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.
  • Pattaya NewsIndian tourist in Pattaya breakdances in boxing ring when police show up

    Indian tourist in Pattaya breakdances in boxing ring when police show up

    An Indian tourist in Pattaya was eager to show off his moves in the early hours of this morning… after police had showed up. The man had climbed into an empty boxing ring in a pub, drunkenly yelling and wreaking havoc on the business owners and other customers. The incident happened on Pattaya’s famous Walking Street, a known hub for…

  • Crime News3 year old in South Thailand reportedly taken to hospital after eating weed brownie

    3 year old in South Thailand reportedly taken to hospital after eating weed brownie

    A Facebook post claims that a 3 year old child in South Thailand’s Pattani province was taken to a hospital after eating a weed brownie. The poster titled the post “Story of a Friend.” He claims the girl’s teacher noticed that she was shivering and unable to walk when they fell asleep. When the girl woke up, she couldn’t speak.…

  • Eastern Thailand NewsMen in eastern Thailand sentenced for road rage killing last year

    Men in eastern Thailand sentenced for road rage killing last year

    Two men in Thailand’s eastern province of Trat have been jailed for killing a man in a road rage incident last year. The three men involved killed the victim after the victim’s girlfriend threw a glass bottle on the road as the men were driving by them. The killers thought the couple had meant to throw the bottle at them,…

  • Economy NewsThailand pitches in to help Sri Lanka in its time of crisis

    Thailand pitches in to help Sri Lanka in its time of crisis

    Thailand is pitching in to help Sri Lanka in its tumultuous economic crisis. Thailand’s Foreign Ministry announced yesterday that the country has donated medicines, medical supplies, food, and financial support to Sri Lanka. Several departments made donations adding up to about 5 million baht, while the Foreign Ministry donated another 1.3 million baht worth of medical supplies to Sri Lanka.…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya man threatens girlfriend’s brother with gun

    Pattaya man threatens girlfriend’s brother with gun

    A man in Pattaya who had allegedly abused his girlfriend threatened her brother with a gun on Sunday. The man, 31 year old Kritsada, frequently physically abused his girlfriend, according to her brother, 22 year old Thanakul. Kritsada became enraged after his girlfriend went to stay with Thanakul. Thanakul said he had planned to meet Kritsada at a store in…

  • Crime NewsInfant’s body found in Phuket drainage pipe

    Infant’s body found in Phuket drainage pipe

    An infant’s body was discovered in a water drainage pipe in Phuket this morning. The baby girl was a newborn, only 1-3 days old, and found in Thalang district. A waterworks authority who had been working nearby alerted Cherng Talay Police about the infant’s body. The police are now investigating the case. There have been a few similar, disturbing incidents…

  • Bangkok NewsDetails on Bangkok’s Green Line train contracts to be publicly disclosed

    Details on Bangkok’s Green Line train contracts to be publicly disclosed

    Details on contracts for Bangkok’s Green Line Train are set to be publicly disclosed, although it has not been announced when. Krungthep Thanakom has agreed to publicly disclose details of its contract and memorandum of understanding with Bangkok Mass Transit System PLC, more commonly known in the capital as BTS. The contracts are for the first and second extensions of…

  • Eastern Thailand NewsPolice arrest alleged gambling operator with reported 5 million baht turnover

    Police arrest alleged gambling operator with reported 5 million baht turnover

    There’s been another gambling bust in the ‘Land of Smiles,’ this time in eastern Thailand. Police arrested an alleged gambling operator in the Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province on August 1. Police raided the suspect’s house and found hints that he was running a website called ‘syclub.bet.’ They found evidence of betting via electronic channels. The site reportedly had…

  • World NewsSri Lanka’s children face malnutrition

    Sri Lanka’s children face malnutrition

    More and more children in Sri Lanka face malnutrition as the country’s economic crisis is spiralling out of control. Now, government agencies along with UN agencies are seeking donations for the island nation’s children. Sri Lanka’s Ministry for Women and Child Affairs is seeking private donations to feed possibly several hundred thousand children. The ministry’s secretary, Neil Hapuhinne, said that…

  • Northern Thailand NewsThai police face challenges with identifying bodies in Northeast

    Thai police face challenges with identifying bodies in Northeast

    Police are facing some challenges in investigating the death of a couple in northeast Thailand. The bodies of a man and a woman were found in a forest in Nakhon Ratchasima province on July 28. Police believe the couple had been dead for two to four weeks when they were found, making it harder to identify the bodies. The Deputy…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok learning centre to host award ceremony for board game competition

