Tara Abhasakun

A Thai-American dual citizen, Tara has reported news and spoken on a number of human rights and cultural news issues in Thailand. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in history from The College of Wooster. She interned at Southeast Asia Globe, and has written for a number of outlets. Tara reports on a range of Thailand news issues.
  • Crime NewsFight between teens leads to stabbing in NE Thailand

    Fight between teens leads to stabbing in NE Thailand

    There was a knife attack involving groups of teenage boys in Thailand’s northeast province of Khon Kaen last night. Students in Grade 9 from the Mathayom Suksa school stabbed three Grade 11 boys at the school in their abdomens and lungs. The attack happened outside the school in the Nam Phong district. One of the injured boys, Narongrit, told police…

  • Phuket NewsTAT expects Phuket Vegetarian Festival to make over 3 billion baht

    TAT expects Phuket Vegetarian Festival to make over 3 billion baht

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says it expects Phuket’s upcoming annual vegetarian festival to rake in more than 3 billion baht of visitor money this year. The festival will be held from September 26 to October 4. Some 81,429 travellers on 506 international flights are due to visit Phuket during the festival. Meanwhile, 110,165 domestic travellers are due to…

  • Phuket NewsRussian man killed in Phuket motorbike crash

    Russian man killed in Phuket motorbike crash

    A Russian man has been killed after crashing his motorbike into a minivan in Phuket’s resort town of Karon yesterday. Rescuers arrived at the scene on the Karon–Patong Road to find the unconscious man lying on the road and heavily bleeding from his head. The rescuers rushed him to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead. They have not…

  • World NewsSE Asia’s traffickers targeting the young and tech savvy

    SE Asia’s traffickers targeting the young and tech savvy

    Southeast Asia’s traffickers are targeting young and tech-savvy people to lure them into their devastating scams. The traffickers make adverts promising easy work and cushy benefits, drawing in thousands of young, educated victims. When the victims arrive at their destinations they are held captive and forced to work in online scam centres known as “fraud factories.” These include love scams,…

  • World NewsAt least 11 children killed after Burmese junta shoots at school, UNICEF says

    At least 11 children killed after Burmese junta shoots at school, UNICEF says

    It has been reported that helicopters belonging to the Burmese junta fired shots at a school in the central Sagain Region on September 16. UNICEF says that at least 11 children were killed and 17 were injured at the scene. UNICEF said that at least 15 other children from the school were missing. A junta spokesperson said the army had entered…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya burglar snatches over 50,000 baht from Chinese expat

    Pattaya burglar snatches over 50,000 baht from Chinese expat

    A burglar managed to snatch more than 50,000 baht from a Chinese woman in East Pattaya on Sunday. The crook smashed the victim’s window and rummaged through the closet of 40 year old Ming Liang Xu. The burglar stole 50,000 baht from the pocket of a pair of her trousers and another 1,000 baht left on a nightstand. The thief…

  • Crime NewsFormer Thai policeman swindles gold shop, jailed for third time

    Former Thai policeman swindles gold shop, jailed for third time

    A former Thai policeman was arrested in Bangkok on Friday night after he swindled a gold shop. The former policeman, 62 year old Thana Charoennakha, tricked a shop owner in northeast Thailand’s Mukdahan province. Police said Thana first asked the shop owner for a bank account number so that he could transfer money to buy some gold ornaments. The owner…

  • World NewsTsunami warning cancelled after Taiwan earthquake

    Tsunami warning cancelled after Taiwan earthquake

    A tsunami warning has been cancelled after an earthquake rocked Taiwan’s southeastern region today. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Taiwan after the earthquake but later rescinded the alert. Today’s earthquake struck Taiwan’s rural Yujing district with a 6.9 magnitude, and a depth of 10 kilometres. Photos showed buildings collapsed, and about 20 people were evacuated…

  • Crime NewsThailand’s “popcorn gunman” is out of jail after shooting 8 years ago

    Thailand’s “popcorn gunman” is out of jail after shooting 8 years ago

    A Thai shooter known as the “popcorn gunman,” who killed a person and injured three others in 2014, has been released from jail. The man, Vivat Yodprasit, had shot the four people in Bangkok’s Lak Si district during demonstrations against the Yingluck Shinawatra government. Vivat became known as the “popcorn gunman” because photos showed him firing from a rifle hidden…

  • Pattaya NewsBurmese worker falls to death in Chon Buri

    Burmese worker falls to death in Chon Buri

    There’s been another incident of a foreigner tragically falling to their death, this time in Chon Buri province. The 41 year old Burmese construction worker, Kying Ngwe, had been working on a new project to build a stairway down Chon Buri Grand Canyon in the main city district. It was there that Kying fell to his death yesterday. A friend…

