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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  • German overstayed visa for nine years – another 56 arrested in crackdown

    German overstayed visa for nine years – another 56 arrested in crackdown

    A nine year overstayer, 41 unlawful entrantss and 56 arrested – just another week for the regular crackdown by ‘Big Joke’ and his team. ‘Big Joke’ is the nickname for the police crime-killer, Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal – deputy tourist police chief, who has been leading the way with the country’s main crackdowns and criminal investigations, including the boat…

  • Prawit apologises after insensitive comments about Chinese boat disaster

    Prawit apologises after insensitive comments about Chinese boat disaster

    “They build their own ships, don’t follow our rules.” Thailand’s #2, deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan is again in hot water, this time for making comments about the Chinese that died in last Thursday’s boat disaster in Phuket, the second worst maritime disaster in Thailand (after the 2004 tsunami). He suggested that Chinese people are to be blamed for the tourist ferry…

  • Team NOT tranquillised – PM

    Team NOT tranquillised – PM

    Let’s put this story to sleep. The PM Prayut Chan-o-cha denied that the young footballers trapped in Tham Luang cave were tranquilised before setting out on the journey through the convoluted cave system to freedom. He did, however, admitted that they took an anxiolytic, a drug to relieve anxiety. Anxiolytic drugs are commonly used before general anaesthetics or in treatments…

  • Midnight shootout in Bangkok lands drug suspect in hospital

    Midnight shootout in Bangkok lands drug suspect in hospital

    A drug suspect has been severely injured in a gunfight with police in Bang Khen district, north of the Bangkok city centre, early this morning. 33 year old Atthapol Phosuwan from Nakhon Sawan was shot in his left cheek, right thigh and right calf . He was apprehended and rushed to Bhumibol Hospital. A team of motorcycle patrol policemen from Bang…

  • Update: Man ‘dismembered ex-girlfriend’ – Bangkok

    Update: Man ‘dismembered ex-girlfriend’ – Bangkok

    By Kornkamol Aksorndech After a head and mutilated body parts were found in Bangkok’s north-eastern suburbs on Saturday morning police went to work to find the perpetrator of the crime. It took them less than 24 hours. Original story HERE. UPDATE: The former boyfriend of a woman whose mutilated body was found on a remote road in Bangkok’s Klong Samwa…

  • Ladyboy job applicant turned down over her sexuality

    Ladyboy job applicant turned down over her sexuality

    PHOTO: Sanook A recently graduated lady boy has taken to Facebook to claim that she was turned down for a job at a trading company because she was discriminated against based on their sexuality. She posted a screenshot of an email in which the company said “sorry but we don’t accept type two women” (‘Type Two Women’ is the term…

  • Meet Bangkok’s friendly neighbourhood midwife

    Meet Bangkok’s friendly neighbourhood midwife

    A traffic police captain, trained under a project initiated by HM the late King Bhumibhol Adulyadej, has helped another mother deliver a baby girl. This is the 33rd child born with his assistance. Pol Captain Pichet Wisetchok, a deputy inspector of Traffic Police Sub-division 6, rushed to M Palace Apartment on Soi Chokchai 4 in Bangkok’s Wang Thong Lang district…

  • Heroin-swallowing smugglers nabbed in Chiang Mai and Bangkok

    Heroin-swallowing smugglers nabbed in Chiang Mai and Bangkok

    15.5 kilograms of heroin is a serious amount of illicit narcotics. Six Nepalese and one Indian national have been accused of being members of a transnational drug-trafficking syndicate, They’ve been transporting drugs by having people swallow dozens of capsules containing heroin and were arrested last week. The Nepalese suspects were identified as Singha Bir Gongbotamang, Sudarshan Thapa, Prasad Gurung, Suresh…

  • Bangkok teen arrested with 8 million pills and a whole lot more!

    Bangkok teen arrested with 8 million pills and a whole lot more!

    A 17 year old boy has been arrested in Bangkok with an astonishing amount of illicit drugs. 8,670,000 methamphetamine pills, 37 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 2,822 ecstasy pills, 38 kilograms of crystal ketamine and 569 bottles of ketamine solution. (Probably not all for personal use) Pol General Chalermkiart Sriworakhan says police staked out an apartment on Soi Lard Pra Khao…

  • Seven die in motorway smash

    Seven die in motorway smash

    PHOTOS: @js100radio Seven people have been killed and four others wounded in a multiple-vehicle crash at Chonburi on the Bangkok inbound lane of Motor Way last night (Friday). The accident involving an 18 wheel truck, a 10 wheel truck, an SUV and a pick-up truck at the 57+800 kilometre marker happened around 7pm, resulting in a severe traffic jam.

