Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.
  • Politics NewsThai authorities search for graffiti activists insulting ex PM Prayut

    Thai authorities search for graffiti activists insulting ex PM Prayut

    Authorities are searching for a group of political activists who spray-painted offensive words disparaging Thailand’s suspended prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in a number of public places throughout the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima. The media reported that the activists held a public expression of solidarity at several spots in Nakhon Ratchasima without permission on Wednesday, August 24. The activities were…

  • Economy NewsHousehold debt hits all-time high, nearly 100% of Thais have debt

    Household debt hits all-time high, nearly 100% of Thais have debt

    A Thai household debt survey this year revealed that almost every person in Thailand has household debt. But that’s not all, the average household debt hit an all-time high in the kingdom. Today, the Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce revealed the survey results, saying nearly 100% of Thai people had…

  • Thailand NewsThai Airways restructures plans to get back in black

    Thai Airways restructures plans to get back in black

    Thai Airways announced it is renting three more planes and hiring 600 more staff this year as part of its restructuring plans. After cutting costs, selling stock, chasing debts, and distributing plane seats, Thai Airways’ turnover rate in the third quarter of this year is expected to increase. Not only that, the President of the Reorganisation Committee of the Thai…

  • Thailand NewsPlastic bags and old water pumps cause flood in Bangkok

    Plastic bags and old water pumps cause flood in Bangkok

    Highway officers revealed plastic bags stuck in water pumps caused a flood inside the Pakkret Intersection Tunnel in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. Officers from the Nonthaburi Highway District investigated the Pakkret Intersection Tunnel yesterday to determine the cause of the flood on August 21. After five hours, officers reported that many plastic bags and garbage were stuck in the propellers…

  • Thailand NewsLucky Thai couple finds 1 million baht pearl in their dinner

    Lucky Thai couple finds 1 million baht pearl in their dinner

    It wasn’t so much the world’s your oyster for a young Thai couple but more a slow and steady pace winning the race after they found a rare pearl worth over 1 million baht inside a snail while eating seafood at a local BBQ restaurant. Sittidate Chaiwan was celebrating the birthday of his girlfriend, 27 year old Patjariya Gatip, on…

  • Thailand NewsHomeless Thai man turns pedestrian overpass into bedroom

    Homeless Thai man turns pedestrian overpass into bedroom

    A contrite Thai TikTok user apologised for posting a video of a bedroom created by a homeless man on a pedestrian overpass after it was destroyed by highway officials. The uploaded TikTok video features a man-made bedroom on a pedestrian overpass in the central province of Ayutthaya. The bedroom was created by a homeless man but once the video went…

  • Thailand NewsGovt officials spend too much time online rage Thailand netizens

    Govt officials spend too much time online rage Thailand netizens

    A survey revealing Internet user behaviour among Thailand’s government officials has annoyed the nation’s netizens who believe they have too much free time on their hands. The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) yesterday announced the results of a report on Thailand’s Internet User Behaviour, with government officials coming out on top. The ETDA collected the information from 46,348 participants between…

  • Pattaya NewsUPDATE: 16 Middle Eastern joyriders in Pattaya arrested

    UPDATE: 16 Middle Eastern joyriders in Pattaya arrested

    UPDATE Pattaya police arrested 16 Middle Eastern joyriders and seized 43 motorcycles on Monday night after complaints from locals. Police made known they are still on the lookout for the rest of the racers and that the relevant motorcycle rental shops would be charged too. Officers from the Provincial Police Region 2, and Mueng Pattaya Police Station, held a press…

  • Thailand NewsFloods in Thailand claim 3 lives, affecting 14,657 households

    Floods in Thailand claim 3 lives, affecting 14,657 households

    The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) revealed the floods in 28 of Thailand’s provinces between August 15 to 23 claimed the lives of three people and affected 14,657 households. The government department also warned that heavy rain and flash floods would continue in many areas. According to the report, the floods between August 15 to 23 killed three…

  • Road deathsMother demands 66 million baht after uni bus kills her daughter

    Mother demands 66 million baht after uni bus kills her daughter

    A mother is demanding 66 million baht from Khon Kaen University after the college bus hit and killed her daughter on the morning of August 10. A security camera captured footage of two students on a motorcycle waiting for the traffic lights to change at a road intersection when the university bus crashed into them. The two victims were sophomore…

  • Crime NewsPolice probe illegal tree felling in NE Thailand worth 1 million baht

