Bangkok News

Bangkok news, politics, business, crime, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s capital. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Bangkok news source.

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    5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)

    Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...

  • Bangkok’s Jodd Fairs market is relocating

    Bangkok’s Jodd Fairs market is relocating

    Famous night market Jodd Fairs in the Rama 9 area of Bangkok will be relocating to Ratchada at the end of the year. The new night market is expected to open in January 2024. In November 2021, the famous Talat Rot Fai Ratchada (Train Night Market Ratchada) which permanently closed during the Covid-19 pandemic made a comeback under the rebranded…

  • Bangkok’s New Chinatown comes back to life as Chinese tourists flock back

    Bangkok’s New Chinatown comes back to life as Chinese tourists flock back

    Bangkok‘s New Chinatown is once again buzzing with life as Chinese tourists flock back to the bustling neighbourhood after a two-year lull due to the pandemic. Stretching from Huai Khwang intersection to Pracha Uthit Road, New Chinatown (not to be confused with the original Chinatown in the Yaowarat area) is a hub of activity with eateries, shops, and street stalls…

  • Protestors have EM tags removed

    Protestors have EM tags removed

    A Bangkok court agreed to the request of five anti-establishment protesters Wednesday to have their electronic monitoring (EM) tags removed. The protesters are all currently out on bail pending trials on lèse majesté and sedition charges. The group sought the court’s permission to have the EM tags removed after the court decided that one could be removed from actor Savika…

  • Thai police return 6.5 million baht Richard Mille watch to Vietnamese tourist

    Thai police return 6.5 million baht Richard Mille watch to Vietnamese tourist

    Not all Thai police are bad eggs as proven by Lumpini Police officers who managed to reunite a Vietnamese tourist with an expensive Richard Mille wristwatch that he lost in Bangkok on Wednesday night. A Vietnamese tourist took a taxi from a hotel in the Lumpini area of Bangkok to Asiatique on the river. Later on, he ordered a private…

  • Taxi driver stabs passenger on road in Bangkok

    Taxi driver stabs passenger on road in Bangkok

    A passenger stabbed by a Bangkok taxi driver appealed to the Thai media to highlight his case after he accused the police of procrastinating over the case despite having enough evidence to arrest the accused. The victim succeeded in his quest and the taxi driver was arrested yesterday. The victim, Pratarn Seesook, contacted the crime news department of the MRG…

  • Commuters criticise ‘dangerous’ Bangkok Apiwat Station’s lack of lights

    Commuters criticise ‘dangerous’ Bangkok Apiwat Station’s lack of lights

    Commuters took to social media to criticise officials involved with the construction and opening of the “dangerous” Bangkok Apiwat Central Station. Two weeks after the official opening of the station, formerly known as Bang Sue Grand Station, roads around the station remain dark due to the absence of street lights. The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) promised that street lighting…

  • More trees in Bangkok could cut heatwave mortality by a third

    More trees in Bangkok could cut heatwave mortality by a third

    Planting more trees in Bangkok to lower summertime temperatures could decrease deaths directly linked to hot weather and heatwaves by a third. Increasing tree cover to 30% would shave off 0.4 degrees Celsius locally, on average, during hot summer months. Thai PBS World tells us that of the 6,700 premature deaths attributed to higher temperatures in 93 European cities during…

  • Bangkok’s first free street-food space welcomes hawkers, street vendors

    Bangkok’s first free street-food space welcomes hawkers, street vendors

    Bangkok opened its first free street-food space in the city for hawkers and street vendors yesterday, in an attempt to keep cluttered pavements free from obstruction. City governor Chadchart Sittipunt launched of the “Hello Hab-Re” (Hello Hawkers) project outside Samyan Mitrtown on Rama IV Road yesterday. Street food is a quintessential part of the Bangkok experience. Wherever you go in…

  • Extorted Taiwanese actress’ friend told to pay fine or go to jail

    Extorted Taiwanese actress’ friend told to pay fine or go to jail

    The Singaporean friend of the Taiwanese actress, who says she was extorted by police, says he was told to pay a fine or go to jail. The man was found to be in possession of illegal vaping devices that he had bought in Bangkok. The 29 year old man, who identifies himself as “Sky,” spoke to Bangkok Post at the…

