leah

leah

Leah is a translator and news writer for the Thaiger. Leah studied East Asian Religions and Thai Studies at the University of Leeds and Chiang Mai University. Leah covers crime, politics, environment, human rights, entertainment, travel and culture in Thailand and southeast Asia.
  • Thailand

    Thai woman dies 6 hours after breast augmentation surgery

    A Thai woman died just six hours after getting breast augmentation surgery at a clinic in Nonthaburi province in central Thailand. Her family is seeking justice, reports KhaoSod. The mother of the deceased, 59 year old Champee [surname reserved] said that her 37 year old daughter Kanokwan [surname reserved] lost consciousness and died less than six hours after returning home…

  • Crime

    11 Thai nationals rescued from brothels in India

    In a sting operation on Sunday, police raided two prostitution rings disguised as spas in Chandigarh, India, and rescued 18 women, 11 of whom were Thai nationals, reports the IndianExpress. Four men were arrested. After locals complained of brothels operating in the area, police sent decoy customers to enquire about ‘services’ at two locations: Golden Leaf Spa and Pyramid Spa.…

  • Tourism

    Tourists in Thailand urged to download ‘Tourist Police i lert u’ app

    Foreign tourists in Thailand are advised to download the app “Tourist Police i lert u” which they can use to quickly and conveniently contact the police in case of an emergency, according to government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek. Not to be confused with the Thai version of the app, “police i lert u,” the tourist version of the app is available…

  • Crime

    Police arrest Mongolian thieves preying on tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport

    Police arrested Mongolian thieves repeatedly preying on and stealing from tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. Yesterday at 3pm, the Director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, Kittipong Kittikachorn, held a joint press conference with Suvarnabhumi Airport Police to announce the arrests of three members of a Mongolian gang operating at Thailand’s largest airport. Under arrest warrants from Samut Prakan Provincial Court,…

  • Crime

    Indian man overstays visa in Thailand by 2,048 days

    Immigration police arrested an Indian national in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, found to have overstayed his visa by 2,048 days (more than five and a half years). Police believe he is part of a call centre gang, reports KhaoSod. The police stopped 38 year old Jatinder Singh – who resides in the Na Jomtien area of Sattahip district –…

  • Crime

    Aussie man and Thai wife say politicians’ letter saved them from death penalty in Thailand

    A free Aussie man and his Thai wife who spent four years in prison in Thailand for a crime they did not commit say that a 15-page letter from politicians in Australia is the reason they were spared the death penalty after being convicted of trafficking half a tonne of crystal meth in 2018. Luke Cook, his wife Kanyarat Wechapitak and…

  • Crime

    Brawl erupts between foreign staff and foreign tourists at Phuket restaurant (video)

    A violent brawl erupted between three foreign staff members at a restaurant in the Patong area of Phuket, southern Thailand, and five drunk foreign tourists in the early hours of this morning. Partygoers notified Patong Police Station that a group of foreign tourists and a group of foreign restaurant staff were attacking each other with chairs at Atlas Restaurant on…

  • Thailand

    Frenchman lost in Thailand forest has been found

    UPDATE The missing Frenchman lost in the forest around Khao Eto Mountain in Prachin Buri province in central Thailand was found this morning. The search party scoured the forests all night for Sierra Gamache – who NationTV reports as 73 years old and not 70 years old as reported by DailyNews – after he got lost on his way down the…

  • Cannabis News

    Thai man sets ‘high’ score for fastest joint roller at Phuket’s Cannabis Cup

    As cannabis remains one of the nation’s hottest political issues in Thailand prior to the election in May, one Thai man won 5,000 baht for rolling a perfect one-gramme joint in just 43 seconds at the first-ever Cannabis Cup in Phuket on Saturday, reports Reuters. Hailed the fastest joint roller in all of Phuket, 30 year old Phuketian Ativat Janmuangthai won…

  • Weather

    Thailand weather forecast: Hot and stormy

    Much of Thailand can expect hot weather and summer storms in the next 24 hours, with temperatures hitting highs of 39 degrees Celsius in Bangkok, according to the Meteorological Department. Northern Thailand is expected to be hot and hazy today. In Chiang Mai, the air quality index (AQI) was measured at a ‘very unhealthy’ 220 this morning, 33.9x higher than…

  • Thailand

    Elderly Frenchman missing in Thailand forest

    A search party has been mobilised to locate a 70 year old Frenchman lost in the forest around Khao Eto Mountain in Prachin Buri province in central Thailand since yesterday afternoon, reports DailyNews. The Frenchman, 70 year old Sierra Gamache, set off early yesterday morning and climbed to the highest point on the Mount Eto trail. At 12 noon, Gamache…