  • Dengue claims first victim in Bangkok for 2018

    Dengue claims first victim in Bangkok for 2018

    Dengue fever has claimed its first victim of the year in Bangkok, among nearly 2,400 cases reported in the capital. Methipoj Chatamethikul, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Health Department, says the victim was a resident of Nong Chok district, Khok Faed subdistrict, but gave no further personal details. Methipoj says dengue had also been detected in two other Nong…

  • Four arrested with 414,000 methamphetamine pills, ‘ice’, ecstasy tablets and ketamine

    Four arrested with 414,000 methamphetamine pills, ‘ice’, ecstasy tablets and ketamine

    Bangkok police arrested three men and a woman on charges of alleged drug trafficking and seized 414,000 methamphetamine pills, 28 kilograms of crystal meth or “ice”, 18,000 ecstasy pills and 1.8 kg of ketamine in two related operations. The arrests were announced at a press conference at the Metropolitan Police Bureau at noon on Thursday. The suspects were all between…

  • ‘Furious Aunties’ receive 1.47 million baht compensation, pending appeal

    ‘Furious Aunties’ receive 1.47 million baht compensation, pending appeal

    A Bangkok family could receive more than 1.47 million baht compensation for inconvenience because of the authorities’ failure to prevent “illegal markets” from operating around their house if the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) loses its appeal against a lower court verdict. The Central Administrative Court on Wednesday decided to award compensation to the Saengyoktrakarn family and also ordered the relevant…

  • Bangkok property trends continue to point upward

    Bangkok property trends continue to point upward

    Bangkok’s property market continues to show price growth with an eight-point increase in the DDproperty Property Index from 205 to 213 in the first quarter of 2018. A strong opening for 2018, this growth is on the back of an improving economic outlook and an expected increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year to 4.2 percent (up 0.3 percent…

  • 10 million meth pills, 398 kg of ‘ice’ seized in Bangkok. Six arrested.

    10 million meth pills, 398 kg of ‘ice’ seized in Bangkok. Six arrested.

    Bangkok police have arrested six suspects and seized a large drug haul of 10 million made-in-Myanmar methamphetamine pills and 398 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine or “ice”. A haul that size led the national police chief, Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda, to hold a press conference this morning (Friday) at the Royal Thai Police headquarters to announce the seizure. Chakthip said police…

  • Bangkok Airways Phuket Half-Marathon announced

    Bangkok Airways Phuket Half-Marathon announced

    A press conference was held at Limelight Avenue hosted by the Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Teeraphol Thipjaroen, Phuket Vice Governor Prakob Wongmaneerung and Deputy Director of the Phuket Office of Tourism Authority of Thailand, Montri Manator. The media gathering was called to announce the Phuket Half-Marathon to be held on August 5. The marathon is part of Bangkok Airways…

  • One night in Bangkok – 45 arrested for drugs and 91 for street racing

    One night in Bangkok – 45 arrested for drugs and 91 for street racing

    It’s been a busy night in Bangkok with nearly 140 people detained or arrested over street racing and others testing positive for illicit drugs at just one late night venue. Ninety-one motorcyclists and pillion riders were arrested las night (Friday) in an ongoing crackdown on street racing in the capital. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal, the deputy commissioner of the Tourist…

  • French man killed trying to stop a fight in Bangkok

    French man killed trying to stop a fight in Bangkok

    PHOTO: Thai Visa Sanook website is reporting today (May 3) that police were notified that a foreign man had been stabbed to death at a bar in a guesthouse in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. See story here Sanook Witness at the scene told police that a Thai man named only as ‘Pae’ was drinking alcohol with his girlfriend last evening until…

  • Storms hit Bangkok and Central regions

    Storms hit Bangkok and Central regions

    The Big Mango got a battering last night whilst rains are expected sometime on Phuket during Saturday and Sunday, but not the torrential rains that hit Bangkok. Heavy rains and strong winds hit several areas of the capital last night. A bus stop on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, outside the head office of petroleum giant PTT, collapsed as a result of strong…

  • 100 million worth of heroin seized at Bangkok shipping port

    100 million worth of heroin seized at Bangkok shipping port

    PHOTO: Thai Customs Department You can’t accuse Thai Customs officials of sleeping on the job. Yesterday (Sunday) they seized 28 kilograms of heroin with a street value of around 100 million. The heroin was hidden in rubber pillows bound for Hong Kong. Customs officials staffing X-Ray machine at the Klong Toey port say they noticed something suspicious amongst the shipment…

