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 NewsPolice bring home 6 Thai women forced into prostitution in Myanmar

    Police bring home 6 Thai women forced into prostitution in Myanmar

    Police brought home 6 Thai women who posted videos on social media to say they had been forced into prostitution in Myanmar and needed help. The police picked up the women from the Thailand – Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai province, after coordinating with Burmese authorities. The group includes 31 year old Nanny from Nonthaburi, 25…

  • Covid-19 NewsBREAKING: CCSA address face masks, emergency decree, and foreign arrivals

    BREAKING: CCSA address face masks, emergency decree, and foreign arrivals

    Today, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha met with the Covid-19 Situation Administration – the CCSA – to discuss Covid rules and restrictions in Thailand. Namely, the use of face masks, the extension of Thailand’s emergency decree, and foreign arrival figures. The CCSA started by saying that cases of Covid subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are on the rise in Thailand. Face…

  • Crime NewsUPDATE: Police arrest man who stabbed elderly lady to death in central Thailand

    UPDATE: Police arrest man who stabbed elderly lady to death in central Thailand

    UPDATE: Police arrest man who stabbed elderly lady to death in central Thailand Police have caught and arrested the man who broke into an elderly woman’s home in Cha-am district in Phetchaburi province and stabbed her to death on Tuesday. Police arrested him in Bang Saphan district in Prachuap Khiri Khan province yesterday at about 3pm and took him to…

  • Transport NewsFree parking at Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport during July holidays

    Free parking at Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport during July holidays

    Suvarnabhumi International Airport announced that free parking will be available at its long term car park at Zone C – which can accommodate 718 vehicles – during two long holidays this month. Parking will be free for 6 days from midnight on July 12 until midnight on July 18 in celebration of Asanha Bucha day (July 13) and the beginning…

  • Road deathsYoung Frenchman dies in motorbike accident in central Thailand

    Young Frenchman dies in motorbike accident in central Thailand

    A 22 year old Frenchman died in a motorbike accident this morning in Samut Prakan province in central Thailand. The man lost control of his motorbike while driving over a bridge and fell off onto a footpath, breaking his neck in the fall. At 10:30am this morning, police at Bang Bo Police Station received a report that a man had…

  • Crime NewsThailand: Don’t answer calls starting with +697, it’s a scam

    Thailand: Don’t answer calls starting with +697, it’s a scam

    If a number starting with +697 rings you, don’t answer. Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) says it is most likely a scam call centre trying to swindle you out of money. In a smart move to combat call centre scams, Thailand’s National Broadcasting Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has purposefully added the prefix +697 to IP calls to help people…

  • Pattaya NewsBritish man beaten up and robbed in Pattaya, Thailand

    British man beaten up and robbed in Pattaya, Thailand

    A British tourist who woke up in his underwear on the floor on a Pattaya path says he got beaten up and robbed by 4 Thai men after a night of heavy drinking. Police found 29 year old Farnie (surname reserved) of British nationality covered in bruises on the floor of North Pattaya Road yesterday at noon. Farnie was missing…

  • Politics News‘A poll is just a poll,’ Thai PM Prayut unfazed by opposition’s popularity

    ‘A poll is just a poll,’ Thai PM Prayut unfazed by opposition’s popularity

    Thailand will hold a general election at some point before March 2023, but polls reveal that current PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is not the favourite to win. PM Prayut says he’s not worried about the poll results, because “a poll is just a poll.” Paetongtarn Shinawatra – daughter of ousted ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra and central figure of the Pheu Thai Party…

  • Things To DoRadisson’s ambitious plan to add 100 hotels to its Thai portfolio by 2025

    Radisson’s ambitious plan to add 100 hotels to its Thai portfolio by 2025

    Radisson Hotel Group revealed an ambitious plan to add 100 hotels and resorts to its small portfolio of properties in Thailand. The hospitality company currently operates 4 hotels in Thailand – all located in Bangkok – and has 2 more opening in Phuket and Pattaya. The hotel group will focus on developing properties and signing deals in “key business and…

  • South Thailand NewsSuspected insurgent shot dead by police in southern Thailand

    Suspected insurgent shot dead by police in southern Thailand

    Thai police shot dead a suspected insurgent at a house in Pattani province, southern Thailand, yesterday at 4:30am. The suspect tried to escape the house by climbing out of the window and allegedly fired shots at police who shot back in self-defence. The deceased allegedly had a role in the 2019 Bangkok bombings. Police received information that a wanted, suspected…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya’s prisoners clean the city’s sewers to prevent flooding

