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.
  • Bangkok News

    Construction accident at Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok injures 4

    A construction accident occurred at Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, today at 4pm. Four people were injured and one emergency police vehicle was damaged. Workers were hoisting materials to the upper floors of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital opposite Lumpini Park with a rope this afternoon when 40-50 metal sheets suddenly fell onto the footpath below on Ratchadamri Road. Four people…

  • Thailand News

    Thailand’s Som Tam voted 6th best salad in the world

    Northeast Thailand’s “som tam,” aka spicy papaya salad, was voted sixth best salad in the world by online food guide TasteAtlas. Another Thai dish, phla kung, also won accolades, coming in ninth place. Sanook pointed out that Thailand’s som tam was ranked higher than Cambodia’s green papaya salad, bok l’hong, voted 30th best salad. TasteAtlas’s Top 10 Best Rated Salads in…

  • Crime News

    Gun used to shoot dead net idol in Bangkok belongs to ex-boyfriend’s military officer father

    UPDATE #2 The gun used to shoot dead “Gigi” the net idol and her air force cadet ex-boyfriend “Ikkyu” in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday is licensed and belongs to Ikkyu’s father, who is a high-ranking military officer, according to a spokesperson for the National Police Agency Pol. Lt. Gen. Archayon Kraithong. Police have completed their assessment of the CCTV footage and confirm…

  • Thailand News

    Decapitated dugong washes up on beach in southern Thailand

    A decapitated dugong with wounds all over its body washed up on a beach on Koh Sriboya island in Krabi province in southern Thailand yesterday. It’s a tragic event considering that dugongs are protected by Thai law and there are only an estimated 200 of them left in Thailand’s waters. The carcass of a 2-metre-long male dugong weighing no less…

  • Transport News

    Nok Air makes final flight to Mae Hong Son in northern Thailand

    Nok Air flew from Bangkok to Mae Hong Son Airport in northern Thailand for the final time yesterday, bidding farewell to the route for good. The province, home to the popular backpacker town Pai, is now only accessible by road since Nok Air was the only airline servicing the airport commercially. Governor of Mae Hong Son province Chettha Mosikarat, Tourism Authority…

  • South Thailand News

    Bomb attack in southern Thailand injures 8 police officers

    Eight police officers from Sai Buri Police Station in Pattani province, southern Thailand, were injured in a bomb attack while on patrol last night. Two police vehicles were damaged. Before the incident, 11 officers went out on patrol in two pick-up trucks in the Sai Buri district. Assailants detonated a hidden bomb as the officers drove along the Ban Pa…

  • Crime News

    Net idol found dead in Bangkok condo abused by air force cadet ex-boyfriend

    UPDATE A close friend disclosed evidence that “Gigi,” the Thai net idol who was found dead in her rented condo room in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday, was physically abused by her ex-boyfriend – the air force cadet found dead lying next to her. Both were shot once in the head. Police found a gun near their bodies. Yesterday at 3.20pm, Makkasan…

  • Crime News

    Thai net idol and air force student found dead in Bangkok condo

    The bodies of a Thai net idol known as “Gigi” and a Thai air force student were found inside a condo room in Bangkok, Thailand, this afternoon. Both were shot in the head, according to the police. Lt. Gen. Thiti Saeng said that a friend of the deceased called officers from Makkasan Police Station to Gie’s condo room at the…

  • Thailand News

    Python hiding in toilet bites Thai man’s buttocks

    A man from Nonthaburi in central Thailand was taking a Number 2 in his bathroom yesterday when he felt a sudden agonising pain in his tushy. He leapt up to see a python slithering back down the toilet bowl. The snake bit his buttocks. The victim, 62 year old Witoon Sonapoon, said he was so shocked that he ran out…

  • Crime News

    Thai woman arrested for forging New Zealand ambassador’s credit card 14 years ago

    After 14 years on the run, a woman was arrested in Sing Buri province in central Thailand yesterday for her alleged role in the forging of the New Zealand ambassador to Thailand’s credit card in 2008, with damages exceeding 10 million baht. Police arrested 44 year old Ketkanya Khantawee at a house in Moo 10, Don Phot subdistrict, Mueang district,…