  • Opportunist thief arrested for stealing Louis Vuitton bag at Bangkok mall

    Opportunist thief arrested for stealing Louis Vuitton bag at Bangkok mall

    An opportunist, light-fingered thief was arrested yesterday after she stole a Louis Vuitton handbag from a sexy model while she was trying on clothes at the Terminal 21 shopping mall in Bangkok. The clothes store owner, in Terminal 21 of the Asoke area of Bangkok, filed a complaint at Lumphini Police Station that a customer’s Louis Vuitton handbag was stolen…

  • Bangkok public bus condemned by Singaporean tourist

    Bangkok public bus condemned by Singaporean tourist

    A Singaporean tourist condemned Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) public buses after the driver of a bus in the capital closed its door and drove off as she was about to climb onboard. A Singaporean woman posted a video on her TikTok account, njwah, complaining about the service of a public bus in Bangkok. She wrote captions in Thai and…

  • Birmingham to Bangkok: British poker player wins big and moves to Thailand

    Birmingham to Bangkok: British poker player wins big and moves to Thailand

    A Brummie lad won £3.6 million (145.5 million baht) playing online poker and is now “having the time of his life” in Thailand. An Englishman, 31 year old Richard Sheils, swapped Birmingham for Bangkok after becoming a professional poker player from his bedroom. Now, Sheils is living a life of partying and trips to the beach. Sheils revealed that he…

  • Bail applications denied for detained protestors

    Bail applications denied for detained protestors

    Bail applications by ten detainees have been denied because most of them were charged with serious offences during protests last year, ranging from possession of explosives and arson to inciting unrest. Protesters gathered in front of the Criminal Court on Sunday morning, where a man who had been there for several days collapsed and died. According to Thai PBS World,…

  • Human bones found in rural area of Bangkok

    Human bones found in rural area of Bangkok

    Police are baffled by the mysterious discovery of human bones along Kanchanaphisek Ring Road in a rural area of Bangkok. The bones were just found in the agricultural Khan Na Yao district of the capital city, but it is suspected that they may have been resting there for nearly a year. The discovery of mystery bones was made by the Ruam…

  • Police escort officers face criminal probe

    Police escort officers face criminal probe

    After a social media post showing a Chinese woman getting a VIP police escort from Suvarnabhumi Airport caused an uproar, the officers involved are facing a criminal probe. Thai police have come under fire for alleged misconduct. A committee is being established to investigate and potentially take disciplinary or criminal action against four officers who are accused of providing illegal…

  • Thai police admit extorting money from Taiwanese actress

    Thai police admit extorting money from Taiwanese actress

    The compulsive melodrama continues between a Taiwanese actress and the “bastard police” who allegedly extorted 27,000 baht. In the latest episode of the compelling drama, it turns out the Royal Thai Police (RTP), are lying bastards. Late last week the RTP denied extorting money from An Yu-Qing ( 安于晴), also known as Charlene An, but today a Thai squad leader…

  • Gang of deaf suspects arrested in robberies

    Gang of deaf suspects arrested in robberies

    Authorities made an unusual arrest in Bangkok after a recent wave of robberies when they took four deaf suspects into custody. Police in Bangkok’s Sutthisan district arrested a gang of four deaf individuals for their involvement in a string of burglaries. According to Siam Rath, the police received a report of trespassing from a caretaker of a property in the…

  • Bangkok pub raid can’t find anything illegal to bust

    Bangkok pub raid can’t find anything illegal to bust

    Drug raids have become common around Thailand, but some are definitely less fruitful than others. Sometimes a club is open only during legal operating hours, following all the rules, and packed with law-abiding citizens. Despite receiving complaints from residents in the surrounding neighbourhood, police and army officers found nothing illegal in a recent raid in Bangkok. The raid on a…

  • Father Joe, Bangkok priest, celebrates 50 years of service

    Father Joe, Bangkok priest, celebrates 50 years of service

    Catholic priest Joseph H Maier – Father Joe – from the United States has been a Bangkok priest since the 1970s. This year is his 50th of celebrating mass in Bangkok’s slums. During his sojourn in the kingdom’s capital, he nursed HIV patients, saved children from the streets and provided an education to the very poorest. The slum celebrity has…

  • Police doubt story of teen shot on his 18th birthday

    Police doubt story of teen shot on his 18th birthday

    Reports of teen gangs and violence are on the rise in Thailand, and one young man got a mournful birthday surprise, though police are sceptical of what transpired. An 18 year old teen was shot and killed in a tragic incident that occurred in the Greater Bangkok province of Pathum Thani. The incident was reported by Thai Rath, and according…

