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.
  • Pattaya News

    UPDATE: Chon Buri nightclub blaze kills 13 & injures 41 people

    UPDATE: The Thai government has confirmed that Mountain B pub, which was struck by a devastating fire last night, was open without a license. Police reported that the pub owner, Pongsiri [surname reserved] was arrested on July 16 this year for opening Mountain B without a license and for opening beyond the times permitted by law. An initial investigation reveals…

  • Pattaya News

    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 Information

    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 News

    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…

  • Pattaya NewsVIDEO: European tourist roams around Pattaya stark naked | Thaiger

    VIDEO: European tourist roams around Pattaya stark naked

    Just another day in Pattaya. Onlookers were dismayed when a European man wearing nothing but a bum bag casually strolled down a busy street in Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district at around midnight last night. The naked tourist had nothing on but a fanny pack and a camera slung over his shoulder. South Pattaya police said the naked man spat on…

  • Thailand News

    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 News

    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 News

    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…

  • Guides

    What to do if you get bitten by a snake in Thailand

    Tropical Thailand is home to over 200 species of snakes, more than 60 of which are considered venomous and a danger to humans. Snakes don’t usually attack unless provoked or threatened, but it doesn’t hurt to be aware of how to deal with a snake bite if you live or are travelling to the Land of Sssmiles. The way a…

  • Phuket News

    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 News

    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 News

    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…

  • Crime News

    4 out of 5 charges against Thailand’s Red Bull Heir expire, 1 remains

    Thailand’s “Red Bull Heir” who killed a police officer in a hit-and-run in 2012 is still wanted 10 years later. Yesterday, the fourth out of the five original charges filed against Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidya expired. However, the heir is still wanted under one valid charge: “reckless driving causing death.” “Boss” – the grandson of billionaire Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya…

  • Events

    ‘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 News

    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…

  • Transport News

    Thailand’s Nok Air relaunches Chiang Mai – Korat route

    After four years, Nok Air has relaunched the airline’s route between Chiang Mai in northern Thailand and Nakhon Ratchasima – also known as Korat – in northeast Thailand. The route’s inaugural flight took off from Chiang Mai International Airport at 8.45pm yesterday and landed in Korat at 10.15pm. The route will serve two flights per week. The outbound service from…

  • Thailand News

    Belgian man suspected of being infected with monkeypox allegedly flees Thailand

    On Thursday, Thailand recorded its second case of monkeypox. In the second case, a Thai man in Bangkok suspects he caught the virus from a Belgian man who he had close relations with. However, the Ministry of Health suspects the Belgian man has already fled Thailand. A total of 18 people in contact with the Thai man all tested negative…

  • World News

    Malaysia detains 3 Thais who tested positive for cannabis

    Three Thais travelling to Malaysia for the long weekend were imprisoned for three days and fined the equivalent of 50,000 baht after they tested positive for cannabis, reported Amarin TV on Friday. The tourists crossed over the border into Malaysia via the Wang Prachan checkpoint in Satun province and were asked to provide a urine sample on arrival in Weng…

  • Crime News

    Grandparents chain 11 year old to a pole in northeast Thailand

    A couple from Buriram province, northeast Thailand, have admitted to chaining up their 11 year old granddaughter to a pole and beating her with a stick. Social services went to investigate at the couple’s house in Lam Plai Mat district today after a local man posted a video of the child, tied up in chains, on social media out of…

  • Transport News

    Toll gate collapses in central Thailand

    A toll gate in Chachoengsao province, central Thailand, collapsed at 10.34am today during heavy rain and strong winds. No injuries have been reported. The roof above toll booth 1 at Bang Pakong Toll Gate on Highway 7 heading towards Pattaya completely caved in this morning during adverse weather conditions. No injuries, deaths, or vehicle damage was reported. The toll booth was…

