Northern Thailand News
Northern Thailand news, Chiang Mai news, business, tourism, and culture—stay updated with breaking stories, local events, and travel insights from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pai, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Northern Thailand news source.
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Drunk cop abandons car blocking traffic in northeast Thailand
Yesterday, a drunk police officer parked his car in the middle of the road in Udon Thani province in northeast Thailand when he needed to pee. Upon his return, his wheel had been clamped. He attempted to drive the clamped vehicle before fleeing. Officers at Mueang Udon Thani Police Station were informed that someone with a police officer’s uniform was…
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Car saleswoman brutally raped and murdered in Thailand, family demands death penalty
The family of a young used car saleswoman who was brutally raped and murdered in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on Saturday is calling for the serial rapist responsible to be punished with the death penalty. Police arrested a 40 year old suspect, Nathapol Panpadungsap, in Mueang district at 3.30pm on Sunday. He has a long criminal history and was most…
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Elephant moves fallen tree blocking road in Thailand (video)
An elephant moved a fallen tree blocking the Lampang – Phrae Road in northern Thailand during a storm on Monday, allowing traffic to resume as normal. The moment was captured on Facebook Live. The owner of the elephant, Weerawat Triyot, said that he was on his way back to Chaiyaphum province after taking his 16 year old elephant Dan Siam…
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Man caught smuggling 45 crab-eating macaques out of Thailand
A Thai man was arrested on a highway in Udon Thani province in northeastern Thailand yesterday with 45 crab-eating macaques stuffed into 13 boxes inside his car. He confessed that he was taking the monkeys to the border to be smuggled into neighbouring countries, most likely to be experimented on or killed for their brains. The monkey trafficker, 44 year…
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Pregnant elephant tramples mahout to death in northeast Thailand
A pregnant elephant trampled its 60 year old mahout to death in Buriram province in northeast Thailand yesterday. The deceased’s wife said the elephant was moody because of the extremely hot weather. Officers at Satuek Police Station were called to Ban Nong Kaen village in Sanam Chai district after receiving a report that an elephant killed its owner. Police found the…
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Summer storm wreaks havoc on 2 districts of northeast Thailand province
A summer storm wreaked havoc on two districts of Thailand’s northeast Nakhon Phanom province. Around 70 houses in That Phanom and Renu Nakhon districts were damaged yesterday afternoon, according to authorities. In That Phanom district, both Moo 3 and Moo 8 villages of Tambon Phon Phaeng faced heavy showers, strong gusts of wind, and thunderstorms for approximately an hour. As…
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Owner of mansion in Thailand angered at rumours it’s haunted
The owner of a grand, allegedly haunted mansion in northeast Thailand‘s Nakhon Phanom province came out to dispel rumours surrounding the house. The dilapidated building, belonging to the descendants of local nobility, garnered attention after it was reported to be worth millions. The owner has confirmed that the house has never been haunted and has never served as a repository…
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Mother heartbroken after son returns to Thailand for 3 days, only to be found dead
A young man from Thailand‘s northeast Udon Thani province, who had returned from working in Israel only three days prior, mysteriously disappeared and was later found drowned in a nearby pond. His mother is now heartbroken. The young man, identified as Thanom, from Chai Wan district, had gone missing from his home since early morning. Concerned villagers searched all day,…
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YouTuber finds human skull on banks of Mekong River in Thailand
A YouTuber found a human skull while filming content on the banks of the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom province in northeast Thailand yesterday. At 6pm, Chanathip Chapuban – aka Mukdahan Moss – was riding a motorbike and filming content for his YouTube channel when he noticed something by the water on Sai Thong Kot Boon Beach (Si Khotrabun Golden…
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Thai man hunting honey in forest dies from bee stings