  • Drain collapses beneath Chinese tourist’s feet in Thailand

    Drain collapses beneath Chinese tourist’s feet in Thailand

    A Chinese tourist was walking on a pavement near the Ancient City in Samut Prakan near Bangkok yesterday when a drain cover collapsed beneath his feet. Luckily, the tourist only sustained minor injuries. The Facebook page ‘Samut Prakan News v2’ posted a photo of the distressed tourist sitting on the side of Sukhumvit Road next to a broken sewage drain…

  • Royal arsonist goes on hunger strike

    Royal arsonist goes on hunger strike

    The royal arsonist convicted of setting fire to a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida has gone on a hunger strike while awaiting an appeal. Food delivery rider Sitthichok Sethasavet was found guilty of defaming the royal family, arson, destruction of property, and violation of the Emergency Decree. He was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.…

  • Thai police seize 1.1 tonnes of crystal meth in just one week

    Thai police seize 1.1 tonnes of crystal meth in just one week

    Southeast Asia‘s synthetic drugs trade is booming with Thai police seizing over one tonne of crystal meth (“Ice”) in just one week. Police displayed the fruits of their hard work – 1.145 tonnes of seized methamphetamine disguised as Chinese tea – at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau in Bangkok yesterday. The crystal meth was produced in neighbouring countries and smuggled into…

  • Bidding method for train station redesign project inappropriate

    Bidding method for train station redesign project inappropriate

    An investigation into the 33-million-baht redesign project for Bang Sue Grand Station revealed that the selection method to choose a nameplate and logo designer was inappropriate. The probe, headed by Sorapong Paithoonpong, a deputy interior permanent secretary, revealed its findings yesterday. After His Royal Majesty King Vajiralongkorn decided to rename the station “Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal” in September last…

  • Bangkok delivery driver nabbed robbing cars on the side

    Bangkok delivery driver nabbed robbing cars on the side

    A motorbike delivery driver in Bangkok was busted after police tracked him down and revealed him as a serial thief. The investigation started after a woman reported her car had been burgled earlier in the month. On January 13, a saleswoman named Saowalak reported a break-in of her car. It had been parked outside of the temple of Wat Traimit…

  • SRT plans to buy new train engines after viral video reveals new station swirling in smoke

    SRT plans to buy new train engines after viral video reveals new station swirling in smoke

    The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) announced plans to buy new engines for its trains after a viral video showed Bangkok’s new central train station swirling with smoke and air pollution. Banpong Station’s YouTube channel released a video on Thursday, January 19 of the new Bangkok Aphiwat Central Station full of smoke. The video caption said… “The first express train…

  • Pink Line monorail 95% complete, opening soon

    Pink Line monorail 95% complete, opening soon

    The Pink Line monorail project in Bangkok is expected to be completed this year, with construction currently 95% finished. Construction began in 2016 on the 53.5 billion baht public transit project. When it is finally opened, it will connect Khae Rai in Nontha Buri to Min Buri in east Bangkok. The Pink Line monorail Is hoped to bring some breathing…

  • 3 Chinese men deported for illegally opening restaurant in Bangkok

    3 Chinese men deported for illegally opening restaurant in Bangkok

    Police yesterday raided a Chinese restaurant operating illegally in Bangkok and arrested three Chinese men found working there. They were fined, deported, and put on Thailand’s blacklist. Immigration Bureau officers raided the Chaosan Osha Chinese restaurant on the Rama 9 Road in the Huay Kwang district of Bangkok. Officers reported that they found three Chinese citizens at the restaurant. A 35…

  • Pakistani man caught smuggling 80,000 pills into Thailand

    Pakistani man caught smuggling 80,000 pills into Thailand

    A Pakistani man was arrested at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday after he attempted to smuggle a suitcase brimming with drugs from Pakistan into the Kingdom of Thailand. Airport security flagged down a suspicious suitcase from Karachi, Pakistan, found to contain a plethora of Type 2 and Type 4 psychotropic substances. In total, police at the airport seized 79,200 pills…

  • Motorcyclist aided after accident by Anutin

    Motorcyclist aided after accident by Anutin

    Government officials are supposed to be in office to help the citizens of their country. And the Minister of Public Health holds a special duty to protect the health and safety of the people of Thailand. But one Thai resident found injured on Sathupradit Soi 19 got extra-personal one-on-one care from the Minister of Public Health after a crash. Last night…