a romance scam and police there are now warning men over the use of dating apps. The men bought cars via financing for a woman they met through an unnamed app. The deputy chief of the Samet police told the Pattaya News that 23 year…
- Crime News
Nakhon Phanom couple “rob” bank
A man and wife in Nakhon Pathom, just west of Bangkok, were arrested yesterday for allegedly robbing a bank there. Police in the downtown district were informed in the morning that the local Government Savings Bank branch had been robbed, and arrived to find shattered windows and glass on the floor. Witnesses told police they’d seen the couple walk into…
- Crime News
Man confesses to serial rape of mentally challenged 14 year old girl
Police in the eastern border province of Buri Ram said today that a man who confessed to raping a 14 year old girl is out on bail and not considered a flight risk. The victim’s family complained that police dragged their feet in the investigation. 65 year old Somchai Kerdpra confessed to police and the media to assaulting the girl,…
- Thailand News
2 more student protest leaders arrested
A pair of student activists, 2 of 5 facing warrants, were arrested this afternoon on charges related to an anti-government rally they helped to organise on July 18. According to Yaowalak Anuphan, head of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, the latest campaigners to be nabbed by police are Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree and Panumas Singprom. Tattep was taken into custody in front…
- Thailand News
Prominent dissidents arrested, bailed again
A pair of prominent activists, outspoken lawyer Anon Nampa and Panupong “Mike Rayong” Jodnok, have been granted bail after their arrests Monday for sedition in connection with the Free Youth movement’s protest at Thammasat University, north of Bangkok on August 10. Both have been arrested before. Student activist, Panupong was arrested in the eastern Rayong province while waiting to greet…
- Thailand News
Thieving Suvarnabhumi cabbie nabbed
A shifty taxi driver made off with a bag that a previous passenger had left on a trolley at Suvarnabhumi airport. CCTV footage shows a man entering an orange cab with several bags but he forgetting a small backpack left dangling on a trolley. After a green and yellow cab arrived its place and some passengers had loaded up their…
- Bangkok News
Burmese man, motorcyclist injured in Samut Prakan crash – VIDEO
A Burmese pedestrian was seriously injured yesterday evening when he was hit by a motorbike in the Bang Plee district of Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok. The 300cc Kawasaki crashed into tables at a pork leg restaurant on a footpath before stopping in front of a sign. Police, rescue staff from the Poh Teck Tung Foundation and medics went…
- Crime News
Bangkok man arrested for selling e-cigarettes, vaping fluid
A Bangkok man is facing 3 years in prison and/or a 600,000 baht fine for selling e-cigarettes and vaping fluid, which are legal in many countries and even encouraged by some people as an aid to giving up actual cigarettes, on Facebook. Trading standards officers and police, acting on a tip, went to a house in Bangkok’s Nong Khaem subdistrict,…
- Crime News
Samut Prakarn man arrested for multiple indecent assaults
A man in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok was arrested yesterday for alleged serial sexual assaults and vulgar behaviour with women, following a complaint by a female student. Police arrested 29 year old Montri Khambai at a house in Bangchalong subdistrict after a female student of Huachiew Chalermprakiet University filed a complaint that she was assaulted on Friday night.…
- Bangkok News
Truck driver blames GPS for ending up in klong
A young truck driver in Pathum Thani province, just north of Bangkok blamed his GPS after he and his truck ended up in a klong. 23 year old “Wittiwat”, who was driving a load of sand, told authorities GPS told him to cross a rickety wooden bridge over the Bang Pho canal, so he did… or rather, he tried. Locals…
- Politics News
Report: US President Trump’s sister slams him as “cruel” and “a liar” in secret recordings
In a shock revelation, secretly made recordings reveal that Maryanne Trump Barry, the older sister of US President Donald Trump, described him as “cruel” and a “liar”, whose lack of principles meant he could “not be trusted.” The recordings, obtained by the Washington Post, were published yesterday. They are the latest unflattering insider account to target the president, but instead…
- Crime News
Murder suspect captured after motorbike crash
Police in the southern province of Surat Thani say a man with 3 arrest warrants, 1 each for for murder, attempted murder and robbery, was caught after a motorcycle incident in the early hours of this morning in the city’s central district. The Surat Thani police chief said that at about 12.10am a motorcycle ran off the road at a…
- Events
Pattaya tipped to stage huge airshow in 2023
Officials in Pattaya confirmed this week that the resort town is slated to hold a major international airshow in 2023 at the U-Tapao airport. The event is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors and to be the biggest-ever airshow in Asia. A spokesman for the Pattaya City Business and Tourism Association confirmed the announcement and said the show…
- Environment News
Surveys show the majority support protesters but fear violence
In apparent contradiction, separate opinion polls have found that, while a majority of people agree with the demands of pro-democracy demonstrators, a majority also fear that the ongoing wave of protests could lead to division and violence in society, particularly if protesters touch on the subject of the Monarchy. An opinion survey by the Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan…
- Tourism News
Heavyweight doctors oppose Phuket plan to admit tourists
A number of prominent physicians, some advisors to the Ministry of Public Health and the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, have posted on social media this weekend that they strongly oppose opening Thailand to tourists in any way, shape or form. Their concerns follow the government’s announcement yesterday of its plan to cautiously reopen the southern resort island of Phuket…