    Pattaya’s prisoners clean the city’s sewers to prevent flooding

    Monsoon season brings floods to every region of Thailand year in and year out. This year, Pattaya’s prisoners are taking action to mitigate the flood risk. On Monday, inmates from Pattaya Remand Prison began the mammoth task of cleaning out the city’s clogged up sewers for the first time since before the pandemic began. Well-behaved inmates, alongside city hall sanitation…

  • World NewsThailand or Cambodia? Comparing 10 year visa programmes

    Thailand or Cambodia? Comparing 10 year visa programmes

    Cambodia has launched a “My 2nd Home” programme to encourage foreign investment in the country. The programme features a 10 year long “Golden Visa” with unlimited entry and exit and other benefits. But how does it compare with Thailand’s 10 year Long Term Resident visa? Applicants for the “My 2nd Home” Golden Visa must be a foreign investor with an…

  • Cannabis NewsSmoking and selling cannabis in public is illegal, warns Bangkok deputy governor

    Smoking and selling cannabis in public is illegal, warns Bangkok deputy governor

    Bangkok’s deputy governor would like to remind the public that smoking and selling cannabis in public places is illegal. The reminder follows a meeting in which vendors called for the infamous Khao San Road to become a “Ganja Hub.” The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said: no. Bangkok Deputy Governor Chakkhaphan Phewngam chaired a meeting at Din Daeng City Hall today to…

  • Crime NewsThai police arrest ‘Mr. Underpants:’ The serial thief in the white briefs

    Thai police arrest ‘Mr. Underpants:’ The serial thief in the white briefs

    Today, the Royal Thai Police finally arrested a serial mobile phone thief known as “Mr. Underpants.” Mr. Underpants broke into 9 BANANA mobile phone shops in locations all over Thailand, stealing thousands of mobile phones in total. Every time, he wore only his pants. Mr. Underpants broke into BANANA branches in Yala, Hat Yai, Patthalung, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Si Thammarat,…

  • Crime NewsUkrainian woman caught smuggling 116 live tortoises from Tanzania into Thailand

    Ukrainian woman caught smuggling 116 live tortoises from Tanzania into Thailand

    Police arrested a Ukrainian woman at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday after airport security found 116 live tortoises in her luggage. The woman smuggled the protected wildlife on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Bangkok, transiting in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia along the way. Yesterday at 2:40pm, Chief of the Wildlife Checkpoint at Suvarnabhumi Airport Sathon…

  • World NewsBrazilian student arrested in Bali for smuggling cannabis from Thailand

    Brazilian student arrested in Bali for smuggling cannabis from Thailand

    A Brazilian man who was arrested for smuggling 9.1 grams of cannabis from Thailand into Bali last week says he “didn’t know” that the plant is illegal in Indonesia. His arrest came just days after the Royal Thai Embassy in Jakarta warned the people of Thailand against taking cannabis into Indonesia, where they could face harsh penalties – or even…

  • Road deathsStudent’s body ripped in half in freak motorbike accident in central Thailand

    Student’s body ripped in half in freak motorbike accident in central Thailand

    A 20 year old engineering student died in a motorbike accident at around 8am this morning in Pathum Thani province, central Thailand. Police found the man’s body completely ripped into two pieces after he crashed into a power pole. Witnesses said they saw the man waiting at a red light on the Rangsit – Nakhon Nayok road outside Nattawan village.…

  • Thailand NewsDrinking alcohol increases risk of threadworms, says Thai university

    Drinking alcohol increases risk of threadworms, says Thai university

    Regular alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing threadworm infections, according to new research conducted by the Parasitic Disease Research Centre at Suranaree University of Technology in Bangkok. The university recommends alcohol drinkers test themselves for threadworms at least once or twice a year to prevent severe infections. Threadworms – Strongyloides stercoralis – are tiny parasitic worms that infect the…

  • Thailand NewsAirAsia Thailand resumes Bangkok – Hong Kong flights, pilots new China route

    AirAsia Thailand resumes Bangkok – Hong Kong flights, pilots new China route

    In August, Thai AirAsia will resume direct flights between Bangkok and Hong Kong. The airline will also pilot a special flight to Guangzhou in China this month, on July 13. Thai AirAsia is a joint venture between Thailand’s Asia Aviation and budget Malaysian airline AirAsia. The airline will operate weekly flights between Bangkok’s Don Muang International Airport and Hong Kong…

  • Road deathsPickup truck explosion kills 2 in Bangkok

    Pickup truck explosion kills 2 in Bangkok

    On Saturday morning, a pickup truck crashed into the barrier in the middle of a 4 lane road in Bangkok and exploded. Witnesses saw 2 men escape the vehicle, but both men got caught in the flames and died at the scene. At 6:30am on Saturday, fire engines from Thanon Chan Fire Station were called to put out a fire…