    Bangkok learning centre to host award ceremony for board game competition

    One Bangkok learning centre plans to host an awards ceremony for a recent competition it held. The ceremony will be held at TK Park, located on the eighth floor of Central World Bangkok on Rama I Road, from August 6-7. It will last from 10.30am to 5.30pm. TK Park, or The Knowledge Park, has libraries but it also has interactive…

  • Northern Thailand NewsMeth bust in northeast Thailand, pills worth about 20 million baht

    Meth bust in northeast Thailand, pills worth about 20 million baht

    There was another meth bust in northeast Thailand last night, this time in Nakhon Phanom province. Rangers had been patrolling the Mekong River when they noticed a group of men on a long-tail boat. The men took a sack out of the boat and left it on the riverbank before they sped off in their boat. In the sack, the…

  • Pattaya NewsTwo foreigners killed in separate motorcycle crashes in Pattaya

    Two foreigners killed in separate motorcycle crashes in Pattaya

    Two foreigners were killed in separate motorcycle accidents in Pattaya this weekend, with both incidents happening in the Nong Prue sub-district of Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. An Omani man was killed in a motorcycle accident in Pattaya last night (Saturday). Security guards heard at the Royal Cliff Hotel heard the sound of the crash when it happened. They rushed…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok officials working to prevent river overflows

    Bangkok officials working to prevent river overflows

    Bangkok officials are working to prevent overflows from the Chao Phraya River. This news comes after the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation warned last week that Bangkok and the other 10 provinces along the river needed to prepare for floods from July 28 until August 1 (tomorrow). Now, Bangkok’s governor Chadchart Sittipunt says the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is working…

  • Phuket NewsCovid-19 outbreak in Phuket elderly home

    Covid-19 outbreak in Phuket elderly home

    There’s been a Covid-19 outbreak in a Phuket elderly home, with a total of 45 people testing positive for the virus so far. Forty-two elderly residents and three guests have been infected, according to the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office Chief Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon. Dr Kusak said the office was informed of the outbreak on July 27. The Phuket Elder…

  • World NewsBurmese and Karen forces battle for 7 hours near Thai border

    Burmese and Karen forces battle for 7 hours near Thai border

    Burmese and Karen forces battled each other for seven hours yesterday, close to the border between Myanmar and Thailand’s northern Tak province. It was the second day of consecutive fighting between the Burmese junta army, and the Karen National Liberation Army alongside Myanmar’s People’s Defence Force. The Burmese army had arrived in a Karen area aiming to capture it, but…

  • Pattaya NewsPolice arrest Australian man allegedly involved in Pattaya’s Harley Davidson shooting

    Police arrest Australian man allegedly involved in Pattaya’s Harley Davidson shooting

    Police have arrested an Australian man who is a suspect in a shooting at a Pattaya Harley Davidson motorcycle shop, which happened back in April. Nongprue police arrested the man yesterday when he was trying to cross a border in Sa Kaeo province. The man is 61 year old Anthony George Leorga. In the shooting, four suspects had allegedly fired…

  • Central Thailand NewsMan from central Thailand accused of lese majeste over Facebook posts

    Man from central Thailand accused of lese majeste over Facebook posts

    A man from central Thailand has been accused of violating Thailand’s lese majeste law, a human rights organisation reported this week. The law prohibits criticism of Thailand’s royal family. The man, 34 year old factory worker Udom was initially accused of violating the law based on Facebook posts that he wrote between October 2021 and January 2021, according to Thai…

  • Northern Thailand NewsUPDATE: Police find clues in likely murder case in northeast Thailand

    UPDATE: Police find clues in likely murder case in northeast Thailand

    UPDATE Police have found clues in a likely murder case in northeast Thailand. This news comes after villagers the bodies of a man and a woman in a forest in Chok Chai district in Nakhon Ratchasima province on Thursday night. Now, police have found microchips in the woman’s silicon breast implants. She also had unique tattoos. These include a tattoo…

  • South Thailand NewsScam gang tricks child, steals over a million baht from his father

    Scam gang tricks child, steals over a million baht from his father

    A man in South Thailand is the latest victim of the country’s call centre scam pests. A call centre scam gang tricked the man’s son into transferring 1,206,000 baht to the gang from his father’s bank account from July 7-25. The 49 year old man, ‘A’, and his 10 year old son live in the province of Nakhon Sri Thammarat.…

