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 Protest NewsAmnesty International urges Thailand to free activists and return bail rights

    Amnesty International urges Thailand to free activists and return bail rights

    Amnesty International is urging Thailand to free all political prisoners, drop all current allegations made against activists and return bail rights to activists who get arrested. The requests are detailed in a letter signed by 4,701 people addressed to Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin. Amnesty International UK ran a campaign to gain support for the letter. Amnesty International Thailand gathered at…

  • Pattaya NewsMountain B fire death toll rises to 16

    Mountain B fire death toll rises to 16

    The Mountain B tragedy continues as another person injured in the fire dies in hospital. A 23 year old man identified as Sittichai Ouilert died at Chon Buri hospital at 10.21pm yesterday, after he was caught in the fire which swept through a Chon Buri nightclub on Thursday night. A total of 13 people died at the scene in the…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesTropical storm ‘Mulan’ to hit several provinces of Thailand between August 11-13

    Tropical storm ‘Mulan’ to hit several provinces of Thailand between August 11-13

    Tropical storm “Mulan” which started at 4am this morning in the upper South China Sea is headed for Thailand, according to the Meteorological Department. The storm is travelling at 20 kilometres per hour and is expected to hit China’s Hainan island first, then Vietnam and then arrive in Thailand as soon as tomorrow. As a result, northern Thailand and some…

  • Thailand NewsThailand introduces fine for not wearing seat belt in the back seat

    Thailand introduces fine for not wearing seat belt in the back seat

    Not wearing a seat belt in the back seat of a car in Thailand will soon be punishable by a 2,000 baht fine. The rule will come into effect 120 after its publication in the Royal Gazette on September 5, 2022. The Royal Gazette wrote the new rule into the Road Traffic Act (No.13) 2022, published on May 7. The…

  • Visa InformationCCSA to consider extending Thailand tourist visa on arrival to 45 days

    CCSA to consider extending Thailand tourist visa on arrival to 45 days

    Tourists might soon be granted a visa on arrival/visa exemption which allows them to stay in Thailand for a maximum of 45 days. Currently, passport holders of certain countries are granted 30 day visa exemptions on arrival, and others are granted visas on arrival with a maximum stay of 15 days. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will propose the…

  • Crime NewsPoliceman poses as Buddhist monk to trick drug dealers in central Thailand

    Policeman poses as Buddhist monk to trick drug dealers in central Thailand

    A policeman swapped his tight, zip-up uniform for saffron robes last week in a cunning plan to lure two drug dealers to arrest in Ratchaburi province, central Thailand – but he also broke the law in doing so. Villagers in Ban Pong district complained to police that Ya Ba, a cheap version of Methenamine, was being sold at a famous…

  • Thailand NewsLocal hero predicts building collapse, saves countless lives in eastern Thailand

    Local hero predicts building collapse, saves countless lives in eastern Thailand

    A man from the Sattahip district in Chon Buri province saved countless lives on Saturday when he warned residents to quickly evacuate the precarious row of four townhouses on Soi Wat Noi road. The alert neighbour, 50 year old Saneh Wongpoon, heard creaking noises coming from his ceiling and noticed a part of the roof caving in. The row of…

  • Pattaya NewsFans flock to free entry Pattaya Music Festival held every weekend of August

    Fans flock to free entry Pattaya Music Festival held every weekend of August

    Tens of thousands of music fans are flocking to Pattaya Music Festival this month in the eastern province of Chon Buri. The festival is held every Friday and Saturday of the month at stages in several locations in Pattaya, kicking off at 5pm. Entry is free. Festival goers are more than ready to party after the festival was postponed in…

  • Northern Thailand NewsUPDATE: Sexy Thai model fined 5,000 baht for dancing topless in club

    UPDATE: Sexy Thai model fined 5,000 baht for dancing topless in club

    UPDATE: Thai model and DJ “Oil Kissyface” has been slapped with another 5,000 baht for more sexy antics. Oil was previously fined 5,000 baht under the Public Obscenity Act after a video of her dancing topless at a nightclub in Khon Kaen last week went viral on social media. After news of her fine caught the nation’s attention today, another…

  • Pattaya NewsCourt releases Mountain B owner on bail for 300k baht following fire in eastern Thailand

    Court releases Mountain B owner on bail for 300k baht following fire in eastern Thailand

    Today, Pattaya Provincial Court released “Sia B” – the 27 year old owner of Mountain B pub – on bail for 300,000 baht. He was arrested on Saturday following the tragic fire that struck Mountain B pub in Sattahip district of Chon Buri province on Friday, killing 15 people in total and injuring 40 more. Sia B was released on…