  • Northern Thailand NewsHeroic teen risks life to save boy electrocuted in NE Thailand flood

    Heroic teen risks life to save boy electrocuted in NE Thailand flood

    A teenager in northeast Thailand risked his life to save a young boy who was electrocuted while wading through a flood. The 12 year old boy had been near a power pole near a school in Udon Thani province on Friday. The teenager, 19 year old student Atthachai Argudom, went in to rescue the boy and ended up suffering electric…

  • Crime NewsFemale suspect in Kyrgyzstani woman’s death arrested in Bangkok

    Female suspect in Kyrgyzstani woman’s death arrested in Bangkok

    UPDATE A female suspect in the case of the Kyrgyzstani woman who plunged to her death in Pattaya on Friday has been arrested yesterday in Bangkok. The victim, 30 year old Anara Seitaleva, died after falling from a hotel balcony on Friday, September 16. Police arrested a 27 year old Chinese woman named Rou Li at a condominium in Bangkok’s…

  • Phuket NewsHundreds of Phuket public school students receive scholarships

    Hundreds of Phuket public school students receive scholarships

    Students at a public school in Phuket are being given more educational opportunities. With funding through various charities and foundations, 418 scholarships were given to students at Satree Phuket School yesterday. The total amount of scholarship money provided added up to almost 1.5 million baht. The president of the foundation organising the scholarships spoke at a ceremony in the school’s…

  • Krabi NewsNavy rescues foreign passengers in Krabi after yacht trip goes wrong

    Navy rescues foreign passengers in Krabi after yacht trip goes wrong

    A yacht trip has gone wrong for a group of foreign passengers in the southern Krabi province on Thursday. The yacht broke down in the middle of the sea, although it is still unclear what caused the yacht to break down. The passengers were left waiting for help from the Royal Thai Navy. Fortunately, the navy arrived on the scene…

  • South Thailand NewsThai immigration authorities arrested over alleged bribes in illegal fishing case

    Thai immigration authorities arrested over alleged bribes in illegal fishing case

    A group of Thai immigration authorities has been arrested in an alleged bribery case involving illegal fishing that happened last year. The 11 individuals include six immigration police, and five other immigration officials working at marine border and disease control checkpoints. The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, announced their arrests yesterday. The group has…

  • Pattaya NewsGreek man collapses and dies in Pattaya hotel

    Greek man collapses and dies in Pattaya hotel

    A Greek man collapsed and died on Thursday night in a Pattaya hotel in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. Hotel security said the man, 54 year old Konstantinos, had appeared to be drunk when he came to sit down on a couch in the lobby. They said he had tried to get back up, but he then collapsed to the floor…

  • Pattaya NewsKyrgyzstani woman found dead in Pattaya reported trouble with Chinese gangster

    Kyrgyzstani woman found dead in Pattaya reported trouble with Chinese gangster

    A Kyrgyzstani woman who plunged to her death in Pattaya yesterday had previously reported problems with a Chinese gangster. The 30 year old woman died after falling from a hotel balcony. This was after she had recently filed a report to Pattaya police saying she was defrauded by a Chinese gangster to be a prostitute. An American man had owned…

  • Pattaya NewsAfter viral fight, Chon Buri police insist Bang Saen is not a ‘savage city’

    After viral fight, Chon Buri police insist Bang Saen is not a ‘savage city’

    After a vicious fight between a group of young male college students went viral on social media, Chon Buri police insisted that Bang Saen is not a “savage city.” A Facebook video showed a large group of grown men brutally beating a group of college students in the early hours of Wednesday morning. It shows two of the students being…

  • Cannabis NewsLearn how to make weed tea at Bangkok workshop

    Learn how to make weed tea at Bangkok workshop

    Bangkok’s cannabis lovers will get a chance to learn how to make weed tea at an upcoming workshop titled “The New High Tea.” The workshop will be held at the ASAI Bangkok Chinatown hotel on Saturday, September 24, from 5-6.30pm. It will be held in both English and Thai. The event’s page on Ticket Melon says participants will… “Learn about…

  • Phuket News“Furious” stray dogs anesthetised after chasing Phuket tourists

    “Furious” stray dogs anesthetised after chasing Phuket tourists

    Three furious stray dogs were anesthetised this week after they chased tourists and residents in Phuket, according to the Phuket City Municipality. The municipality said the dogs had been chasing people near the Toh Sae Hill Public Park in the main city district. The municipality noted that the dogs were not harmed when they were caught. The municipality alerted the…