- Northern Thailand News
1 injured as Udon Thani bus slips of wet road
A bus in Isaan’s Udon Thani province slipped off the road and onto is side in heavy rain last night, seriously injuring a passenger. All 19 passengers, some with minor injuries, and the driver were safely rescued, and no deaths were reported. The injured passenger was sent to hospital. Police and rescue staff were alerted to the incident, on Mittraphap…
- Crime News
Grandmother sentenced for pimping granddaughter
A grandmother in Thailand’s South has been given a 55 year prison sentence for offering her 14 year old granddaughter for sex to a local politician. The Foundation for Children, Youth and Families announced yesterday that the court handed the sentence to the defendant, identified as Sakol Phodee, on Wednesday. Chuwit Jantaros, secretary-general of the foundation said the court found…
- Crime News
Justice Ministry, DSI seize over half a billion baht in assets from drug traffickers
The Thai-language daily Thai Rath reported yesterday that the Justice Ministry, together with the Department of Special Investigation, this week seized cash and assets valued at more than half a billion baht from drug traders in Bangkok, neighbouring Samut Sakhon and Samut Prakan provinces, and Chon Buri. The assets seized on Wednesday alone include 1,000 baht weight of gold bars…
- Crime News
Charges expected in Phuket student’s death
Rajabhat University in the southern province of Phuket is denying reports that a first-year student was forced to run around an old mine on the campus until she collapsed and later died. University officials say the incident took place in a parking lot, maintaining that it was part of a sports activity and not a hazing ritual. Police say they…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Flooding damages 5 northern provinces, more rains predicted today
5 provinces in Thailand’s North, namely Chiang Mai, Phayao, Lampang, Nan and Phrae, suffered serious flooding yesterday, causing damage in 15 districts, 189 villages and more than 1,400 households. Nan province suffered the most, with 960 households in 6 subdistricts damaged and 1 person dead. The director general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation explained that the heavy…
- Politics News
Can the Thai government put the cat back in the bag?
OPNION Who will be better at engaging a broad audience on social media? An incumbent conservative government run by former Army general and career politicians? Or a young, nimble, motivated group who are intuitive when it comes to using the modern online platforms? This is the current pickle for Thailand’s government, under the leadership of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and his…
- Politics News
Ailing Kremlin critic Navalny “stable” after move to Berlin
Outspoken Russian opposition leader and frequent critic of President Vladimir Putin Alexei Navalny is in stable condition after arriving in Berlin by air ambulance yesterday, following a suspected poisoning. According to the the head of Cinema for Peace, the German NGO that chartered the flight after the plane touched down at Tegel airport in Berlin: “Navalny’s condition is stable.” 1…
- Tourism News
Thai tourism sector “seriously wounded” by pandemic
It goes without saying that Thailand’s tourist industry has been decimated by the impact of lockdown measures and border closures, not only in Thailand but around the world. But now a deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says that the kingdom’s tourism sector is “seriously wounded” from the Covid-19 pandemic. Thapanee Kiatphaibool said Thailand won’t get anywhere near…
- Transport News
80% of Pattayans support monorail project
Authorities at a public hearing in Pattaya heard that 80% of local residents support plans to build a monorail to ease the resort town’s appalling traffic and transport problems. The proposed monorail would meet the proposed High Speed train at the station to the east of Sukhumvit Road, then travel along the motorway and along Sukhumvit before heading toward the…
- Transport News
Transport Department clarifies “big bike” licencing rule
The Deparment of Land Transport yesterday clarified the recently announced licencing requirement for drivers of “big bikes” ie larger more powerful motorcycles than the 110-150cc scooters normally seen on Thai streets. The definition will be bikes with engines of 400CC and up, according to the department’s deputy director-general. Applicants for these licenses will have to be trained and tested separately…
- Politics News
Outrage as Parliament votes to spend billions on submarines
The ruling coalition voted yesterday to confirm the purchase of 2 more Chinese submarines, sparking public outrage as the economy sinks and businesses close from the impact of the Covid-19 ‘lockdowns’ and border closure. The Royal Thai Navy has been pushing for the purchase since last year. The House subcommittee for Procurement, ICT, State Enterprises and Revolving Funds, which is vetting…
- Northern Thailand News
Isaan man arrested for drug use while driving
Highway police in Isaan’s Surin province have arrested a man for using drugs while driving. Officers were working at a road checkpoint to prevent illegal activities on the road including racing, and to inspect vehicles for illegal goods such as drugs. The driver, “Samart”, and the passenger, Songchai Poksanit, both 25 and both locals from Prasat District, were using methamphetamine.…
- Northern Thailand News
Teacher accused of sexually assaulting 11 year old in school toilet
A mother in the upper northeastern Kalasin province has filed a police report alleging that a 57 year old teacher sexually assaulted her 11 year old daughter, then offered 200,000 baht in exchange for not filing a complaint. The woman reportedly told police that on Thursday, her daughter behaved strangely after coming home from school. When she was questioned, the…
