Jon Whitman
- Health
Public defibrillator thieves are rescue workers
Police have arrested two rescue workers for the theft of several public defibrillators that they sold to other rescuers. Bangkok Police chief Pol Lt Gen Thiti Saengsawang said two men had been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) from the streets of Bangkok. Police also retrieved five stolen defibrillators. Public defibrillators were installed at police…
- Entertainment
The ‘bastards’ fight back – RTP catch Taiwanese star in a lie
The Royal Thai Police have been trending this week, sharing the headlines with volatile young Chinese micro-starlets. The giddy celebs on one hand commended the cops for providing superb customer service, and while on the other, ran to Interpol to complain about “corruption.” It all started innocently enough when a so-called influencer named only as “Adele” – a vlogger with…
- Thailand News
Not our problem – Paetongtarn dismisses father’s comeback
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of ex-PM Thaksin and Pheu Thai Party‘s chosen candidate for her father’s old job, said her father has to find his own way home. He will not need, and not receive, any help from the Pheu Thai Party. Paetongtarn – known by the pet name “Ung Ing” – dismissed her father’s comeback plans at a Pheu Thai…
- Technology News
Ministry reveals 200 apps that steal your cash
Since an unhappy Thai man accused a charging cable of stealing the 100,000-baht contents of his bank account, people in Thailand have become hyper-aware of the problems of apps that steal your cash on their phones. The victim insists he had not accessed any suspicious websites, taken any call centre calls or filled in any online forms but says his…
- World News
Eye-watering onion prices drive Filipino black market
Millions of dollars’ worth of onions have been seized by authorities in the Philippines, as an inflation crisis sees eye-watering onion prices in Manila‘s markets. Up to US$11 million (350 million baht) worth of onions was impounded by officials in the Philippines last year, 30% of all smuggled farm products. Their price soared so rapidly, that restaurants stripped them from…
- World News
Myanmar’s junta growing more opium than ever
Myanmar has been growing more opium since the 2021 coup, reversing a six-year decline between 2014 and 2020, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has said. During the first full opium growing season since the military took power in February 2021, Myanmar saw a 33% increase in poppy cultivation and an 88% increase in potential opium yield…
- Thailand Election News
Come home soon, Thaksin, and go to jail – ex-minister
An ex-Democrat minister and legal expert mocked Tuesday’s suggestion by fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra that he might come home soon. On Thursday, Nipit Intarasombat, an MP for Phatthalung, said Thaksin could fly anywhere in the world but if he touches down in Thailand, he’ll land in jail. Nipit Intarasombat said.. “Khun Thaksin is still a rich man who…
- Thailand News
Princess Sirindhorn to be named Goodwill Ambassador
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will be named Goodwill Ambassador again by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for her contributions to the empowerment of minority children and the preservation of intangible heritage. The princess was first appointed Goodwill Ambassador in March 2005 by then UNESCO director Sheldon Shaeffer, who recognised her decades of work…
- Thailand Protest News
Royal arsonist goes on hunger strike
The royal arsonist convicted of setting fire to a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida has gone on a hunger strike while awaiting an appeal. Food delivery rider Sitthichok Sethasavet was found guilty of defaming the royal family, arson, destruction of property, and violation of the Emergency Decree. He was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.…
- World News
Japanese firm sells whale meat from vending machines
Whale meat is not to everyone’s taste, but a Japanese whaling company has enraged millions by selling whale meat from vending machines to boost consumption. Kyodo Senpaku led Japan’s whaling fleet during its controversial expeditions to the Southern Ocean. The company has now opened its first kujira (whale meat) “stores” at two locations in Tokyo. The machines sell a variety…
- Transport News
Thailand to spend US$250 million on private VIP jets
The Cabinet approved an 8.8-billion-baht (US$270 million) budget to procure private VIP jets for members of the Thai royal family, ministers and honoured guests. Proposed by the prime minister’s secretariat and approved on Tuesday, the plan includes the procurement of new aircraft and components and the training of personnel. It’s just the latest of many curious budget decisions we can…
- Hot News
End of the World (of Warcraft) for China’s gamers
The land of Azeroth has been a dreamland of freedom for millions of locked-down Chinese gamers since Covid-19 struck. But just as the lockdown ends at home, fans of the roleplaying epic World of Warcraft (WoW) are being locked out of their fantasies. It’s the end of the world (of Warcraft) as they know it. The game is set to…
- Tourism News
You can’t ‘buy anything from the Thai police’ – PM’s Office
The Thai government has denied any involvement in setting up an outrageous TikTok video that informed Chinese tourists that “money can buy anything from the Thai police.” PM’s Office Minister Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana insisted on Sunday he had not told police to provide any VIP services to any TikTok influencer. The pretty young tourist, named only as “Adele,” was given a…
- Health
Know your mouse – facial recognition technology coming for Mickey and Mighty
The world’s biggest pest-control group, Rentokil, is planning to kill rats through the use of facial recognition software, with trials now taking place in people’s homes, according to Sky News. The software – which Rentokil began developing 18 months ago in partnership with Vodafone – tracks the beasties’ habits to help decide how to kill rats. Rentokil has been developing…
- Education
Musk’s Twitter cuts keep Thai pedo clips online
A number of video clips showing alleged sexual abuse by a Thai art teacher and his underage victims have been circulating on Twitter for many days now. The videos first appeared on January 17. Prachatai English found the videos circulating the same day the suspect was arrested by police in Nakhon Ratchasima. The teacher, identified by local media as “Kanthapit,”…