  • Phuket NewsPolice ask public to help find person who left dead baby at Phuket temple

    Police ask public to help find person who left dead baby at Phuket temple

    UPDATE Police in Phuket’s Kathu district is asking the public to help track down the person who left a dead baby girl at a temple in the district. Monks found the poor newborn baby girl’s body in a plastic bag under a bodhi tree at Wat Anuphat Kritsadaram in Thung Thong on September 9. The body was already decomposing. Yesterday,…

  • Pattaya NewsSneaky secretary stole millions from Thai official over years

    Sneaky secretary stole millions from Thai official over years

    A sneaky secretary managed to steal millions of baht from a Chon Buri official over five years, Thai media reported yesterday. CCTV footage captured 29 year old secretary Sunanta Suebkaew going through her boss’s bedroom and stealing money multiple times over five years. Sunanta’s boss happens to be the mayor of the Nong Mai Daeng sub-district, Tuangthip Phawasutchaikit. Mayor Tuangthip…

  • Northern Thailand NewsVolunteers transform into superheroes for fair in northern Thailand

    Volunteers transform into superheroes for fair in northern Thailand

    Look out, here comes the Spiderman! Or is it? Volunteers in Thailand’s northern province of Uttaradit are dressing up as superheroes for a fruit fair held in the main city district this week from September 13-22. The volunteers are working with police to entertain children in their Spiderman, Hulk, Venom, and Captain America costumes. They are also helping children and…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya gunman on the loose

    Pattaya gunman on the loose

    A Pattaya gunman is on the loose, according to a village chief in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. The chief, 34 year old Chakkrit, had CCTV footage of an unidentified suspect driving by his house last night, and briefly stopping there to pull out a gun and fire it at the sky. Chakkrit says the suspect then immediately fled the…

  • Phuket NewsMonkeys barge into new Phuket resort

    Monkeys barge into new Phuket resort

    The monkeys are coming! Well, at least they are coming to one new resort in Phuket’s town of Chalong. The management team at the Noku Phuket resort says that monkeys have been seen on the resort’s grounds and tried to get into the guest’s rooms. Wildlife officers inspected the resort on Tuesday, with the chief of the Wildlife Education Centre…

  • Crime NewsMore details emerge on pregnant Thai woman found dead in pond

    More details emerge on pregnant Thai woman found dead in pond

    UPDATE More details are emerging on the Thai pregnant woman who was found dead in a pond in the eastern Rayong province on Tuesday. Police revealed that the woman, 19 year old Kritsana’s panties were missing. They also found that the grey trousers she was wearing were on backwards, and she was wearing a yellow shirt. Investigators also found a…

  • Tourism NewsOver 5 million foreign tourists arrived in Thailand in 9 months

    Over 5 million foreign tourists arrived in Thailand in 9 months

    A Thai government spokesperson has announced yesterday that over five million foreign tourists arrived in the ‘land of smiles’ between January 1 and September 8. The total number of foreign visitors was 5,018,172, said spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says the biggest group of tourists came from Malaysia, with 751,397 arrivals. Up next was India, with…

  • Crime NewsYoung pregnant Thai woman found dead in pond, signs of foul play

    Young pregnant Thai woman found dead in pond, signs of foul play

    A young pregnant Thai woman was found dead in a pond in Thailand’s eastern Rayong province on Tuesday. Early reports reveal that she might have been strangled. In an initial examination, Klaeng district police found that the woman, 19 year old Kritsana, had wounds on her lips and neck as well as traces of being strangled. Kritsana had been living…

  • South Thailand NewsWhale sharks spotted off Koh Pha Ngan in South Thailand

    Whale sharks spotted off Koh Pha Ngan in South Thailand

    Environmentalists spotted a pair of whale sharks off South Thailand’s island of Koh Pha Ngan. Members of the Phangan Sea Guardian Association had gone diving when they spotted two of the gentle giants. The association’s president said that one whale shark was four metres long, while the other was six metres long. The VP, Sittiroj Kaewnongsameta, told The Phuket Express… “This…

  • Pattaya NewsPolice crack down on Cambodian beggars with children in Pattaya

    Police crack down on Cambodian beggars with children in Pattaya

    Police are looking into the case of at least two alleged Cambodian beggars in Pattaya who reportedly used minors to solicit money from tourists, according to reports from concerned witnesses. Officers and officials searched a night venue in Chon Buri’s Nong Prue District and found a Cambodian woman with a boy there. The team also found many flowers which they…