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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Three woman caught smuggling heroin from Thailand into India
Three women were arrested at a hotel in Itarsi, India, with 200 million rupees’ – or 87.8 million baht’s – worth of heroin on Saturday. The women allegedly smuggled the heroin into the Indian city of Bengaluru from Thailand via an international airline, according to India’s Narcotics Control Bureau. The woman managed to get the heroin through both Thai and…
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Ex Thai prisoner convicted of child sex offences willing to be castrated
A high-profile paedophile says he is willing to be castrated to stop him reoffending in the future. Child sex offender Bradley Pen Dragon announced he is happy to be chemically or physically castrated today after he won his release from a prison in Australia. The 62 year old will be allowed to leave prison next month subject to more than…
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BREAKING: Court sentences British man who murdered and chopped up Thai woman
UPDATE: Court sentences British man who murdered and chopped up Thai woman At 1:30pm this afternoon, Kanchanaburi Provincial Court sentenced Shane Kenneth Looker to 8 years in prison for murdering Laxami “Look” Manochat in 2014. The court ordered Shane to pay a total of 12.5 million baht to Look’s family. The court initially sentenced 51 year old Shane to 16…
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Thai man buys 12 pairs of Converse as offerings to god of wealth
A Thai man has bought 12 pairs of Converse sneakers and offered them to the god of wealth in the central province of Ang Thong after his wishes came true. Other locals are now copying the idea, helping the god have his own shoe collection. Yesterday, the media reported that they found a display case placed in front of the…
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Diesel price increase hits motorists in the pocket
Motorists were hit in the pocket once more as the price of diesel fuel increased today by 1 baht to 33 baht a litre. The latest price hike, decided by the Fuel Fund Executive Committee, will remain in place for around a week until the committee meet again on Monday to decide whether the price should be further increased. Director…
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Nude homeless man throws himself in front of speeding lorry in suicide attempt
A naked homeless man threw himself in front of a speeding truck in Pattaya yesterday morning in what looks like a suicide attempt. The male victim sustained serious injuries after being hit by the lorry, while trying to cross a road in the Bang Lamung sub-district, Bang Lamung, Chon Buri. His name and age could not be identified by the…
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Transport Ministry expects 22 million travellers will pass through Thai airports in 2022
The Transport Minister, Saksayam Chidchob, says every airport in Thailand is ready to welcome more travellers entering from June 1. The Minister also set a target expecting 22 million travellers to enter this year. So far, the number has just clicked over the 1 million mark (mid-May). Yesterday, Saksayam visited Suvarnabhumi Airport for for an official before the changes to…
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Tangmo: 5 of 6 suspects charged with “recklessness causing death”
Prosecutors have ordered the indictment of 6 suspects in relation to the death of Thai actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong, who drowned in the Chao Phraya river in February during a boat trip with her friends. All 5 people on board the boat have been charged with “recklessness causing death.” Yesterday, superintendent of Muang Nonthaburi Police Station reported that the prosecutors…
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Deputy PM insists using Thai numerals to keep “uniqueness”
Following a campaign on Change.org to remove Thai numbers from official documents, Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam said it was “an absurd controversial topic”. He insisted that Thai numbers might be complicated, but it is the way to maintain Thai uniqueness. Thai numerals are written in Thai script in formal documents, not the Arabic numerals used in many other countries. A Thai…
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Climate change activist smears cream on Mona Lisa painting at Louvre
A visitor to the Louvre Museum in Paris has attacked the world-famous Mona Lisa painting, having disguised himself as an elderly lady in a wheelchair. The man, believed to be a climate change activist, jumped out of the wheelchair and tried to smash the glass protecting the painting, according to a Reuters report. The painting was reportedly undamaged, but the…
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Patong woman drowns after pickup skids off treacherous road into lake
A 50-year-old Patong woman drowned after her pickup truck careered off a treacherous road and plunged into a lake in the Kathu district. Witnesses alerted police of the accident, opposite the GSM Duty Free Shop on Phra Phuket Kaew Road, at 6am on Sunday. The bystanders said the woman, driving a blue Ford Ranger pickup with Phuket plates, failed to…
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Thai Airways collaborates with Warner Bros to shoot ‘The Meg 2: The Trench’
Thai Airways has entered into an agreement with Warner Bros Discover – or WBD – to provide flights to support the production of ‘The Meg 2: The Trench,’ a sequel to the 2018 film ‘The Meg.’ The airline will provide direct flights from various locations around the world and take special care in transporting film production equipment. Thai Airways say…
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US says it will not send rocket systems to Ukraine to strike at territory inside Russia
The US has ruled out arming Ukraine with rocket systems that could strike targets inside Russian territory, according to an AFP report. President Joe Biden has confirmed his administration’s stance at a press briefing in Washington. “We are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia.” Since Russia’s invasion in February, Ukraine has received significant…
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Police arrest Scottish man wanted since 2014 in Pattaya
Yesterday, Thai police arrested a 46 year old Scottish man in Pattaya who was convicted of possessing indecent images of children in May 2014. William Dempster fled the UK eight years ago before he could be sentenced and has been on the run in Thailand ever since. The Royal Thai Police, Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency worked together…
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Thai medical council refutes claim that private hospitals have foreign doctors on staff
Thai healthcare bosses have dismissed claims by some private hospitals that they have foreign doctors on staff to help with patient care and surgery. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Medical Council of Thailand says there is a limit on the number of foreign doctors allowed to practice in the kingdom. Addressing claims made by some private hospitals, the…
