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Storms hit Bangkok and Central regions
The Big Mango got a battering last night whilst rains are expected sometime on Phuket during Saturday and Sunday, but not the torrential rains that hit Bangkok. Heavy rains and strong winds hit several areas of the capital last night. A bus stop on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, outside the head office of petroleum giant PTT, collapsed as a result of strong…
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Police interview Magic Skin ‘spokespersons’ and ‘influencers’
Four Thai actresses have testified “as witnesses” to police about their role in product review advertisements for the Magic Skin cosmetic and food-supplement brand at the centre of allegations of fraudulent and misleading product labelling and marketing, according to national police deputy chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta. Pitchanart “May” Sakhakorn, Napapa “Patt” Tantrakul, Orapan “Aoffy Maxim” Dansiriwattanakun, and Nonthaporn “Ying…
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Boat propeller strike suspected death of baby dolphin – Samut Prakan
A rotting carcass of a baby dolphin was found on the seashore near a temple in Samut Prakan’s Muang district, south east of Bangkok, this morning (Friday). Monks living at the Asokaram Temple in Tambon Taiban noticed a stench coming from the direction of the erosion prevention dam at the seaside behind the temple. Laymen sent by the monks to…
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Heavy penalties on the way for drivers blocking ambulances
Motorists failing to get out of the way for ambulances may face harsher punishments for “endangerment to others” as netizens join with the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the police to get tough on offenders. The fine for blocking an ambulance could be raised from the current 500 to 10,000 baht or as high as 20,000 baht if the NLA…
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93 more rounded up in nationwide immigration stings
PHOTO: All smiles as Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal poses with some of the foreigners rounded up in the latest sting. Tourist police searched 118 locations around the country yesterday (Wednesday) and arrested another 93 foreigners for entering and living in Thailand illegally. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, held a press conference at the Monthian…
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Two villagers shot dead in Yala
In the most recent violence in Thailand’s deep south, a former village head and his friend have been gunned down in Yala province last evening (Wednesday), according to Police. The two were shot by an unknown number of suspected insurgents using M16 rifles on the main road in Ban Kuber Kuaroh village, Tambon Jakwa, in Raman district at around…
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37 billion baht motorway planned – Had Yai to Malaysian border
PHOTO: Had Yai commercial district The Thai government plans to build a 62km motorway in the southern province of Songkhla, from Had Yai to the Malaysian border in a bid to boost bilateral trade and cross-border tourism Estimates put the trade value in the region at around 500 billion baht per year according to the Transport Minister Arkham Termpitayapaisit. The…
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Gambling crackdown ahead of World Cup
With the 2018 World Cup in Russia fast approaching, the Royal Thai Police are launching a special centre tasked with cracking down on online football gambling. It will operate from May 1 according to the deputy national police chief Chalermkiat Srivorakhan during a video-conference linking the RTP head office in Bangkok to regional police offices. The multi-unit centre’s proactive approach…
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Same sex marriage laws likely to be passed in the lifetime of current government
After years of calls by sexual-diversity groups, a new law that would allow registered life partnership for same-sex couples is in the making. Supporters expect it to be promulgated within the lifetime of the present government. For proponents, the long-awaited legislation is viewed as the first i-mportant step towards legal same-sex marriage in Thailand in the future. Sexual diversity groups…
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Nine tourists injured in Nakhon Pathom van accident
Seven South Korean and two Indonesian tourists were injured this morning (Tuesday) when their chartered van ran into the drainage ditch in the middle of a Muang Nakhon Pathom road and struck a tree. Police say the driver Thinnakorn Meekhao lost control in the southbound lane of Phetkasem Road in Tambon Bang Khaem near the Uni Land Golf Course intersection.…
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Nakhon Phanom airport seeks 120 million baht for expansion
Nakhon Phanom International Airport is seeking 120 million baht from the government for the next fiscal year hoping to add two more runways and expand is departures building. Nakhon Phanom is in the Kingdom’s far north-east, right on the Laotian border. Prom Meeker, the airport director, says the airport needs 91 million baht to expand the departures building to accommodate 600…
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Krabi village declared rabies control zone
After a dog has tested positive to the deadly rabies virus, a district livestock development office in Krabi province today (Monday) designated the village a rabies control zone. Narong Boonphan, chief livestock development officer of Lamthap district, said the Moo 3 village in Tambon Thung Sai Thong announced the designation after a dog tested positive on April 19. Narong also…
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Thais likely to pay more for health under new reforms
A part of of the country’s upcoming national healthcare reform, Thais will definitely have to pay more for any extra medical services or medicines they want. Dr Seree Tuchinda, who heads the national healthcare reform committee, says, “for example, if you want medicines that are not on the national drug list, you will be charged.” Seree said the reform will…
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Nigerian arrested as police track down ‘romance scam’ gang
PHOTOS: The Nation Tourist police are hunting for conspirators in a “romance scam” gang after they arrested a 32 year old Nigerian who allegedly lured a Thai woman in Lampang province into wiring him nearly 100,000 baht. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakparn from the Tourist Police Bureau says that the suspect, Emery Henry Ogba, was a member of a gang believed…
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Big increases in BKK airport arrivals for 2018 Songkran
Nearly 7 percent additional passengers flew into Suvarnabhumi Airport and 12 percent into Don Mueang this year to celebrate the Songkran festival, compared to last year’s passenger traffic. The Immigration Bureau deputy spokesman Pol Colonel Choengron Rimpadee says that 683,260 passengers arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport from April 12 and 16. “The number marks a 6.96 per cent increase from Songkran 2017.…
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Krabi drug suspect killed in police shootout
FILE PHOTO A drug suspect has been shot dead late last night (Saturday) in a shootout with police in Krabi province. Police identified the suspect as 38 year old Suriya Thokong who had walked out of jail just two years ago after serving a jail term related to drug charges. An ongoing investigation suggested that Suriya may have returned to…
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5 people dead following storms in 36 provinces
5 people are dead and 3,758 homes in 36 provinces have been damaged by storms over the past week. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department director-general Chayapol Thitisak reported on the damage yesterday. He reported that relief aid, including home repair assistance and distribution of relief bags has been provided by Army, local administrative officials and related agencies. 655 villages…
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How many Thai durians can Alibaba sell in one minute?