  • Phuket NewsFlooding chaos in Phuket

    Flooding chaos in Phuket

    Yes, Thailand’s monsoon season is still here, and Phuket has been hit by the latest round of flooding chaos. After heavy rain poured down on the island province, cars were slowly driving through high floods in the main city district yesterday. Many people have come to Phuket for the long holiday weekend, which has added to the traffic problems. Traffic…

  • World News3 Thais detained and fined in Malaysia following drug tests

    3 Thais detained and fined in Malaysia following drug tests

    Three Thais planning to travel to Malaysia during the long weekend were in for a surprise. The travellers had been crossing a checkpoint into Malaysia from South Thailand’s Satun province this week. When Malaysian authorities took urine samples from the three, they were found to have traces of marijuana in their bodies. The tourists were fined 50,000 baht, and jailed…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya transgender foundation concerned about stereotypes following thefts

    Pattaya transgender foundation concerned about stereotypes following thefts

    A foundation in Pattaya is concerned about stereotypes against transgender people. This news follows a series of thefts against Indian tourists this year, many by transgender people. Most of the thefts involve transgender people snatching gold necklaces off tourists’ necks. However, there was also an incident this week when an Indian tourist said a transgender person stole his wallet. One…

  • Eastern Thailand NewsPolice in eastern Thailand give helmets to riders caught without them

    Police in eastern Thailand give helmets to riders caught without them

    Police in one province in eastern Thailand is giving free helmets to motorcycle riders caught not wearing them. The deputy chief of Trat Provincial Police, along with a team of traffic police, started this new approach today. Instead of fining riders caught without helmets, the police passed out free helmets to riders passing by a school in the main city…

  • World NewsSri Lanka former president’s stay in Singapore extended

    Sri Lanka former president’s stay in Singapore extended

    After fleeing to Singapore on July 14, Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa will now be able to stay in the country until August 11, Reuters reported today. Gotabaya fled Sri Lanka after over 100,000 protestors stormed the presidential palace, demanding that he and the country’s PM resign. Since Gotabaya fled, Sri Lanka’s parliament elected former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as the…

  • Phuket NewsForeigner’s body found off Phuket beach

    Foreigner’s body found off Phuket beach

    A foreigner’s body was found in waters off Yanui Beach in Phuket’s main city district this morning. Even though police found an American passport with the body, they stressed that they have not yet officially identified the man. The passport is for a 73 year old man. Police also found Thai and Korean cash with the body, as well as…

  • Pattaya NewsBlaze breaks out at Pattaya hotel

    Blaze breaks out at Pattaya hotel

    A fire broke out on the seventh floor of a Pattaya hotel earlier this week. The blaze ripped through a storage room with electrical boxes at the LK Royal Suite Hotel on July 25. The hotel is located in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. Luckily, no injuries were reported, and the fire was put out by the time firefighters arrived…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya’s Jomtien Beach planning temporary vendor zone

    Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach planning temporary vendor zone

    Pattaya officials have plans for a temporary solution to the drama over Jomtien Beach’s vendors. Earlier this year, a new stretch of the beach was created for tourists to enjoy. But merchants, local businesses, and hawkers quickly moved onto the area setting up stalls, tables, chairs, etc., denying access to people wanting to use the sandy area. Since then, the…

  • Phuket NewsNo more monkey business! Phuket monkeys lose tourists from monkeypox scare

    No more monkey business! Phuket monkeys lose tourists from monkeypox scare

    Phuket’s monkeys are missing out on their usual feedings from tourists at Koh Siray island’s monkey viewpoint. At the viewpoint, tourists usually buy fruit from vendors to feed to the roughly 200 monkeys there. But following Phuket’s recent monkeypox scare, after a Nigerian man was found to have the virus, fewer tourists are coming to feed their furry friends. Local…

  • Thailand NewsThailand upgrades monkeypox alert to national level

    Thailand upgrades monkeypox alert to national level

    Thai officials are on guard for monkeypox. The country has upgraded its monkeypox alert to the national level today. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul called an emergency meeting today after the World Health Organisation declared monkeypox a Global Health Emergency. This news comes after a Nigerian man, who was the first person recorded with monkeypox in Thailand, escaped to Cambodia.…