A Thai man died from bee stings yesterday after he and his friends hunted for honey in the Phu Phan National Park in the Isaan province of Kalasin. The deceased was identified as 51 year old Thongphan Jitchomphu. His body was found hanging from a vine 10 metres above the ground in the forest. A rescue team and locals helped…
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Mor Lam stage collapses during strong winds in northeast Thailand
A newly installed Mor Lam stage collapsed during strong winds in Bueng Kan province in northeast Thailand yesterday shortly before a concert was set to begin, sending performers and attendees fleeing in all directions. Strong winds brewed as Mor Lam fans piled in to watch the Rabiab Watasin Mor Lam Group perform a free concert on a huge stage at…
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Missing woman found dead in a parked car at a petrol station
A Thai rescue team volunteer discovered the dead body of a missing woman in a car parked in a petrol station in the Sikhiao district of the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima on Tuesday. The Thai rescue team volunteer detected an unpleasant smell when he parked his car at the petrol station. He realised it was the scent of a…
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Chiang Rai crash kills 2, injures 13
A crash in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province killed two people and injured 13. The accident occurred on No. 1020 (Chiang Rai Terng) Road in the Baan Pong Chang in Chieng Kean sub-district on Tuesday night at around 7.20pm. Emergency responders arrived at the scene to find several damaged minivans and pickup trucks. The responders found a 14 year old…
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Thailand’s beloved giant panda at Chiang Mai Zoo dies at 21 years old
Famous female giant panda Lin Hui passed away at Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand this morning at the age of 21 years old. The beloved panda brought joy to the Thai nation for over two decades. The panda’s cause of death is awaiting confirmation from Chiang Mai Zoo. Reports say that Lin Hui fell ill and displayed “abnormal symptoms”…
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Thief uses 99 baht fake gun to attempt bank robbery in Thailand
A gas station cashier used a fake gun he bought online for 99 baht in an attempted robbery of a Kasikorn Bank brank in Kalasin province in northeast Thailand on Monday. Upon arrest, he told police that he was trying to win back the 300,000 baht which he stole from his workplace and gambled all away. At 4.30pm, officers at…
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Finnish man accused by neighbours of insulting Thai people
A Thai woman in the Isaan province of Chaiyaphum claims that her Finnish husband was attacked by more than 10 neighbours on April 14. The neighbours admitted to attacking the foreign man but insisted that they did so because he insulted them and the Thai people first. A 40 year old Thai woman named Aoy took to social media to…
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Doi Pui mountain’s TV Tower in Chiang Rai rescued from forest fires
The Channel 9 TV transmitter tower atop Doi Pui mountain in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai had a close shave with destruction as forest fires inched dangerously close last night. Thanks to the relentless efforts of the firefighting volunteers who rushed to save the day! A motley crew of officials from Mae Puem National Park and local volunteers joined…
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Mad Buddhist monks brawl at funeral in northeast Thailand
Tensions were high at a funeral in Surin province in northeast Thailand on Friday when a brawl broke out between two saffron-robed Buddhist monks, allegedly over a plastic chair. Yesterday, the acting abbot of Wat Pho Sri Sawang Arom, Phra Toi Kan, told reporters what happened at the temple on Friday. In Thailand, Buddhist funeral rites include a distinctive ritual…
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Summer storms cause chaos in coastal regions as boats overturn
A severe summer storm has struck the south and northeast of Thailand, resulting in one fatality and causing the sinking of numerous fishing boats, according to reports. A mini-tornado briefly formed during the peak of the storm, with strong winds generating large waves along the coastlines of Pak Phanang, Muang, and Tha Sala districts of Nakhon Si Thammarat around 8am…
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Air pollution increases in upper northeastern regions of Thailand
According to the Pollution Control Department, 23 locations, primarily in the northern region of Thailand, have been found to contain high levels of particulate matter 2.5 micrometres or smaller in diameter (PM2.5). The most severe levels were identified in Chiang Mai. These concentrations are considered detrimental to human health. As of 11am yesterday, PM2.5 dust levels in the north ranged…