  • Thailand News

    Thailand’s beloved giant panda at Chiang Mai Zoo dies at 21 years old

    Famous female giant panda Lin Hui passed away at Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand this morning at the age of 21 years old. The beloved panda brought joy to the Thai nation for over two decades. The panda’s cause of death is awaiting confirmation from Chiang Mai Zoo. Reports say that Lin Hui fell ill and displayed “abnormal symptoms”…

  • World News

    Journalist likely abducted by Vietnamese secret agents in Bangkok, friends say

    A journalist and blogger from Vietnam who fled to Thailand from political persecution in 2018 is believed to have been abducted from Bangkok last week by Vietnamese secret agents, friends say. Vietnamese authorities have confirmed that Duong Van Thai is now in their custody, according to Radio Free Asia. Duong Van Thai, also known as Thai Van Duong, became uncontactable…

  • Crime News

    Police detain 2 men over RCA Songkran shooting in Bangkok

    UPDATE Two men have been arrested for allegedly committing the shooting at the busy RCA entertainment venue in Bangkok during a Songkran celebration on Sunday. Four people were injured by gunfire and four others were injured trying to flee the scene. Today at 3pm, police escorted the two suspects – 41 year old Natthanon and 19 year old Natthaphon –…

  • Thailand News

    Castaway farang rescued from Thailand’s waters (video)

    In a TikTok clip that looks like a sequel to the movie Castaway, a group of Thai tourists on a fishing trip found a foreigner floating on a makeshift wooden raft in the middle of the sea off the coast of Koh Kood in Trat province, southern Thailand, yesterday. The woman who filmed the clip chartered a boat to go…

  • Crime News

    Kidnapper claims he abducted Chinese man to help Thai nation

    UPDATE One of six suspects accused of kidnapping a Chinese man for a ransom of nearly 4 million baht in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday says his motive behind the crime was “to help the nation” since the victim is a wanted Chinese criminal. He said the victim’s ex-girlfriend had nothing to do with the kidnapping. At 12.30pm today, police detained…

  • Road deaths

    Driver falls asleep at the wheel in Thailand, 27 pigs dead

    A driver fell asleep at the wheel while driving a 10-wheel truck carrying pigs through Suphan Buri province in central Thailand yesterday. He drove into a canal and 27 of the pigs died. Officers at Nang Buat Police Station were notified that a lorry carrying pigs had fallen into the canal on the Chainat – Suphan Buri Road in Khao…

  • Crime News

    Overcharging, drugs and weapons: Police arrest 30 motorbike taxi ‘Win’ drivers in Bangkok

    Thai police cracked down on naughty ‘Win’ motorbike taxi drivers in Bangkok, Thailand, at the weekend and found no shortage of criminal activity. During April 15-17, police arrested 30 ‘Win’ drivers for a wide range of offences, mostly for overcharging passengers, but also for carrying weapons, drugs, and other traffic violations. Bangkok residents and tourists alike depend on the orange…

  • Crime News

    Chinese man kidnapped and stuffed in a box for ransom in Thailand

    A wealthy Chinese man was kidnapped from his condo in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday. He was stuffed into a plastic box and transported to Hua Hin for the night and held for a ransom of nearly 4 million baht by a gang of Thai kidnappers, including his ex-girlfriend who is a beauty pageant contestant. It turns out the victim is wanted…

  • Thailand News

    Endangered bright orange langur monkey rescued in Thailand

    A baby bright orange langur monkey is now safe at a Thai wildlife rescue centre after being found abandoned by his family in the wild in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, southern Thailand. Estimated to be less than one month old, the infant was found lost and all alone in a rubber plantation. He was abandoned after his family were scared…

  • World News

    Cambodia bestows citizenship to Brazilian boxer and Polish wife

    The King of Cambodia bestowed citizenship to Brazilian kickboxer Thiago Teixeira for sticking up for the Khmers in the recent origins of Muay Thai dispute between Thailand and Cambodia. His Polish wife was also granted citizenship. The royal ceremony follows the World Muaythai Organisation’s (WMO) decision to ban the 30 year old mixed martiaul arts fighter Thiago Teixeira from competing.…