    Police probe illegal tree felling in NE Thailand worth 1 million baht

    Police last night revealed they are trying to get to the bottom of a conundrum after the illegal felling of state trees worth 1 million baht in the Isaan province of Nong Kai. Officers from Tha Bor Police Station, and officials from the Tha Bor District Office, seized the expensive wood from a forest along Tha Bor – Baan Pue…

  • Thailand NewsThailand’s motorists face jail time for splashing pedestrians

    Thailand’s motorists face jail time for splashing pedestrians

    A Thai government warning that drivers face jail time and fines if they splash pedestrians has drawn an unusual response from the nation’s strollers – fix the roads! The threat is all the more bizarre given Thailand is in the midst of its monsoon season and it is almost impossible to drive on the kingdom’s roads without splashing through pools…

  • Bangkok NewsAngry woman taxi driver fined for racing a bus in Bangkok

    Angry woman taxi driver fined for racing a bus in Bangkok

    An emotionally-charged taxi driver appeared to lose her mind and forget her responsibilities as she turned into a joyriding thrill seeker as she played a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a bus coach. A video of three university students in the back of the crazed taxi driver’s car was posted last Friday, August 19, and went viral on…

  • Bangkok NewsTransgender stabs boyfriend to death after he hit her with a ganja bong

    Transgender stabs boyfriend to death after he hit her with a ganja bong

    A 19 year old man was stabbed to death by his transgender girlfriend yesterday after he hit her on the head with a ganja bong. Yesterday, police officers from the Bangkok Yai Police Station, and a rescue team, investigated a three-story machine shop building in Soi Petchkasem 4-6 in the Wang Tha Phra sub-district, Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok. There…

  • Pattaya NewsLocals angry as Middle Eastern joyriders race through Pattaya

    Locals angry as Middle Eastern joyriders race through Pattaya

    Middle Eastern joyriders have turned Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya into a racing track… again, and locals are sick of it. Locals urged police to use the full force of the law and impose serious measures as the number of racers on Sukhumvit Road has increased over the past two months. Last night, Thai media reported that a group of more…

  • Thailand NewsCops tell Thai TikTokers to quit roadside dancing

    Cops tell Thai TikTokers to quit roadside dancing

    The Royal Thai Police warned the nation’s TikTokers to stop dancing to a truck’s horn by the roadside. Truck drivers have also been threatened with a fine of up to 500 baht if they join in the activity. During the past couple of months, videos of people dancing by the roadside to a truck’s horn have become a viral trend…

  • Bangkok NewsTaiwanese YouTuber loses items worth 154,000 baht in Bangkok

    Taiwanese YouTuber loses items worth 154,000 baht in Bangkok

    Taiwanese YouTuber Alisasa was robbed of items worth about 154,000 baht while travelling in Bangkok last week. The popular YouTuber announced to fans that she was disappointed her camera and bag were snatched, resulting in lost videos recorded for her channel, but insisted she still enjoyed her trip to the Thai capital city. On August 16, the female YouTuber posted…

  • Pattaya NewsDrunk woman gets earful after biting tourist’s ear off in Pattaya

    Drunk woman gets earful after biting tourist’s ear off in Pattaya

    A drunken Thai woman was arrested on Saturday in Pattaya after an unprovoked attack on a Thai-American tourist without reason, biting his right ear off, and swallowing it. The 28 year old offender, Kannika Khamthon, was arrested after the incident and taken to Muang Pattaya Police Station. Police reported she was very drunk, and couldn’t answer questions. Kannika was also…

  • Bangkok NewsCCSA leaves entertainment venues in limbo over 4am closing

    CCSA leaves entertainment venues in limbo over 4am closing

    Hotels on Khao San Road in Bangkok were ready to offer special hotel room rates of 500 baht per night to guests if the government extended closing time to 4am. Unfortunately, no decision has been made and it’s left bar, restaurant, and hotel owners in limbo. The Tourism and Sports Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, revealed last week that he would seek…

  • Thailand NewsUPDATE: Woman who allegedly abused a soldier is a police officer

    UPDATE: Woman who allegedly abused a soldier is a police officer

    UPDATE The employer who allegedly abused a female soldier and claimed to be a senator’s wife is actually a police officer. According to one media source, the woman is the mistress of a senator, not his wife. The Spokesperson of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, Teerapong Pattamasing Na Ayutthaya, confirmed yesterday that the victim was a real soldier. Teerapong said…

