- 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…
- Pattaya News
Drunken man arrested threatening people with large knife on Pattaya beach
Pattaya City police arrested a highly intoxicated Bangkok man yesterday afternoon for carrying a large knife and threatening tourists and locals on Pattaya Beach. The incident began at around 11:00am, according to police, who say the man, who was severely intoxicated, was openly carrying a large knife, yelling incoherently and threatening people on the beach. Police were called by local…
- Business News
Chevrolet Thailand says ‘no’ to compensation demands for cars sold before discounts were announced
Yesterday, a group of Chevrolet car buyers submitted a letter to Chevrolet Sales (Thailand) at the company national HQ at Rasa Tower, in Bangkok’s northern suburbs. They were demanding the company should compensate them for having bought their cars at full price, just before Chevrolet announced it was pulling out of manufacturing cars in Thailand. Specifically they were complaining about…
- Politics News
Bangkok police on alert at student rallies
Authorities in greater Bangkok are keeping a watchful eye on students organising political rallies at universities in and around Bangkok, warning them to strictly adhere to public assembly laws. Last night, activities were held by students at Mahidol University, Silpakorn University’s Tha Phra campus, Chiang Mai University and Maejo University, also in Chiang Mai, following the Constitutional Court’s decision to…
- Environment News
Bangkok public schools closed until Friday due to air quality
Public schools in the Bangkok municipality have been ordered shut until Friday due to severe air pollution in the nation’s capital. Air quality in the city worsened today and the situation is likely to continue due to poor air circulation and accumulation of PM2.5 dust in the atmosphere. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) spokesman Pongsakorn Kwanmuang said today that the city…
- Crime News
Suspects in abduction, murder of judge’s brother taken for re-enactment
When the brother of a senior judge in the central province of Nakhon Sawan was abducted in broad daylight in front of the Bangkok South Criminal Court on February 4, police feared the worst. Today, three of the six suspects alleged to have been involved in the abduction and subsequent murder were escorted by officers of the Crime Suppression Division…
- Phuket News
British sailor, adrift for 3 days, rescued by Thai navy
A British man had to be towed to shore along with his sailboat after the craft’s motor broke down off Phuket, leaving him adrift for three days before he was rescued. The operations centre of the 3rd Naval Area in Phuket got a request from the cargo ship Miclyn Endurance yesterday afternoon to help a sailboat, the Pollen Path, which…
- Economy News
Thai stocks plummet nearly 4% in Monday SET trading
The Stock Exchange of Thailand finished yesterday at 1,435.56 points, a decrease of 59.5 points, or nearly 4% – that’s compared to Friday’s close on the SET. The daily trade volume for Monday was 76.431 billion baht, with an index high of 1,474.12 and a low of 1,435.56. Asian bourses were hammered as confidence was inhibited by rising cases of the…
- World News
Uncertainty as Malaysian PM Mahathir resigns
Just days after Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohammad was given a mandate by the ruling coalition to stay on until after November’s APEC Summit, he has submitted a letter of resignation to the nation’s king. His office made the announcement today, amid talk of forming a new coalition. The fate of Malaysia’s current ruling coalition has been in doubt since surprise…
- Thailand News
Top 10 laws to beware of in Thailand
Did you know that it’s illegal in the UK to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armor? Or that it’s legal to shoot a Scotsman with a crossbow under certain circumstances? Most countries have outdated laws on the books that seem odd today, but as a visitor to Thailand, there are some laws you should always be…
- Pattaya News
78 year old Briton and wife seriously injured in bloody domestic dispute in Pattaya
A British man and his Thai wife both suffered serious injuries in a violent domestic dispute in Pattaya in the early hours of this morning. Emergency responders and local media were notified of the incident some time after midnight. Medics arrived at the scene to find a 78 year old British national with serious slash wounds to his face and…
- Phuket News
17 kids rescued in Phuket human-trafficking raids
“All 17 children were Cambodian and were taken to the Phuket Shelter for Children and Families on Koh Siray.” Thai police have taken 17 children into protective custody after a series of coordinated raids in Patong. They say the children were being exploited by a human trafficking gang, who beat them with a wire clothes hanger if they did bring…
- Thailand News
Missing moggie rescued in Rayong
A pet cat was rescued this week in Rayong province, near Pattaya, after being stuck between walls for two days. Rescue workers were notified of an emergency at a building in central Rayong. They arrived at the scene to find a cat stuck in a narrow gap between two walls. It took about 10 minutes to pull the cat up.…
- Pattaya News
89 year old grandmother hurt by falling coconut branch
An 89 year old grandmother working as a food vendor at Chon Buri province’s Bangsaen Beach, near Pattaya, was injured around 10:30 this morning by a falling branch from a coconut tree. Bleeding heavily, she was given medical care at the scene and rushed to a local hospital. She has since recovered and been released. It’s believed that a strong…
- Covid-19 News
Korean virus cases skyrocket; Japanese passenger turns positive
The number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Korea has increased tenfold in just four days to 556, and a passenger on the virus-stricken Diamond Princess tested positive after arriving home in Japan, despite a negative result during the ship’s 14-day quarantine. Yesterday, China’s Hubei province, where the outbreak began, saw 96 deaths, another decrease, in line with the toll reported…
- Crime News
Former deputy commerce minister and police lieutenant arrested for suspected murder
Former deputy commerce minister and police lieutenant colonel Banyin Tangpakorn was arrested this morning, along with two other people, in the central province of Nakhon Sawan. Police believe the three were involved in the disappearance of the brother of a senior Criminal Court judge. Banyin is a former MP for Nakhon Sawan, of the now-defunct Palang Prachachon party. The arrest…