  • Tourism News

    Thailand’s Similan Islands to close next month

    Thailand’s Similan Islands were bustling with tourists during the Songkran holidays but will soon be much quieter when the archipelago closes for a period of environmental restoration on May 19. The marine park will be closed off to tourists during the monsoon season and will reopen again on October 15, 2023, after nature has had a chance to recover from…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Mad Buddhist monks brawl at funeral in northeast Thailand

    Tensions were high at a funeral in Surin province in northeast Thailand on Friday when a brawl broke out between two saffron-robed Buddhist monks, allegedly over a plastic chair. Yesterday, the acting abbot of Wat Pho Sri Sawang Arom, Phra Toi Kan, told reporters what happened at the temple on Friday. In Thailand, Buddhist funeral rites include a distinctive ritual…

  • Thai Life

    Thailand lottery player bags 114 million baht with 19 winning tickets

    “Lucky” is an understatement for the anonymous Thai national who bought 19 winning tickets for Thailand’s national lottery draw yesterday. The newfound millionaire won 114 million baht (US$3.3 million) in total. Yesterday afternoon, the winning numbers 984906 were drawn in Thailand’s national lottery draw. Anyone with a digital or printed lottery ticket dated April 16 with the said numbers wins…

  • Crime News

    Quackdown: Rubber duck escorted to police station in Thailand

    An inflatable rubber duck waddled down to the police station in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand, during the Songkran holidays after guests at a pool villa were accused of fowl play. In a TikTok clip filmed on Saturday morning, the displeased customers carry the duck down to Ladya Police Station, explaining… “Today we came to visit a pool villa, don’t ask me…

  • Thailand News

    Speedboat explosion in southern Thailand kills 1, injures 1

    An explosion on a tourist speedboat docked at a pier in Phang Nga province in southern Thailand injured two people yesterday, one of whom later passed away in the hospital. At around 8pm, the Phang Nga Harbour Office was informed of a loud noise similar to an explosion on a speedboat at Ban Thap Lamu Pier in Lam Kaen subdistrict,…

  • World News

    Thailand – Cambodia border checkpoint overwhelmed ahead of Songkran

    The Poipet International Border Checkpoint between Thailand and Cambodia is so busy ahead of the Songkran – or the Southeast Asian New Year – that Thai authorities have had to open a second checkpoint nearby to ease congestion. Like Thailand, Cambodia is celebrating the Buddhist New Year this weekend. In Cambodia, the holiday is called “Moha Sangkranta” and will be celebrated…

  • Thailand News

    Pepsi Thailand introduces bottles made from 100% recycled plastic

    Suntory PepsiCo Beverage (Thailand) will switch to 100% recycled plastic for its 550ml Pepsi bottles, expected to enter the market later this month, under the campaign “Appreciate Fizz: Dare to Change the World.” PepsiCo joined forces with Chulalongkorn University and ENVICCO Co., Ltd. to launch the project, “Pepsi Recycled PET Bottle Campaign.” Pepsi will be the first carbonated drink brand to…

  • Crime News

    Thailand seeks extradition of 3 men suspected of murdering Chinese student

    Thailand‘s Deputy Police Chief Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn wants to see the three Chinese nationals suspected of abducting and murdering a Chinese student in Nonthaburi province, before fleeing to China, to be extradited to Thailand to face prosecution. On April 1, the body of 22 year old Thonburi University Student Jin Can was found dumped in a swampy ditch at a…

  • Thai Life

    Thai man’s Emerald Buddha Songkran office party outfit is ‘inappropriate,’ monk says

    A Thai man won 5000 baht for ‘best outfit’ at his office’s Songkran party in Udon Thani province yesterday, but a senior Buddhist monk says that dressing like the Emerald Buddha is “inappropriate.” The Emerald Buddha is a statue of the historical Buddha in a meditative pose, made out of the semi-precious stone jasper and considered the “sacred palladium of…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Police bust gang of thieves targetting foreigners in northeast Thailand

    Police announced the results of their investigation into a gang of thieves targetting foreigners with families all over the Isaan region this afternoon in front of the Provincial Police Region 3 Headquarters in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand. Police seized stolen assets worth an accumulative 3 million baht. The gang found its victims by sitting in shopping malls around…