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Scaly thief steals 100 chickens and ducks from farm in northeast Thailand
A four-metre-long python was caught red-handed stealing poultry from a farm in Udon Thani province in northeast Thailand yesterday. The fat snake devoured nearly 100 chickens and ducks in total, causing significant damage to the farmer. The farmer, 58 year old Chaiwichit Sarito, was dumbstruck when chickens and ducks kept going missing from his farm day in and day out.…
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Cops bust 6 overstayers in northeast Thailand ahead of Songkran
Cops busted six overstayers in northeast Thailand’s Buriram province ahead of the Songkran festival. A crackdown by Immigration Police in Buriram led to the detention of six foreigners for overstaying their visas. The operation took place from March 27 to April 10 and was aimed at preventing and suppressing crime during the Songkran Festival, according to Naewna. Pol. Maj. Gen.…
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Police bust gang of thieves targetting foreigners in northeast Thailand
Police announced the results of their investigation into a gang of thieves targetting foreigners with families all over the Isaan region this afternoon in front of the Provincial Police Region 3 Headquarters in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand. Police seized stolen assets worth an accumulative 3 million baht. The gang found its victims by sitting in shopping malls around…
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Mother and 8 year old son murdered in northern Thailand
Police have launched a murder investigation after the bodies of a woman and her eight year old son – from Myanmar – were discovered yesterday in a rented room in Lamphun province in northern Thailand. At 7.15pm, officers from Mueang Lamphun Police Station were called to a rented room in Ban Hua Fai in Nong Chang Kwan subdistrict after locals…
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Gang attacks Swedish tourist for defending waitress in Chiang Mai, Thailand
A Swedish tourist was brutally attacked by a gang of young men after he tried to stop them from assaulting a waitress at a karaoke bar in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on Friday. The gang also stole the victim’s gold necklace before throwing him into a canal. Yesterday, police arrested three men of Tai Yai ethnicity (an ethnic group from Shan state…
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Hitchhiker’s gratitude turns into car theft for kindhearted siblings in Udon Thani
Two kindhearted siblings who gave a lift to a hitchhiker yesterday in the Isaan province of Udon Thani saw their trust backfire when he stole their car. The victim, a 29 year old woman named Khanittha, reported the incident at Mueang Udon Thani Police Station after her black Honda BR-V SUS was stolen by the unnamed hitchhiker. Khanittha explained that…
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Former Lotus Go Fresh employee steals 298,000 baht from supermarket in Isaan
A former Lotus Go Fresh employee turned from gamekeeper to poacher to steal 298,000 baht from the supermarket in the Isaan province Sa Kaeo. A 21 year old Thai man was arrested yesterday in connection with the theft. The robbery took place at a supermarket located on Thetsaban 6 Road in the Mueang district of Sa Kaeo. One of the staff members…
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Thai monk does goal celebration after escaping military conscription (video)
A Buddhist monk ran around the room like a celebrating footballer upon drawing a black card at a military conscription draftee selection event in Nakhon Ratchasima in northeast Thailand on Sunday, meaning that he won’t be required to serve in the military. Cheers erupted from the crowd when a black card was drawn for 24 year old Phra Phuwanai Gayputsa…
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Forest fire kills another firefighting volunteer in northern Thailand
A firefighting volunteer was tragically caught in the flames while extinguishing a forest fire in Nan province in northern Thailand yesterday, where a thick layer of smog continues to blanket the region. The body of 62 year old Sriwan Mirayot was found in the forests surrounding Doi Sa-ngud mountain in the Bor Suak subdistrict in Mueang Nan district. His fellow…
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Drug addict’s gruesome murder shocks Udon Thani community
A drug addict brutally murdered his female neighbour yesterday, leaving her lifeless body in the bathroom in the Isaan province of Udon Thani. The killer injured himself in the process of the murder and later died in hospital. The victim, Thaniya Rattanatiyakun, was found with a knife wound to her head and two missing fingers. The murderer, Prawut Chantasut, was a…
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