- Visa Information
Thai e-visa system expanded, upgraded
The Thai e-visa system has been expanded and upgraded, so tourists from around the world will soon be able to apply for Thai visas more easily. The Foreign Ministry has been tasked with refining the e-visa system so that it can handle the very large number of tourists who want to use it. The Foreign Ministry’s Trisulee Trisaranakul explained that…
- Thailand News
Bangkok barber botches pawnshop job
Bangkok barber Phuttarak “Chang Tong” Nakaew was minding his own business in his shop last week when a police officer came calling, pretending to be a customer. The officer arrested Chang Tong in Bangkok’s Bang Khun Thian district after he’d finished cutting his hair. Sharp-eyed officers immediately seized a plastic revolver which the 40 year old used in an attempted…
- Crime News
Narrow escape for Nauru’s Chinese passport forgers
When police nabbed two Chinese passport forgers operating out of an official Nauru Embassy residence late last year it seemed like another small victory in the fight against Chinese organised crime in the kingdom. Today, as it becomes clear that 15 officials have been charged in connection with the escape of the two Chinese passport forgers, a small victory has…
- Politics News
Sex Workers Bill will protect Thailand’s most-exploited
Many thousands of Thais – mostly women – work their whole lives in the sex industry without legal protection. With nothing to shield them, they are exploited both directly and indirectly. The Sex Workers Bill sets out to remedy some of that. Operators use harsh methods to control their workers and ensure the money keeps rolling in. Owners of venues must…
- Tourism News
Maiden Flydubai direct Pattaya flight arrives
The maiden direct flight from Dubai to Pattaya by Flydubai touched down at U-Tapao Airport in Chon Buri Province on Friday night, carrying 158 passengers. The passengers, including six bloggers, were greeted by U-Tapao Airport Director, Admiral Rapeepong Sowan, the vice mayor of Pattaya City and director of the Pattaya Office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). According to…
- Health
The No. 1 phrase in successful relationships
Many in Thailand are in successful relationships with language barriers running through the middle of them. What you say to your partner is vital, but the really important stuff is easy in any language. Dr John Gottman and Dr Julie Schwartz Gottman have been married for over 35 years. For the past 50 years, they’ve been putting love under the…
- Environment News
Couple arrested for selling Asiatic golden cat parts
A couple arrested in Bangkok with 19 animal skins has confessed to selling talismans made from Asiatic golden cat parts including skins and oil. Officers from the Natural Resources and Environment Crime Suppression Division arrested Phatcharapha Prasongdee and her husband Sitthichai Boonlai, both 30 years old, at a house in Lat Phrao district on Friday. In the couple’s house were…
- Education
Cheating Thai professors who research everything
When a student is caught cheating in an exam, the penalty, at the very least, is a failing grade. So when it became public recently that cheating Thai professors had bought their research papers, the student body, among many others, was eager to see what punishment would result. The Higher Education Ministry has told all universities to check the source…
- Things To Do
Getting to Bangkok’s floating markets
Getting to Bangkok‘s floating markets just got a whole lot easier thanks to new feeder bus services from the MRT Blue Line to Bangkok’s four top floating markets. Bangkok’s floating markets might not be the capital’s biggest draw, but they are a must-see for almost every visitor to the city. Moreover, for those who live in the city, they are…
- Crime News
Daughter who stole 250 million baht ordered to pay compensation
The daughter who stole over 250 million baht from her sick mother in Thailand has been ordered to pay more than 200 million baht (US$6 million) in compensation to the bedridden woman. In the suit filed by Huay Sriwirat against her daughter Mawadee Sriwirat, The Phra Khanong Civil Court has ordered Mawadee, two Kasikornbank employees, and a Kasikornbank bank to…
- Thailand News
‘Tuhao’ and 40 others indicted on multiple charges
Chinese businessman “Tuhao” and 40 accomplices were indicted in Bangkok on Thursday on a wide variety of charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering. The indictment of Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant comes after attorney-general Naree Tantasathien gave the go-ahead. The AG ordered the Office of Narcotics Litigation to arraign Chaiyanat and the other suspects at the Bangkok South Criminal Court. Charges…
- Thailand News
Sick wild elephant treated in central Thailand
A sick wild elephant had to be shot with a tranquilliser dart and sedated before wildlife officials and veterinarians could treat the animal in a forest in Tha Takiap district of Chachoengsao Province on Wednesday. Two elephants were found wandering in Ang Toei forest on Tuesday. One of them was clearly very sick, with a bad wound on the left…
- Thailand News
Military reform top of electioneering agenda
Military reform has been at the top of this weeks electioneering agenda. Pheu Thai and Move Forward both want to see widespread reform of the military, including the ending of conscription. Though the move will be popular among younger Thais, it is not universally supported. Both Thai Sang Thai and the Democrat Party believe that military conscription is necessary and…
- World News
Burmese migrant worker killed en route to Malaysia
A Burmese man was killed and six others were injured this morning when a Toyota Fortuner bound for the Malaysian border rear-ended a truck in the Tha Chana district in the north of Surat Thani province in the early hours. The accident occurred at the 120-kilometre marker on southbound Highway 4. Police and rescue workers arriving on the scene found…
- Thailand News
Protester jailed for burning King’s portrait
The food delivery rider who attempted to burn a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida during a protest in July 2021 has been sentenced to three and half years in prison. The court ruled that a portrait of the king is equivalent to the king’s person. Foodpanda delivery rider Sitthichok Sethasavet set fire to a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn…