  • Koh Samui

    Murky water at Koh Samui beach caused by plankton bloom, not oil spill: officials

    UPDATE The smelly, murky water putting off tourists from swimming in the sea at Maenam Beach in Koh Samui, southern Thailand, is not an oil spill but caused by a plankton bloom, which is a natural phenomenon, according to the Director of Koh Samui Harbour Authority, Arun Buppako. The photos circulating of green murky water at the beach show dead…

  • Thailand

    Italian man impaled and killed by forklift in Thailand

    An Italian man tragically died this morning after he was impaled by a forklift in Samut Prakan province, just south of Bangkok in central Thailand, near the factory where he worked as sales manager. He was riding a motorbike taxi when the incident happened, reports ThaiRath. At 10am, officers at Samrong Nuea Police Station were informed of a fatal collision between…

  • Tourism

    Foreigners complain they can’t swim at Koh Samui beach due to smelly oil spill

    French and German tourists complained that a smelly oil spill prevented them from swimming at Maenam Beach yesterday in Koh Samui, Surat Thani province, southern Thailand. A German man told reporters that he went to the beach to sunbathe and play in the water. But when he tried to go swimming, he noticed a foul smell emanating from the sea.…

  • Crime

    Four Vietnam Airlines cabin crew caught smuggling 11.4 kg of hard drugs on flight from Paris

    Four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants caught smuggling drugs disguised as toothpaste on a flight from Paris earlier this month were released on bail yesterday, reports VnExpress. On March 16, police arrested four flight attendants – Nguyen Thanh Thuy, Vo Tu Quynh, Tran Thi Thu Ngan and Dang Phuong Van – after 11.4 kilogrammes of cocaine and ketamine were discovered in…

  • Thai Life

    Thailand: Check your 20 baht bills, they might be worth more than you think…

    A Thai coin and banknote collector is offering big cash for a rare kind of 20 baht bill that could be in anyone’s wallet in Thailand. Some of the new plastic polymer 20 baht bills which entered circulation last year were printed without a vertical line on the left-hand side, as seen in the picture. “Gig” the rare money collector…

  • Thai Life

    80 year old woman survives floating 3 kilometres down Nan River in Thailand

    An 80 year old Thai woman fell into the Nan River in Pichit province, northern Thailand, and floated for 3 kilometres before she was rescued by a good Samaritan yesterday. At 4pm, 61 year old Bancha Simadua, the owner of a paint shop, was fishing in the Nan River near Wat Ratchachang Kwan when he suddenly saw a naked body…

  • Vietnam

    Cat slaughterhouse shut down in Vietnam, 197 cats saved (video)

    An industrial-scale cat slaughterhouse in the Dong Thap province of Vietnam, capable of slaughtering up to 500 innocent cats a day, has ceased all operations following landmark intervention from the authorities. The slaughterhouse, which has been in business for more than a decade, has been subject to two police raids in recent weeks, during which its owners were found not…

  • Cannabis

    A first look at Cloud Nine: Bangkok’s retro-futuristic cannabis destination

    Thailand’s most ethereal cannabis dispensary, Cloud Nine, has officially opened its doors in Bangkok, right next to Terminal 21 shopping mall in Asoke. Kitted out with minimalist retro-futurist decor, sheer white drapes, clouds hanging from the ceiling, and luminous lighting with bursts of blue, Cloud Nine certainly lives up to its name. The cannabis connoisseurs here are invited to buy…

  • Koh Samui

    Bangkok Airways to launch Koh Samui – Hong Kong route

    Bangkok Airways revealed plans to launch a direct route between Koh Samui in Thailand and Hong Kong, aiming to “generate more revenue from foreign customers.” President of Bangkok Airways Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth revealed that a nonstop Koh Samui – Hong Kong flight is in the works and could launch sometime this year. The airline has also entered discussions to lease more…

  • Thai Life

    Thailand lottery winner thanks Buddha with 100 pig’s heads

    A Thai lottery winner today laid out 100 pig’s heads in front of the famous 30-metre-tall Buddha statue at Wat Klang Bang Phra Temple in Nakhon Pathom province in central Thailand. The lucky winner, Panu Nawisamphan from Samut Prakan province, did not reveal how much money he won in the government lottery. Panu said his offering of 100 pig’s heads…

  • Thailand

    Airports of Thailand to invest 37 billion baht in Don Mueang Airport

    Airports of Thailand (AOT) is ready to invest US$1 billion (36.8 billion baht) to improve and expand the capacity of the low-cost terminal of Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport, AOT announced yesterday. AOT plans to increase capacity from 30 million to 40 million passengers per year by 2029, with construction beginning this year, according to a statement from AOT. The project…