  • World NewsNigerian monkeypox case who fled Thailand is banned from Cambodia for 3 years

    Nigerian monkeypox case who fled Thailand is banned from Cambodia for 3 years

    Cambodia has ordered the deportation of a 27 year old Nigerian man who recently recovered from monkeypox. The man originally fled Thailand last month, after testing positive for the virus, and because he had overstayed his education visa, which expired in January. Cambodian immigration announced yesterday that he had recovered and they planned to send him back to Nigeria soon.…

  • EventsEmirates is recruiting cabin crew in Thailand

    Emirates is recruiting cabin crew in Thailand

    Emirates will hold an event in Bangkok on August 20 to recruit potential cabin crew candidates. The assessment day is “invite only” – applicants are required to apply online and may attend the event if they receive an invitation. All Emirates crews are based in Dubai, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The airline offers employment benefits for cabin…

  • Crime NewsKaren woman stabbed to death in central Thailand

    Karen woman stabbed to death in central Thailand

    A Karen woman was found dead lying in a pool of blood outside of a condo building in Nonthaburi province yesterday at 11pm. Police said she had been stabbed in the neck with a knife. Officers from Bang Bua Thong Police Station, doctors from the Institute of Forensic Sciences, and rescue workers from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation were called to the…

  • Pattaya NewsCheap sound absorption panels believed to be cause of Mountain B fire

    Cheap sound absorption panels believed to be cause of Mountain B fire

    Cheap and flammable sound absorption panels are thought to have caused the tragic fire at Mountain B nightclub in Sattahip district, Chon Buri province, on Thursday night. The total death toll rose to 15 after a man injured in the fire died in hospital on Saturday. Around 40 people were injured in total. The owners of Mountain B soundproofed the…

  • South Thailand News4,000 Muslims protest against construction of Kuan Yin statue in southern Thailand

    4,000 Muslims protest against construction of Kuan Yin statue in southern Thailand

    More than 4,000 Muslims gathered yesterday to protest against the construction of the largest Kuan Yin statue in the world on Khao Lon mountain in Songkhla province, southern Thailand. President of the Islamic Committee of Songkhla Province Sakkriya Bilsal alongside an imam from every mosque in the province were among those opposing the construction of the 200-metre-tall statue of a…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya loan shark threatens to cut off debtor’s finger

    Pattaya loan shark threatens to cut off debtor’s finger

    A department store employee from Pattaya in Chon Buri province is terrified because a loan shark threatened to cut off her finger for missing some debt repayments. The woman secretly voice recorded the creditor and took the evidence to the police. Yesterday, 35 year old Angumalee Suriya from Pattaya revealed that a loan shark offered to deduct 10,000 from her…

  • Pattaya NewsThai PM Prayut orders safety inspections of entertainment venues after Mountain B fire

    Thai PM Prayut orders safety inspections of entertainment venues after Mountain B fire

    Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered government agencies to conduct safety inspections of entertainment venues following the devastating fire last night at Mountain B pub on Sukhumvit Road in Sattahip district of Chon Buri province, killing 13 people and injuring at least 41 more. PM Prayut has ordered the relevant agencies to work with the pub owner to assist…

  • Visa InformationThailand’s Entry Requirements August 2022

    Thailand’s Entry Requirements August 2022

    Travelling to Thailand in August 2022? Here’s everything you need to know before you go. If you’re planning to stay in the kingdom for less than 30 days, and you hold a passport from one of these 64 countries, you don’t need a visa to enter Thailand. Tourists are no longer required to apply for Thailand Pass or buy health…

  • Politics NewsThai university students to hold protest on August 10 despite government ban

    Thai university students to hold protest on August 10 despite government ban

    Students of Thammasat University will hold a protest on August 10 at the university’s Rangsit campus, just north of Bangkok in Pathum Thani province, despite the Thai government’s ban on protests. A new ban on public gatherings was published in the Royal Gazette on Monday to “prevent the spread of Covid-19.” The controversial ban on protests is permitted under the…

  • Thailand NewsThai man dies from electrocution after friends warn him against electrofishing

    Thai man dies from electrocution after friends warn him against electrofishing

    A man from Nakhon Pathom province in central Thailand was found dead in the forest this morning clutching pliers, electric wires, and a fishing net. The body of 49 year old Montien [surname reserved] was found next to a pond in the forest behind a worker’s camp on Malaiman Road in the Mueang district in the early hours of this…

  • Thailand NewsMan goes fishing in the road to prove a point in northeast Thailand

