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.
  • Thailand NewsCoach bus driver praised after giving free rides from central Thailand to Isaan | Thaiger

    Coach bus driver praised after giving free rides from central Thailand to Isaan

    Thai netizens hailed a bus driver for offering free rides to anyone wishing to spend the festive season with their families in the Isaan province of Sa Kaeo. The free trip was from Samut Prakarn province in central Thailand which was nearly 200 kilometres long. The Facebook page Spotlight Bangpoo (สปอร์ตไลท์บางปู) announced the free rides from Samut Prakarn to Sa Kaeo…

  • Thailand NewsThai shooting champion accused of murder | Thaiger

    Thai shooting champion accused of murder

    A Thai shooting champion was arrested yesterday in connection with a murder case six years ago in the southern province of Surat Thani. The marksman denied all allegations, claiming that he is a professional and wouldn’t have missed the target like those already charged. A kratom seller hired three gunmen to murder another kratom seller, 54 year old Thawatchai Wichianchai,…

  • Thailand TravelChiang Mai wants more Chinese-speaking tour guides in readiness for the Spring Festival | Thaiger

    Chiang Mai wants more Chinese-speaking tour guides in readiness for the Spring Festival

    Chiang Mai is concerned about the lack of Chinese-speaking tour guides to serve tourists after China announced it is relaxing its Covid-19 restrictions and reopening its borders. China announced on Monday, December 26, that the country will relax its Covid restrictions on January 8 for inbound visitors. The mainland is to drop its quarantine measures and only requires a negative…

  • Thailand NewsPolice arrest man high on drugs in Koh Chang after high-speed chase | Thaiger

    Police arrest man high on drugs in Koh Chang after high-speed chase

    In a scene reminiscent of a Quentin Tarantino movie, Thai police embarked on a high-speed car chase with a man high on drugs driving dangerously. The scene culminated in a man’s arrest after a two-hour standoff where shots were fired and police were threatened by a knife in Koh Chang in Trat, eastern Thailand. Koh Chang Police Station and Tourist…

  • Thailand NewsGold thief begs for freedom after being trapped by security door | Thaiger

    Gold thief begs for freedom after being trapped by security door

    All that glitters is not gold, so the aphorism goes, as an ex-con found out when he returned to his old ways and tried to steal a gold necklace. He got trapped by the shop’s security door trying to steal the precious item and was sent back to jail despite pleading with the shop owner for his freedom. The owner…

  • Thailand NewsWoman arrested for keeping protected birds as pets | Thaiger

    Woman arrested for keeping protected birds as pets

    A woman in the southern province of Chumphon faces up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 500,000 baht for keeping 37 protected birds as pets without permission. The woman insisted that she did not buy or obtain the birds illegally, the birds came to her of their own free will so decided to care for…

  • Thailand NewsSam Smith’s ‘Thrill of it All’ Koh Samui motorcycle tour | Thaiger

    Sam Smith’s ‘Thrill of it All’ Koh Samui motorcycle tour

    English popstar Sam Smith caused quite a stir among his Thai fans after pictures emerged of his recent holiday in Koh Samui in the southern province of Surat Thani. The singer, famous for his breakthrough single “Latch,” was snapped on a motorcycle around the island where it appeared he is in Thailand for more than just “The Thrill of it…

  • Thailand NewsBody of dead woman dumped in garbage bin in southern Thailand | Thaiger

    Body of dead woman dumped in garbage bin in southern Thailand

    Kura Buri Highway Department officers in the southern province of Phang Nga found a dead woman’s body dumped in a garbage bin on the roadside near the Khao Sok National Park at the border of Phang Nga and Surat Thani yesterday. The murderer is still on the run. Highway department officer Makesuwan Suphannamok told the media that he and his…

  • Thailand NewsPattaya’s New Year’s Eve fireworks extravaganza is back on! | Thaiger

    Pattaya’s New Year’s Eve fireworks extravaganza is back on!

    Pattaya reversed its decision to cancel a three-day new year fireworks event at Bali Hai Pier. The city Mayor Poramet Ngampichet confirmed the fireworks extravaganza will now go ahead. Pattaya last week cancelled the New Year’s Eve fireworks event, which was scheduled to take place from Thursday, December 29 to Saturday, December 31 without providing any specific reasons. Thai netizens…

  • Pattaya NewsFireworks cancelled at Pattaya’s New Year event | Thaiger

    Fireworks cancelled at Pattaya’s New Year event

    Pattaya’s three-day New Year event from December 29-31 at Bali Hai Pier is still going ahead but there will be no fireworks at all this year, even on the countdown into the New Year. Concerts and street food stalls will be available to enjoy as normal. Facebook page Pattaya City Mayor Hotline (สายตรงนายกเมืองพัทยา) posted about the cancellation of the annual fire…