- Events
US ships arrive for Cobra Gold 2020
Ships from the US Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) have arrived in Thailand in preparation for Exercise Cobra Gold 2020. Cobra Gold is a multi-country war game conducted every year in Thailand. Cobra Gold 2020 will be held starting Tuesday and run to March 6. Rear Admiral Fred Kacher, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 7, had this to say: “Working with…
- Road deaths
Pregnant woman injured, boy killed as fire-damaged tree collapses on their truck
A boy is dead and a pregnant woman seriously injured after a roadside tree broke and fell on their pickup truck in the western province of Kanchanaburi yesterday. Police say the incident occurred at about 3:30pm while 24 year old Kanokkorn Sangkhachi was driving a Nissan Navara pickup along Highway 323. She was accompanied by her 12 year old brother,…
- Crime News
Suspected forest fire arsonist arrested in Lampang
Despite prohibitions on agricultural burning, wildfires continue ravaging forests across Thailand’s North. Now, police have arrested an arsonist suspected of starting forest fires in the northern province of Lampang. Forest rangers suspect he started fires in the Mae Jang forest reserve. Udomsilp Thithamma was arrested at his shelter in the compound of a rock crushing plant. Bundles of mosquito repellent…
- Thai Life
Interior ministry bans “crane claw” game machines as gambling tools
Gambling, other than betting on horse races or the government-sponsored lottery, has been prohibited in Thailand since the Gambling Act 1935. Now the government has banned the familiar “claw crane” machines found at many shopping malls and supermarkets, calling them “gambling tools.” The order was signed by the acting permanent secretary of the interior on Wednesday. The order was issued…
- Northern Thailand News
Udon Thani thief arrested after “invisibility spell” fails to work
Police in the northeastern province of Udon Thani yesterday arrested a thief claiming to have magical powers, after his “invisibility spell” failed to work. Thirty-two year old Anurak Promwang claims to have used the spell successfully many times in the past, and blames the removal of his trousers for his arrest. Security footage captured the thief in action, including the…
- South Thailand News
Man comes face to face with 5-metre king cobra while in bed
A man in the southern province of Trang got a shock when he lay down for a nap and found he was being watched by a 5-metre king cobra staring at him from the ceiling. The man’s home is on a rubber farm, where cobras and other venomous snakes are often found. The local rescue team, who reportedly specialise in…
- Politics News
US embassy, Amnesty International oppose Future Forward dissolution decision
In a statement today, the US embassy in Bangkok said the Constitutional Court’s decision to dissolve the Future Forward party risks disenfranchising more than six million Thai voters who voted for the party in last March’s general election. “The United States strongly supports democratic governance around the world, and appreciates Thailand’s recent seating of a democratically elected government. While the…
- Phuket News
American man arrested for theft at Phuket mall
An American man has been arrested for theft after allegedly stealing three designer wallets from a shop at Phuket’s Central Floresta shopping mall. Twenty-one year old Christopher Braman was arrested at the shopping centre in tambon Ratsada on charges of theft and overstaying his visa, police said yesterday. After the arrest, police took Braman him to his rented room in…
- Covid-19 News
China reports further reduction in new coronavirus cases, down to 397; Korea has a second death
China’s National Health Commission announced today that the country had 397 new confirmed cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus infections as of yesterday, down from 889 cases a day earlier. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 76,288. The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China had reached 2,345. Hubei province, the epicentre…
- World News
Busted! Cambodia cracks down on suggestive Facebook sellers
Cambodian women’s rights groups are slamming a crackdown on well endowed women who wear “provocative clothing” while selling goods live on Facebook, calling the crackdown dangerous and baseless. Seven groups point out that the women are breaching no law. “There is no evidence-based research that affirms that women’s clothing choice is the root cause of degradation of social morality.” Cambodian…
- Politics News
Disbanded Future Forward Party vows to fight on
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Future Forward Party (FFP), disbanded yesterday by the Constitutional Court, has vowed to continue fighting and announced the formation of “the Group of Future Forward,” which he says will continue the campaign to get Thailand back on the road to democracy. He said leaders of the Future Forward Party have no intention of giving up…
- Crime News
Police chief denies officers killed suspect
“We didn’t kill him, he killed himself” The police chief in Nonthaburi, just northwest of Bangkok, denies claims that one of his men kicked a motorcyclist off his bike. The 28 year old man, identified only as “Pisanu,” died after he fell off his Honda Wave motorbike. He was fleeing a police checkpoint at the time. He suffered head injuries…
- World News
Consumer groups warn of risks in buying a new Chevrolet
General Motors’ decision to pull production of its Chevrolet line out of Thailand has prompted consumer advocacy groups to remind prospective buyers of risks. The Foundation for Consumers and the Office of the Independent Committee for Consumer Protection said yesterday that buyers “should be wary of uncertainty as General Motors will pull its operation out of the country” by the…
- Events
Thai MotoGP will go ahead after coronavirus check
Race organisers yesterday announced that The Thailand MotoGP race in March will go ahead as planned, saying the government has decided theere is “no major risk” from the COVID-19 coronavirus. A statement from organisers of the race in Buri Ram on March 22 said: “With the outbreak of coronavirus affecting a number of locations and events worldwide, the decision required…