  • Road deaths

    VIDEO: Rama II U-turn bridge collapses near Bangkok, killing 2

    A U-turn bridge over the Rama II Road heading toward Bangkok collapsed yesterday at 8pm, falling onto four vehicles and killing two people. One passenger died at the scene and a construction worker who fell from the bridge later died in hospital from their injuries. Two more people were injured. The incident happened in front of Vibharam Hospital in Samut…

  • Crime News

    Children falsely accuse village drunk of murdering 6 year old in central Thailand

    Yesterday evening, a 6 year old boy drowned in a lake in Lopburi province in central Thailand. The boy’s 7 year old brother and 5 year old friend told police that an alcoholic man who lives nearby strangled the child and held his body under the water until he died. However, the police’s investigation reveals that the children’s accusation is…

  • Thailand News

    Thailand’s second case of monkeypox recorded in Bangkok

    A Thai man in Bangkok has tested positive for monkeypox, becoming Thailand’s second recorded case of the virus since the global outbreak began in May this year. At 2.30pm today, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul revealed that the positive result from Wachira Hospital in Bangkok had been confirmed by the Ministry of Health. The 47 year old Thai man started…

  • Crime News

    Thieves rob French millionaire’s house at gunpoint in northeast Thailand

    Four thieves armed with guns and knives broke into a French millionaire’s house in the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum in the early hours of Monday morning and robbed millions of baht’s worth of cash and assets. The single-story home in the Noen Sa-nga district is jointly owned by 39 year old Waritsara Poobkhonthot and her French husband Stephane Greco, the…

  • Pattaya News

    Mayor of Pattaya expects 80,000 tourists to visit Koh Larn this holiday

    Pattaya is expected to be bustling with tourists from today until Sunday, in celebration of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun’s 70th birthday today. Mayor of Pattaya Poramet Ngampichet estimates that a whopping 80,000 tourists will travel to Koh Larn island off the coast of Pattaya in the eastern province of Chon Buri during the four-day royal birthday weekend from…

  • Crime News

    Wanted Taiwanese call centre scammer extradited from Albania to Thailand

    A Taiwanese man wanted for allegedly scamming Thai victims from a call centre operation in Dubai arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday afternoon to face Thailand’s justice system after being arrested in Albania in September. Tzu Yuan Kuo – or “Ayen” – was the “deputy leader” of a call centre gang scamming victims in Thailand, Japan and Malaysia from Dubai…

  • Thailand News

    Panphet’s mother ‘does not blame’ French Muay Thai fighter for her son’s death

    The mother of Muay Thai fighter Panphet Phadungchai says she “does not blame” French Muay Thai fighter Anthony Durand for her son’s death and wants him to keep fighting. Anthony Durand announced his resignation from Muay Thai on Sunday, following the death of his opponent Panphet Phadungchai on Saturday. Panphet was knocked out by Anthony in the fifth round of…

  • Thailand News

    Thai university researchers test wastewater for monkeypox at Bangkok airport

    Sewage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport is being tested for the monkeypox virus by researchers from Naresuan University in the northern province of Phitsanulok. The tests can detect traces of the virus in wastewater immediately – even before the infected person begins to show symptoms – and could be used as a “budget surveillance measure” to catch and control local outbreaks…

  • Crime News

    Chinese kingpin of transnational call centre gang arrested at Bangkok airport

    A Chinese man wanted for trafficking Chinese people across borders to work in call centre gangs in Laos and Cambodia was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Saturday. Chief of Police Suwat Chaengyordsook received a call on Friday, July 22, warning him that a Chinese fugitive wanted on an Interpol ‘Red Notice’ would be travelling to Suvarnabhumi Airport in…

  • Thailand News

    Thailand says 40 year old smallpox vaccines are effective against monkeypox

    Thailand has a stockpile of smallpox vaccines in cold storage which were produced more than 40 years ago in 1979 and 1980. Not only are the vaccines still effective against smallpox, but they are 85% effective against monkeypox too, according to Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences (DMS). The vaccines could be used in the instance that the global monkeypox outbreak…