  • Northern Thailand NewsMonkey steals bag containing 50,000 Thai baht and throws it off a cliff | Thaiger

    Monkey steals bag containing 50,000 Thai baht and throws it off a cliff

    A trouble-making monkey in Srisaket province, northeast Thailand, stole a tourist’s tote bag and launched it off the side of a cliff yesterday after finding nothing edible inside it. A team of park rangers scaled down the cliffside to retrieve the bag, which contained 50,000 baht (US$1,438) in cash. Park rangers at Khao Phra Wihan National Park received a call from…

  • Crime NewsSouthern Thai woman caught with 70 bizarre animal carcasses | Thaiger

    Southern Thai woman caught with 70 bizarre animal carcasses

    Police arrested a woman from Songkhla province in southern Thailand for selling protected wildlife carcasses as ingredients for “exotic dishes.” Officers seized nearly 70 animal carcasses including monitor lizards, pangolins, langur monkeys, squirrels, mouse-deers, and civets. Yesterday, the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division was tipped off that a passenger was carrying protected wildlife on a train from Sukirin district in…

  • Thailand NewsThai man exchanges fake US dollar bills for baht at two banks in Thailand | Thaiger

    Thai man exchanges fake US dollar bills for baht at two banks in Thailand

    Yesterday, police arrested a Thai man in Pattaya who successfully exchanged fake US dollar bills for Thai baht at two banks in Thailand. The suspect said he was paid 2.5% of the cut to commit the crime. Police seized 759 counterfeit US dollar bills upon arresting 54 year old Nawat Singhawak in Chon Buri province’s Bang Lamung district yesterday. First,…

  • Thailand NewsDruggie bites police officer who caught him stealing electricity in southern Thailand | Thaiger

    Druggie bites police officer who caught him stealing electricity in southern Thailand

    A man high on drugs bit a police officer’s arm while under arrest for stealing electricity in Krabi province in southern Thailand yesterday afternoon. The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) were informed of some suspicious wires leading into the house of 31 year old Natthaphong in Krabi’s Tap Prik subdistrict. Natthaphong managed to tap into the PEA’s electricity for free by…

  • Northern Thailand NewsKindergarten students save up to buy blankets for the needy in northern Thailand | Thaiger

    Kindergarten students save up to buy blankets for the needy in northern Thailand

    Kindergarten students in Chiang Rai province in northernmost Thailand saved up one baht every day for a year to buy blankets for people suffering in the cold weather this winter, especially those living at high altitudes in the province’s mountainous regions. Teachers at Chiang Rai Kindergarten invited students to join a charitable project entitled “Doing 89 Million Good Deeds for…

  • Thailand NewsThai police arrest 4 men for making homemade guns and selling them online | Thaiger

    Thai police arrest 4 men for making homemade guns and selling them online

    In a sting operation, Royal Thai Police officers posed as customers to crack an illegal gun network in Thailand. Police arrested four men for illegally making homemade guns and selling them online. Initially, police seized guns and other weapons from a gang of vocational college students who were arrested for fighting. When police found out the youngsters purchased the weapons…

  • Thailand News90% of hotels in Chiang Mai fully booked during New Year | Thaiger

    90% of hotels in Chiang Mai fully booked during New Year

    If you’re planning on visiting Chiang Mai in northern Thailand this New Year, then you had better be quick, because 90% of hotel rooms in the province are already booked up, according to the Thai Hotels Association (Northern Region). Hotels in the province are expected to generate one billion baht in revenue during the high season, which runs from November…

  • Thailand NewsThailand ranked 4th least corrupt country in Asia | Thaiger

    Thailand ranked 4th least corrupt country in Asia

    Thailand – a nation run by a semi-elected military government – was ranked 35th in the world and 4th in Asia in the U.S. News‘ “Least Corrupt Countries” list. Yesterday, American media company U.S. News released its annual “Best Countries” ranking, featuring 73 countries all over the world. Data was collected from a worldwide survey with more than 17,000 participants.…

  • Thailand News7 killed and 2 injured in floods in southern Thailand | Thaiger

    7 killed and 2 injured in floods in southern Thailand

    Seven people died and two more are injured as a result of floods in the southern provinces of Thailand. The water level has gradually decreased today. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) reported today that heavy rain and strong winds from December 18 to 21 caused flash floods and landslides in nine provinces including Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat,…

  • Crime NewsPolice arrest 7 men for robbery of Chinese man’s house in Pattaya | Thaiger

    Police arrest 7 men for robbery of Chinese man’s house in Pattaya

    Police arrested seven Thai men over the robbery of a Chinese man and his Thai wife’s house in Pattaya earlier this month. The suspects said they were hired by three Thai men who believed the Chinese man was keeping 200 to 400 million baht inside the house. The robbery occurred on the night of December 11 at the couple’s house…