  • Three die, three injured, in Bangkok apartment blaze

    Three die, three injured, in Bangkok apartment blaze

    Three people have died and three others injured after a fire broke out in a Bangkok apartment early today (Tuesday), trapping 24 tenants. The fire started at the 15-storey Ratchathewi Apartment building on Soi Phetchaburi 18 off Phetchaburi Road in Ratchathewi district at about 2am. Ten fire engines responded to the emergency call. However, as the soi is…

  • 90 bikes and 90 motorcyclists bailed up in Bangkok

    90 bikes and 90 motorcyclists bailed up in Bangkok

    Bangkok police arrested 90 motorcyclists and a pillion rider and seized 90 bikes in an operation to prevent racing on the capital’s streets. The arrests were made by police from 10 Bangkok police stations who manned road checkpoints late on Friday night and early on Saturday. At the end of the operation, Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal held a press conference…

  • Earth Hour saves power, lowers emissions – Bangkok

    Earth Hour saves power, lowers emissions – Bangkok

    Bangkok saved 2,002 megawatts of electricity as a result of observing the 2018 Earth Hour last night (Saturday). Deputy Bangkok Governor Chakkapan Phewngam revealed the results, explaining further that the figures meant savings of 7.9 million baht and the reduction of 1,026 tonnes of carbon monoxide emissions. In the capital, the Earth Hour event was held at Central Plaza Grand…

  • Briton dies on bus from Bangkok to Phetchabun

    Briton dies on bus from Bangkok to Phetchabun

    A Thai passenger was horrified to discover Thursday night that he had sat for hours next to a dead British passenger on board an air-conditioned bus from Bangkok to Phetchabun. 61 year old Michael Richarddeen was discovered dead in his bus seat at 7.30pm when the Bangkok-Phu Rua bus stopped at a Phet Prasert bus parking point on Saraburi-Lomsak…

  • Seeding the skies over Bangkok to ‘make’ rain to help with smog

    Seeding the skies over Bangkok to ‘make’ rain to help with smog

    The Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation Department is preparing to seed clouds above Bangkok in an attempt to ease the capital’s smog problems. Haze has spread over the capital over the past few days, causing a health hazard for vulnerable people, and leading Agriculture and Cooperatives minister Grisada Boonrach to order that rainmaking operations be carried out. Two of the…

  • Southern power plant demonstrators vow to continue their protest in Bangkok

    Southern power plant demonstrators vow to continue their protest in Bangkok

    Opponents of coal-fired power plants have vowed to fight on after the Metropolitan Police designated a protest ban within a 50 metre radius of Government House, forcing the demonstrators to end their prolonged protest in front of the premises. Coal-fired power plant opposition groups yesterday insisted on their rights to stage peaceful protests and said they would appeal to the…

  • UK to shift visa approvals from Bangkok to New Delhi

    UK to shift visa approvals from Bangkok to New Delhi

    United Kingdom Visa and Immigration (UKVI) will relocate its visa approval centre from Bangkok to New Delhi, starting in June this year. The move is part of UKVI’s longstanding global strategy to modernise its visa operations and consolidate visa decision-making in large regional hubs, said a press release issued by the British Embassy to Thailand on Friday. There will be…

  • Jealous man arrested over murder of wife in Bangkok

    Jealous man arrested over murder of wife in Bangkok

    By Kittipong Maneerit A man has confessed to killing his bar-worker wife last Thursday over jealousy and a money dispute. 27 year old Mingkwan Rattanapetch known as Saranya, was strangled inside her apartment in Bangkok. Her husband, 22 year old Noppadon Singhachote has told police that he got angry when Saranya quarrelled with him over money and threatened to leave…

  • No Michelin Three Star restaurants in Bangkok

    No Michelin Three Star restaurants in Bangkok

    The inaugural Michelin Guide Bangkok on Wednesday announced 14 one-starred and three two-starred restaurants at its debut at Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok. No restaurant was awarded the ultimate accolade of three stars. Making its debut at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok on Wednesday, the first edition of the Michelin Guide Bangkok announced the 14 restaurants that have been awarded one…

  • Mega projects to shape Bangkok’s skyline – Thailand Tourism Forum 2018

    Mega projects to shape Bangkok’s skyline – Thailand Tourism Forum 2018

    The Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF) returns for its seventh annual edition on January 22, 2018, gathering more than 650 hotel industry professionals at the InterContinental Hotel Bangkok to discuss the mega-projects that are reshaping Bangkok’s cityscape. Running under the theme ‘Megacity Bangkok – A Tourism and Hotel Futurescape’, TTF 2018 will focus on the redevelopment of the thriving Thai capital.…