    Man goes fishing in the road to prove a point in northeast Thailand

    A man from Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast Thailand, sarcastically grabbed his fishing rod and launched it into a pond-sized pothole this morning in an attempt to bring attention to the sorry state of road affairs in Non Man Thet village. The village has been waiting over 10 years for the road to be repaired and he has had enough. The…

  • Transport NewsChiang Rai Airport to stay closed until August 6 following Nok Air incident

    Chiang Rai Airport to stay closed until August 6 following Nok Air incident

    The Nok Air plane which skidded off Chiang Rai Airport’s runway during landing on Saturday night was finally lifted out of the mud and removed at 4am today, but the airport will remain closed until August 6 due to poor safety standards. The incident sparked a safety inspection by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), which found that the…

  • Crime NewsUndercover policeman arrested for selling meth to teenagers in northeast Thailand

    Undercover policeman arrested for selling meth to teenagers in northeast Thailand

    Police in Maha Sarakham province in northeast Thailand arrested a man yesterday for selling Yaba (“crazy drug”) – branded methamphetamine pills cut with caffeine – to teenagers in the Kantharawichai district. Turns out the drug dealer is an undercover policeman. Yesterday, officers from the Royal Thai Police and Maha Sarakaham Provincial Special Operations Unit closed in on a hut in…

  • World News110 Thais on one flight denied entry into South Korea

    110 Thais on one flight denied entry into South Korea

    A total of 110 Thai tourists on a single flight were denied entry into the South Korean island of Jeju and sent back to Thailand yesterday, according to the Korea Times. Since Korea’s post-pandemic “reopening,” a crazy 50% of all Thais arriving in South Korea have been rejected at the border, according to reports. Of the 184 Thai nationals aboard…

  • Phuket NewsGerman tourist tests positive for monkeypox in Phuket, Thailand

    German tourist tests positive for monkeypox in Phuket, Thailand

    A German man has tested positive for monkeypox in Phuket, becoming Thailand’s third recorded case of the virus since the global outbreak began. The 25 year old German tourist travelled to Thailand on July 18 for a holiday in Phuket. Shortly after arriving in the kingdom, he began presenting with monkeypox symptoms. At first, the man developed a fever and…

  • South Thailand NewsSouthern Thailand rebel group considers 3 month ceasefire for Buddhist Lent

    Southern Thailand rebel group considers 3 month ceasefire for Buddhist Lent

    Another round of “peace talks” between the Thai government and rebel groups in Thailand’s Deep South was wrapped up yesterday at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) – one of the most active and well-established insurgent groups in the south – is considering Thailand’s request for a three month ceasefire for the duration of Buddhist…

  • Central Thailand NewsUPDATE: Thai wife hires mistresses for husband with a 15,000 baht salary

    UPDATE: Thai wife hires mistresses for husband with a 15,000 baht salary

    UPDATE: Applications for the position of “mistress” are now closed. Pattheema has asked a “beautiful” 33 year old woman from Phetchabun province, who is her “close friend”, to join her family. Despite advertising three available spaces for the position of “mistress” on social media, Pattheema has closed applications after filling just one position. Pattheema took her “close friend” to speak…

  • Transport NewsNorthern Thailand’s Chiang Rai Airport to stay closed for 2 more days

    Northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai Airport to stay closed for 2 more days

    The Nok Air plane that skidded off the runway in Chiang Rai on Saturday night, August 1, still hasn’t been removed. Mae Fah Luang Airport in northern Thailand announced that the airport will remain closed for two more days and plans to reopen on Friday, August 5, at 10pm. The airport announced the suspension of all flights in and out…

  • Events‘Rolling Loud’ hip-hop festival is coming to Thailand in 2023

    ‘Rolling Loud’ hip-hop festival is coming to Thailand in 2023

    The world-famous hip-hop festival ‘Rolling Loud’ is coming to Thailand in 2023. The occasion will mark the festival’s expansion into Asia for the first time, having previously thrown parties in the United States, Europe, and Australia. The festival was announced via Twitter on July 26, stating “Rolling Loud Thailand, See you 2023.” Further details about dates, location, times, ticket prices,…

  • Thailand NewsChiang Mai hotel reduces room rate to 1 baht per night to stimulate tourism

    Chiang Mai hotel reduces room rate to 1 baht per night to stimulate tourism

    If you’re looking to travel northern Thailand on a budget, book this week and get a room for just 1 baht at Harmonize Hotel in Chiang Mai province. The room must be booked before August 7 for a stay anytime before October 31. Not only does the room cost a mere 1 baht – or US$0.028 – but the hotel…