  • Thailand NewsAlcohol banned from festive gift baskets in Thailand | Thaiger

    Alcohol banned from festive gift baskets in Thailand

    Pre-made gift baskets are a hit in Thailand for all special occasions and are especially popular around the Christmas and New Year holidays. But the Ministry of Commerce would like to remind the country’s merchants that selling alcohol as part of a gift set is against the law in Thailand. Anyone who fails to comply with the law will face…

  • Road deathsMotorbike driver killed by bus after skidding on oil stain in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Motorbike driver killed by bus after skidding on oil stain in Bangkok

    A motorist fell from his motorbike after skidding on an oil stain on Bangkok‘s busy Sukhumvit Road yesterday morning. He was struck and killed by an oncoming public bus. The man, whose identity has not been reported, was hit by public bus No.98 from Huai Kwang to Bang Na near the entrance of Sukhumvit Soi 53 and Thong Lor BTS…

  • Thailand NewsThai taxi drivers receive record amount of complaints | Thaiger

    Thai taxi drivers receive record amount of complaints

    The Department of Land Transport received 93,474 complaints about public transport in Thailand this year. Taxi drivers were complained about the most, receiving an impressive 14,158 complaints. Most of the complaints were about bad manners, dangerous driving, refusing passengers, illegal licenses, and illicit taxi metres. Between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022, the department’s Passenger Protection and Complaint Centre…

  • Thailand NewsDrivers switch places in moving bus in western Thailand, 11 tourists injured | Thaiger

    Drivers switch places in moving bus in western Thailand, 11 tourists injured

    Ten foreign tourists and one Thai passenger were injured in a bus crash in Phetchaburi province in western Thailand at around 3am yesterday. Two drivers tried to switch seats while the vehicle was still moving, causing the bus to crash into a power pole, they admitted to the police. The white tour bus, travelling from Surat Thani to Bangkok, was carrying…

  • Thailand NewsBurmese workers in Bangkok protest for 600 baht minimum wage | Thaiger

    Burmese workers in Bangkok protest for 600 baht minimum wage

    Burmese migrants rallied in Bangkok yesterday, on International Migrants Day, to ask the government to increase the minimum wage to 600 baht per day and care about the rights of migrant workers in Thailand. More than 100 Burmese citizens under the group name “Bright Future” gathered outside the Embassy of Myanmar near Saint Louis BTS Station at 2pm. Burmese migrants…

  • Pattaya NewsTaxi drives off forgetting Norwegian tourist at petrol station in Thailand | Thaiger

    Taxi drives off forgetting Norwegian tourist at petrol station in Thailand

    A Norwegian man took a taxi from Trat to Bangkok yesterday afternoon. After stopping at a petrol station in Chon Buri province to buy snacks, the driver drove off without him. The cabby drove 60 kilometres before realising his passenger had vanished. A Thai woman at the petrol station on the Setthakit Chon Buri – Baan Bueng Road saw the…

  • Thailand NewsDining carriages and catering trolleys return to Thai trains | Thaiger

    Dining carriages and catering trolleys return to Thai trains

    Dining carriages and catering trolleys are back in service on Thailand’s trains after a two-year hiatus, according to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The SRT suspended all food and drink services in April 2020 to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Certain busy routes stop running completely to prevent outbreaks of the virus. However, Thailand is slowly but surely moving…

  • Thailand NewsNavy rescues German man with heart failure from cruise ship in Gulf of Thailand | Thaiger

    Navy rescues German man with heart failure from cruise ship in Gulf of Thailand

    Officers from the Royal Thai Navy battled against strong waves to help a German man who suffered from heart failure on a cruise ship in Thailand‘s waters last night. The MEIN SCHIFF 5 cruise ship departed from Chon Buri province and was headed for Singapore when 73 year old passenger Bernd Joachim Max Thiele, of German nationality, fell unwell about…

  • Northern Thailand NewsMan savaged to death by three pit bulls | Thaiger

    Man savaged to death by three pit bulls

    A man was savaged to death by three pit bulls in the Isaan province of Udon Thani. The owner of the dogs is distraught and revealed he will find a new home for the dogs to avoid the same fate in the future. Pornchai Ritmaha was attacked by three pit bulls last night at about 8pm. The 47 year old…

  • Thailand News6 year old girl sexually assaulted by classmate | Thaiger

    6 year old girl sexually assaulted by classmate

    The mother of a 6 year old girl filed a complaint with a non-profit organization after her daughter was sexually assaulted by a classmate at Wat Sri Kongkaram School in the central province of Samut Prakarn. The 31 year old mother, Nuch, yesterday informed the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women about her daughter’s sexual assault on November 30. Nuch…