  • South Thailand NewsUPDATE: BRN insurgents admits to Deep South bombings

    UPDATE: BRN insurgents admits to Deep South bombings

    UPDATE The insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani (BRN) announced on its Facebook page that they were behind this week’s bomb explosions in the Deep South provinces. The BRN group said it was an act against capitalism that affected local businesses. Yesterday, the official Facebook page of the group expressed condolences for the death and loss. They said group…

  • Thailand NewsPM’s office is one of Thailand’s top advertising spenders

    PM’s office is one of Thailand’s top advertising spenders

    Thai netizens are curious as to why the Office of the Thai PM has spent so much money on advertisements after a recent poll by Nielsen ranked it in 13th place for the most money spent on advertising in Thailand. New York City-based Nielsen is a US information, data, and market measurement firm with clients in over 100 countries around…

  • Thailand NewsHealth dept’s reply to rising food costs: ‘let them eat curry & rice’

    Health dept’s reply to rising food costs: ‘let them eat curry & rice’

    The Health Department’s “Let them eat curry and rice” response to Thailand’s cost of living crisis is not quite Marie Antoinette’s ‘Let them eat cake’ quip to the starving peasants of France in the 17th century, but it’s not far off. The Thai Health Department urged people to buckle their belts and accept the fact that consumer products are more…

  • Thailand NewsFemale soldier seeks help after being abused by senator’s wife

    Female soldier seeks help after being abused by senator’s wife

    A soldier appealed to a Thai influencer for help after revealing she was almost driven to suicide after years of physical and mental abuse by the wife of a senator. The woman contacted Guntouch “Gun” Pongpaiboonwet, aka Gun Jom Palang, to share her story. In turn, Gun spread the news on Facebook and said helped her file a complaint against…

  • Crime NewsTeen soldier murders cousin for allegedly raping his mother

    Teen soldier murders cousin for allegedly raping his mother

    A 19 year old soldier was arrested for murdering his cousin in an act of revenge for allegedly raping his mother in Southern Thailand. The soldier, Watcharapong Lakejit, murdered his cousin, 36 year old Niphat Sookmak, on Tuesday night by stabbing him in the head with a knife. The teenager was arrested for the offence at 3am yesterday at a…

  • Thailand NewsIndian man arrested for smuggling 17 live animals out of Thailand

    Indian man arrested for smuggling 17 live animals out of Thailand

    An Indian man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Tuesday for trying to smuggle 17 prohibited animals from Thailand to India. The Director of Thailand’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Praset Sornsathapornkun, reported to the media that the 21 year old Indian man, Abilash Annadury, was arrested by the officers of the…

  • Thailand NewsThai man faces prison for growing & selling corals online

    Thai man faces prison for growing & selling corals online

    A Thai man faces up to ten years in jail after being arrested for selling coral online via Facebook. Police seized more than 300 types of corals from the man’s residence. The 31 year old man, Thitipong, was arrested today at his home in Soi Suwinthawong 13, Saen Saeb sub-district, Min Buri district, Bangkok. Thitipong turned his home into a…

  • South Thailand NewsUPDATE: 21 year old man found dead after Deep South bombing

    UPDATE: 21 year old man found dead after Deep South bombing

    UPDATE Following the bomb explosions in three Deep South provinces on August 16, officers found one man dead inside a 7-Eleven shop in the Su-ngai Golok district of Narathiwas province. Yesterday, officers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal investigated a 7-Eleven store inside a petrol station that was bombed as part of the attack and found the charred body of a…

  • Thailand NewsRama 2 Road guilty of being a repeat accident offender

    Rama 2 Road guilty of being a repeat accident offender

    Another accident was reported on the Rama 2 Road where the U-turn bridge collapsed two weeks ago. Yesterday, an iron bar fell from a truck onto the road and almost hit a car. On July 30, at 8pm, the U-turn bridge over the Rama 2 Road collapsed onto four vehicles. One female passenger was killed at the scene by a…

  • Thailand NewsSon who tried to starve mother to death dies of TB in NE Thailand

    Son who tried to starve mother to death dies of TB in NE Thailand

    A Thai man who tried to starve his mother to death in the hope of getting her inheritance was found dead yesterday in the family home in Isaan of Buriram province. It is believed he died of Tuberculosis. Officers from Satuek Police Station and a Wang Krut Rescue team were called to investigate a one-story house in the Nikom sub-district,…