Petch Petpailin
- Thailand News
Ethnic group in Southern province complains losing residence due to tourism
Representatives of the Mani ethnic group in the Southern province of Satun in Thailand have handed a letter to the authorities complaining that they would lose their residence and couldn’t access a better quality of life due to the local tourism industry. The representatives told the authorities they didn’t even have a right to replace a thatched roof with a…
- Thailand News
Bangkok to open 9 community isolation centres with 970 beds for mild patients
Authorities from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration visited the new community isolation centre in the Thawee Wattana district of Bangkok. They were checking the centre before it officially opens. Nine more isolation centres will open, and are expected to offer 970 beds for Covid-19 patients in Thailand’s capital. The authorities also said the Bangkok Emergency Medical Centre improved its contact system to…
- Thailand News
Public health secretary says “drugs are not snacks, no Favipiravir given if not necessary”
Previously, the Public Health Ministry had decided to provide the anti-viral drug Favipiravir to more groups of Covid-19 patients, including patients who had only mild symptoms or no symptoms. However, the ministry secretary told Thai media yesterday that the direction has changed, and Favipiravir will be given to Covid-19 patients “only if necessary”. The authorities also warned of side effects…
- Covid-19 News
Friday Covid Update: 24,932 new cases; provincial totals
41 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,809 with 1,111 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 24,932 new Covid-19 cases and 15,774 recoveries. There are now 190,110 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
- Thailand News
Pattaya Music Festival postponed due to a rise in Covid-19 cases
Next month’s Pattaya Music Festival 2022 is being postponed due to the surge in Covid-19 cases which hit 1,250 new infections in Chon Buri today. With the recent decision to hold off the music festival, some are worried authorities may also yet again cancel April’s Songkran festival, the massive water fight celebrating the Thai New Year. Pattaya Music Festival was…
- Crime News
Foreign man arrested for allegedly smuggling 1.28 kilograms of cocaine into Thailand
Thailand’s Customs Department seized 1.28 kilograms of cocaine from a man at a quarantine who had just entered the country from Guinea Bissau. Authorities suspect the man may have ingested the packages drugs as a way to get passed security at the airport. The 41 year old man from Sierra Leone arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on February 12. He…
- Thailand News
Trang residents with Covid complain of lack of food in government’s aid packages
A number of locals in the southern province Trang say provincial authorities have skimped on the aid packages for those in home isolation while they recover from Covid-19. During the 10-day mandatory time in self-quarantine, the residents say authorities have only been giving them instant noodles, canned fish, and rice… not the three meals a day they say they were…
- Thailand News
7 men arrested for allegedly posing as monks, asking for cash donations
Seven men are accused of posing as monks to scam residents in the eastern province Rayong by asking for cash donations. Reports say police found the men carrying fake monk identification cards. The seven “monks” were seen as unconventional as they refused to accept food and other offerings, and only accepted money. A local monk then reported them to the…
- Pattaya News
Oil tanker investigated after Thai Navy spots waste off the coast of Chon Buri
Thai authorities are investigating an oil tanker after waste was found floating near an island off the coast of Chon Buri’s Sattahip district, according to a Royal Thai Navy spokesperson. Yesterday, the Royal Thai Navy’s corvette reported a waste spill about 9 kilometres away from the island and said it spread across a large area of the Gulf of Thailand.…
- Thailand News
Cabinet approves the use of chemical castration on repeat sex offenders
The Thai Cabinet approved a bill aimed at preventing repeated sexual offense cases, which includes chemically castrating sexual predators, if at least two medical professionals agree with the procedure and the offender gives consent. MP and spokesperson from the Palang Pracharath Party, Pacharin Sumsiripon, and Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin had proposed the so-called “Sex Act” to prevent repeated sexual offense…
- Thailand News
Teenager reports sexual assault at co-ed isolation centre for Covid-19 patients
A teenager staying in a community isolation centre while recovering from Covid-19 says she was sexually assaulted by a young man staying in the same room, adding that there were no authorities monitoring the patients. Many of Thailand’s field hospitals and isolation centres have numerous beds made from cardboard boxes all in one large room, like a gymnasium. The 15…
- Northern Thailand News
Monks and novices caught drinking alcohol and involved in an intimate relationship
Thai social media has featured a video showing 8 monks and novices were celebrating and drinking alcohol inside their temple accommodation. Another video and a screenshot of the conversation also indicated that the monk had an intimate relationship with the novice. The party was identified to be happening at the Nikom Kitiyaram temple in the northeast province of Ubon Ratchatani.…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 patients found on Bangkok streets waiting for treatment after cases spike
Today, Thailand’s CCSA reported new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours have reached 21,232 with 39 Covid-related deaths. Thai media and volunteer groups are also reporting that the availability of beds is “at a crisis point”. Photos of patients being left to wait for treatment on the street or on temple grounds are also being shared around social media.…
- Thailand News
Tourists complain of more scams at a free public carpark at Pattaya’s Bali Hai Pier
Residents and Thai tourists are again complaining to Pattaya authorities saying that they were charged a parking fee at a ‘free’ public carpark at the Bali Hai Pier. The residents report there was a group of people around the carpark and demanding a fee of 300 baht per day from the drivers. Many tourists, both Thais and foreigners, weren’t aware…
- Pattaya News
Foreign cyclist pronounced dead after being hit by pick up truck in Chon Buri
Officers from Huay Yai Provincial Police Station were notified of a road incident on the Sattahip – Korat road in Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri. At the scene, one foreigner, who was believed to be a local expat, was found dead in a watercourse adjacent to the road. Thai media reported that the foreign victim was about 60 –…
- Phuket News
Overpriced mangosteens in Phuket go viral on Tiktok – how much per kilo!?