Thai durian sold like hot cakes after Jack Ma showed the magic of e-commerce during his visit to Thailand by selling 80,000 golden pillow durians on his online platform T-mall within one minute. One minute! While Ma was in Thailand to make a mega-deal on investment on Thursday, Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong gifted the founder of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba…
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Alibaba to invest 11 billion baht in Thailand
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has committed to invest a combined 11 billion baht in Thailand in a move that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says could benefit the country’s small farmers and rural enterprises due to the firm’s expertise in diverse technology. “Jack Ma (Alibaba’s co-founder and executive chairman) told me he does not solely look for profits because Alibaba already…
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The Brunei woman who drowned in Krabi is not from Brunei’s Royal Family
The 60 year old woman from Brunei, PG HJH Jamilah PG HJ Othman, who drowned near Gai Island in Krabi (story HERE) was reported as being a member of Brunei’s Royal Family. Since that report the Royal Thai Police’s deputy spokesman Pol Col Krissana Pattanacharoen clarified that the woman was not member of the royal family of Brunei Darussalam as…
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Police make two arrests over travel scams
The owner of a Thai tour company has been arrested for deceiving 33 tourists left abandoned in Osaka, Japan last February. Tourist Police deputy chief Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal says that 35 year old Sonthaya Phosri had been arrested the day before under a warrant issued by the Thonburi district court. He was charged with cheating 33 Thai tourists…
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Close the beach, put up signs. Hua Hin tackles a one-in-2-million chance.
Shark prevention measures will be introduced in the resort town of Hua Hin after a Norwegian tourist was bitten by a bull shark, even though a marine biologist says there was only a one-in-2-million chance of someone being attacked by a shark. Prachuap Khiri Khan’s deputy governor Chotnarin Kerdsom has confirmed what experts have already validated – a Norwegian tourist…
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66 more foreigners arrested in nationwide crackdown
FILE PHOTO: The Nation Tourist police have arrested 66 more foreigners during crackdowns around the country last night (Wednesday). Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal, deputy tourist police chief spoke whilst in Soi Cowboy off Sukhumvit Road early this morning to announce the results of the operation. He said 11 foreigners were arrested for overstaying their visas and 51 others for unlawfully…
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2018 Songkran road toll total up on last year
This year’s Songkran “Seven Dangerous Days counted an appalling toll of 418 people dying on Thailand’s roads compared to last year’s 390. The figures were recorded by the Road Safety Centre said yesterday. The figures follow an ‘all out’ attempt by the Government and police to reduce the carnage on Thai roads over the Songkran break. This year also saw a…
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National drug crackdown nets drugs worth 320 million baht
Police seized a large haul of narcotics with a street value of 320 million baht from 101 suspects in 88 drug busts during March 28-April 17. The crime-suppression operations overlapped the Songkran holidays, deputy national police chief Pol General Chalermkiat Srivorakhan told a press conference in Bangkok yesterday (Tuesday). Besides confiscating 255 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, over 170,000 methamphetamine pills,…
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Shark fever hits Hua Hin as experts investigate
Authorities in Hua Hin are sending a team of experts to check out the waters off Sai Noi beach, south of Hua Hin, after two days of speculation that a tourist was bitten by a shark. The Marine and Coastal Resources Department is dispatching officers in a bid to allay people’s fears. Reports of the shark attack went viral since…
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Prawit denies any health problems
Deputy PM and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan is denying having any health problems. “I am not ill, as you can see now,” said Prawit, who is in charge of the government’s security affairs. During the long Songkran holidays there had been media reports quoting PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha, that his deputy was ill and had received treatment for heart…
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Storms wreak havoc in Chiang Rai and Phitsanulok
Thunderstorms and hail pounded 16 districts of Chiang Rai last night (Monday), damaging around 1000 houses. The director of the province’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office says reports were received of blackouts in 30 villages in five districts as utility poles were knocked over and tree branches snapped power lines. All of Mae Fah Luang district was without electricity when…
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Day Five – Drunk driving leads the way on Thailand’s ‘killing fields’
Drunk driving remains the major cause of road fatalities after the Songkran ‘Seven Days of Danger’ toll reached a staggering 323 people killed on Thailand’s roads (after the first five days of reporting). 3,140 others were injured in 3,001 crashes during the first five days of the Songkran seven-day accident-monitoring period – From last Wednesday morning to Sunday night. On…
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Six arrested in 10 million baht Andaman tour scam
Police have arrested six female suspects linked to a tour company that allegedly swindled customers of 10 million baht for bogus tour packages, Deputy Tourist Police chief Maj-General Surachet Hakpan told a press conference in Bangkok on Monday. The suspects named as executives of the tour company were Thanyarat Sansangwal, Nawanat Phosuk, Kwanreuthai Monkaew, Sathaporn Thongphrom, Thanipa Kanhachat and Monthathip…