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PM Prayut insists no plans to drop face-mask requirement in Thailand
Thailand’s PM and Defense Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, insists that Thailand has no plans to drop the requirement to wear face-masks. The PM asked the spokesperson to emphasise this point to the residents saying wearing masks was still “a necessary behaviour”. Last week, the Permanent Secretary of the Public Health Ministry, Kiattiphum Wongrajit, said that the ministry proposed to adjust the…
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Teenagers assault family car in central Thailand, injuring 3 year old
A group of teenagers have assaulted a family of 3 in the central province of Samut Prakan. The teenagers were “throwing a party” in the middle of road at a housing estate in Bang Sao Thong district, and refused to move out of the way of the family’s car. The teenagers threw a rock through the car window, injuring the…
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Demonstrators storm UN building to protest NPO law
Demonstrators swarmed around the United Nations Building to the Government House this morning to denounce a government bill on non-profit organizations. Hundreds of vociferous anti-NPO demonstrators avoided a number of barriers, including barbed wire on different sections of Ratchadamnoen Road leading to government house in Bangkok, but still managed to voice their opposition to a law that will affect the…
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Malaysia’s biggest ever Thai festival “Think Thailand” has begun
Malaysia is hosting the country’s biggest ever Thai festival, “Think Thailand,” for 12 days from May 29 – June 6 at Tropicana Gardens Mall in Damansara, Petaling Jaya. Attendees can shop for Thai products, watch cooking and martial arts demonstrations, sample Thai cuisine and observe cultural performances. “Think Thailand” will showcase a range of Thai brands and products at 50…
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Kasikornbank bank buys 67% of Indonesian bank, Bank Maspion
One of Thailand’s premier banks, Kasikornbank, has purchased majority shareholding in Indonesian bank, Bank Maspion, for US$220 million. The agreement should be completed by the end of the year, with Kbank owning 67.5% of Maspion shares. Two years ago, rival competitor Bangkok Bank splashed almost US$2.3 billion baht in an Indonesian bank, Bank Permata. Following a plan to spend US$20…
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Bangkok’s Bang Khun Tien district offers free sanitary pads to students
The Bang Khun Tien District Office, near the mouth of Bangkok’s Chao Phraya river, has given away 20,000 sanitary pads to female students in 16 public schools, in line with the policies promised by the incoming Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittphun. Last Sunday, the Director of the Bang Khun Tien District Office, Pongjakarin Thawonpong, told the media that the district office…
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4 year old drowns in pool at Chon Buri villa
Yesterday, a 4 year old boy drowned in a swimming pool at a villa in Suthathip district in the eastern province of Chon Buri. Rescue workers from Rojanathamsathan Rescue Unit rushed to the scene at 8:30pm yesterday but sadly couldn’t save 4 year old Falah Senluang. Falah’s family told police they had travelled to the two-story villa from Samut Prakan…
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British man who murdered and chopped up Thai woman to be sentenced tomorrow
Tomorrow, the court will announce the fate of a British man who murdered and dismembered a Thai woman, stuffed her in a suitcase and dumped her body in the Mae Khlong River eight years ago. On November 6 2014, police discovered the body of 31 year old Laxami “Look” Manochat inside a suitcase dumped in the Mae Klong River in…
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Animal imports restricted until monkeypox measures implemented
The screening of wildlife imports has been made a priority in Thailand as cases of the monkeypox virus continues to increase throughout the world. The National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department today revealed they have introduced severe measures to closely monitor any wildlife entering the country in a bid to prevent monkeypox coming into Thailand. The government agency also…
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UPDATE: Compensation promised after teenage passenger killed in police chase
Following last week’s report of a teenager who was killed after the motorbike she was a passenger on crashed into a police pickup, the police officers have now promised to pay compensation to the victim’s family. No charges have been filed against the police at this stage as the case is still under investigation. On May 27, a car accident…
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Chon Buri gunman shoots 3 people “because he was slapped in the face”
A man shot three people, killing two and seriously injuring another in Ban Bueng district in the eastern province of Chon Buri on Saturday night. The gunman said he was drinking alone outside a convenience store when a group of men drinking around a nearby table criticised his personality. He said one of the men slapped him in the face,…
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Tara Air plane crashes in Nepal, 22 feared dead
The Nepali Army has found the wreckage of a Tara Air plane scattered on a mountainside in Nepal after it went missing over the Himalayan mountains yesterday morning. On board the plane were 4 Indian nationals, 2 Germans, 13 Nepali passengers and 3 Nepali crew members. The army hasn’t yet reported whether they have found any survivors. The 43 year…
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PM Prayut’s 3 trillion baht budget slammed ‘pointless’ by MFP leader
Opposition Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat has slammed PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s spending plans ahead of tomorrow’s budget bill as “pointless.” PM Prayut will defend the government’s 3.2-trillion-baht 2023 budget bill in a three-day House debate starting tomorrow, explain why the sum is so large and his spending plans for the fiscal year. But the MFP leader landed the first…
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Buddhism Office says Thai Buddhists shouldn’t judge monks’ behaviour
The director of the National Buddhism Office says it’s not for Thai Buddhists to judge the behaviour of monks, which should be left to Buddhist councils. Instead, Thai Buddhists should continue to respect monks and refrain from judging them for their misdeeds. According to a Pattaya News report, Sippaworn Kaewngam says respect for Buddhist monks is a key component of…
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Victoria’s Secret gives laid off Thai garment workers $8.3 million in compensation
Lingerie company Victoria’s Secret has given a ‘wage theft’ payment of 8.3 million USD to 1,250 laid off Thai garment workers, who have been fighting for severance payments for over a year since their factory in Samut Prakan, central Thailand, went bankrupt and closed down in March 2021. Some workers received the equivalent of more than four years wages under…
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