A Thai TikToker has shared a video of a street vendor in Phuket selling mangosteens at the rather steep price of 500 baht per kilogram, considered too expensive for Thai people (or anyone for that matter). The Tiktoker said she didn’t mean to offend the seller by claiming that the price was ridiculously high, but merely sought out other people’s…
- Covid-19 News
Tuesday Covid Update: 18,363 new infections, provincial totals
35 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,691 with 993 of those fatalities since the start of this year. The CCSA has recorded 18,363 new Covid infections and 15,651 recoveries. There are now 169,074 people in Thailand currently being treated for Covid-19. Out of the new cases recorded today, 31…
- Pattaya News
Royal Thai Navy sailor reports “being abused” by senior officer
A sailor in the Royal Thai Navy has made a formal complaint to police that his senior “abused him”. The seaman surmised that his senior might have been dissatisfied with his cooking skills and how he cut the vegetables. He told police he was hit on the head and ordered to go through a range of punishments. After discussing with…
- Thailand News
Star Petroleum vows to seal underwater pipeline and “clean up” oil slicks in Rayong
Star Petroleum Refining, the petrochemical company behind 3 separate oil leaks about 20 kilometres off the Rayong coastline, has now been approved by Map Ta Phut Provincial police and Marine Department to seal leaks in their underwater pipeline. The company says that works have begun today, starting with clearing the most recent oil leak of around 12,000 spare metres that…
- Thailand News
PM Prayut insists former police investigator into human trafficking in Thailand can return from exile
Following the human trafficking of Rohingya people at the border of Thailand and Malaysia reported yesterday, PM Prayut declared that Thailand “was serious about human trafficking”, and the situation was “improving”. He also said that the former Thai policeman in exile in Australia, who shared the story about the case back in 2015, left the country “by himself “and insisted…
- Thailand News
Monk allegedly fires shots at residents in Northern Thailand
A monk allegedly fired shots at residents nearby a temple in the northern province Mae Hong Son yesterday. Reports say the monk fled the scene, but was later found and forced to leave monkhood. Officers searched the monk’s living quarters and found airsoft guns with equipment to modify the pellet guns as well as ammunition. The monk had gotten into…
- Thailand News
Public bus hits motorbike stopped for pedestrians at zebra crossing in Bangkok
A motorbike driver who stopped at a zebra crossing to yield pedestrians the right of way was hit from behind by an oncoming public bus. Thais on social media have been sharing a CCTV video clip of the accident. Pedestrian safety has been in the spotlight in Thailand after the fatal accident last month where a police officer sped and…
- Covid-19 News
Monday Covid Update: 18,883 new cases; provincial totals
32 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,656 with 958 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 18,883 new Covid-19 cases and 14,914 recoveries. There are now 166,397 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
- Thailand News
Celebrity, influencer mothers to be hired by Health Ministry to inspire couples to have babies
Thailand wants women to have more babies and authorities plan to hire influencer mothers and celebrity parents to help inspire young couples to have children. The Public Health Ministry is leading the effort following reports that the birth rate in Thailand dropped to its lowest level in the past 50 years. In the past, the average Thai woman would have…
- Crime News
7 arrested for alleged sex with underage girls, police looking for more suspects
Seven people were arrested for allegedly having sex with underage girls in the southern province of Surat Thani. A 14 year old girl also faces human trafficking charges for allegedly enticing other teen girls into prostitution. With one of the suspects being the son of a politician, Police Lieutenant General Surachate Hakparn, known as “Big Joke,” says all suspects will…
- Thailand News
More oil found on different beaches in Rayong
Following the report on another leak found in the underwater pipeline yesterday, the Rayong governor said that – for a third time – oil had seeped out of the pipes and slicks had rented up on various beaches, including Laem Mae Pim and Laem Charoen Beaches. Local fishers say oil slicks were found at around five nautical miles from the…
- Bangkok News
Thai Deputy PM says foreigners should be encouraged to say “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon”
Thailand’s capital can still be called “Bangkok,” but one of Thailand’s deputy prime minister says foreigners should be encouraged to say the formal name “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon”. In a recent, what the Office of the Royal Society calls a “clarification,” the capital’s official name was documented as “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok).” Many reports say this is a change…
- Thailand News
More than 100 monkeys tied in bags, trapped in cages rescued from home
More than 100 baby macaque monkeys were found at an abandoned home in Saraburi, some tied up in bags. One was dead. Some locked in plastic carriers were weak from hunger and thirst. Police suspect the home was being for storage by a wildlife smuggling gang preparing to transport and sell the monkeys across the border where the animals would…
- Environment News
Another leak found in underwater oil pipeline off the Rayong coast
Another oil leak in the pipeline off the coast of Rayong has been reported by the Star Petroleum Refining Public Company, which has sent a letter to the Map Ta Phut Provincial Police Station asking permission to repair the pipe and prevent further environmental damage. Since late January, oil leaking from the pipes have polluted Rayong’s Mae Ramphueng Beach, with…
- Thailand News
Teenager allegedly strangles grandmother to death in Isaan
A teenager in Thailand’s Isaan region, with the help of her boyfriend, allegedly strangled her 62 year old grandmother to death and then dumped the body in a garbage bin, leaving it in a forest by a roadside in another province. Reports in Thai media say the suspects admitted to killing the grandmother because they want to steal 100,000 baht…