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    Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?

    Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...

  • VIDEO: air rage incident on Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata | Thaiger

    VIDEO: air rage incident on Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata

    Footage of an air rage incident emerged yesterday of two Indian passengers swapping punches on a flight from Bangkok to Kolkata in India. A passenger recorded footage of the fracas and uploaded it to social media where it quickly went viral. It captures two men swapping insults, then punches after boarding a Thai Smile Airways flight that was set to…

  • Thailand should impose restrictions on Chinese tourists, says Pheu Thai MP | Thaiger

    Thailand should impose restrictions on Chinese tourists, says Pheu Thai MP

    News that China is opening its borders to foreigners and relaxing Covid-19 restrictions was widely welcomed by Thailand yesterday as it looks to further boost its tourist economy. Today, MPs are warning that Thailand should tread lightly and impose restrictions on potential Covid-carrying Chinese tourists otherwise the kingdom could face another potential catastrophic pandemic. Former Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisang,…

  • Chinese tourists may bring growing pains to the Thai travel industry | Thaiger

    Chinese tourists may bring growing pains to the Thai travel industry

    While people in the tourism and entertainment sector are celebrating China’s announcement to reopen and allow outgoing travel, others have raised fears about the potential problems that could come with an influx of Chinese tourists. Some fear an overwhelming surge of Chinese tourists flooding Thailand’s hotspots. Others worry that the healthcare systems in Thailand could be overburdened by the influx…

  • Anarchic passenger causes chaos on bus trip from Phuket to Bangkok | Thaiger

    Anarchic passenger causes chaos on bus trip from Phuket to Bangkok

    An anarchic passenger caused chaos for other travellers on a journey from Phuket to Bangkok today. The nuisance man annoyed his fellow passengers, illegally smoked, insulted staff members, and smashed a window with a fire extinguisher before leaping from the bus into busy oncoming traffic on Rama II Road in Bangkok. The driver of a Phuket-Bangkok coach bus, 51 year…

  • Thai woman hides 400 yaba pills in vagina to cover for drug-dealing husband | Thaiger

    Thai woman hides 400 yaba pills in vagina to cover for drug-dealing husband

    A Thai woman hid 402 pills of yaba (methamphetamine) inside her vagina in an attempt to cover for her drug-dealing husband during a raid at his house in Khon Kaen province in northeast Thailand on Monday. As the sun rose on Monday, officers from Ban Had Police Station raided the home of a suspected drug trafficker. Police were met by…

  • Thai shooting champion accused of murder | Thaiger

    Thai shooting champion accused of murder

    A Thai shooting champion was arrested yesterday in connection with a murder case six years ago in the southern province of Surat Thani. The marksman denied all allegations, claiming that he is a professional and wouldn’t have missed the target like those already charged. A kratom seller hired three gunmen to murder another kratom seller, 54 year old Thawatchai Wichianchai,…

  • Ceremony launches “Seven Days of Danger” for Phuket roads | Thaiger

    Ceremony launches “Seven Days of Danger” for Phuket roads

    The yearly road safety campaign for the holiday week called “Seven Days of Danger” was officially launched in Phuket yesterday. The week is from December 29 to January 4, when each year the rush of holiday travellers on the roads leads to an increase in accidents and road deaths. A ceremony hosted at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, led by Phuket…

  • Thailand’s national park chief released on bail for 400,000 baht | Thaiger

    Thailand’s national park chief released on bail for 400,000 baht

    Thailand‘s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) released the Chief of National Parks Rutchada Suriyakul Na Ayutya on bail for 400,000 baht this morning after detaining him on corruption charges yesterday. After interrogating Rutchada and collecting collateral of 400,000 baht, NACC officials agreed to release Rutchada, citing that he is not considered a flight risk due to having a stable and high-ranking…

  • CNN selects Bangkok and ICONSIAM’s firework shows as one of world’s 10 ‘Great Places for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve’ | Thaiger

    CNN selects Bangkok and ICONSIAM’s firework shows as one of world’s 10 ‘Great Places for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve’

    CNN has selected Bangkok as one of the world’s 10 ‘Greats Places for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve and listed ICONSIAM’s magnificent fireworks display at the “Amazing Thailand Countdown” as an ‘amazing fireworks show’ and place at which to ring in the New Year. The recognition reinforces ICONSIAM as Thailand’s premier ‘Global Countdown Destination’ after many years of standing out…

  • Gold thief begs for freedom after being trapped by security door | Thaiger

    Gold thief begs for freedom after being trapped by security door

    All that glitters is not gold, so the aphorism goes, as an ex-con found out when he returned to his old ways and tried to steal a gold necklace. He got trapped by the shop’s security door trying to steal the precious item and was sent back to jail despite pleading with the shop owner for his freedom. The owner…

  • Italian man fined 3000 baht for showing genitals to children | Thaiger

    Italian man fined 3000 baht for showing genitals to children

    Police nabbed an Italian man who was attempting to flee Thailand after being accused of showing his genitals to children in Pattaya. Police caught up with him just as he was boarding a flight out of Thailand and took him into custody. But he was let go after he paid a 3,000 baht fine and was told not to come…

  • Thai park ranger ‘Chaiwat’ working in civil service despite murder charges | Thaiger

    Thai park ranger ‘Chaiwat’ working in civil service despite murder charges

    Despite Thai park ranger Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn being accused of murdering Karen activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen in western Thailand in 2014, he is still working in the civil service. According to Section 101 of Thailand’s Civil Service Act (2008), any civil servant with criminal charges pressed against them should be suspended from government service pending the result of the investigation. In…

  • Woman arrested for keeping protected birds as pets | Thaiger

    Woman arrested for keeping protected birds as pets

    A woman in the southern province of Chumphon faces up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 500,000 baht for keeping 37 protected birds as pets without permission. The woman insisted that she did not buy or obtain the birds illegally, the birds came to her of their own free will so decided to care for…

  • Body of dead woman dumped in garbage bin in southern Thailand | Thaiger

    Body of dead woman dumped in garbage bin in southern Thailand

    Kura Buri Highway Department officers in the southern province of Phang Nga found a dead woman’s body dumped in a garbage bin on the roadside near the Khao Sok National Park at the border of Phang Nga and Surat Thani yesterday. The murderer is still on the run. Highway department officer Makesuwan Suphannamok told the media that he and his…

  • Downhill cycling banned in Doi Inthanon National Park | Thaiger

    Downhill cycling banned in Doi Inthanon National Park

    Fearing a string of preventable injuries and deaths, authorities have banned all downhill cycling in the mountainous Doi Inthanon National Park. The park, located in the Chom Thong district of Chiang Mai province, is popular for its scenic nature and picturesque mountains. But slippery roads and dangerous driving conditions have the potential for deadly accidents for those riding their bicycles…

  • China opening up a boost for Thailand tourism | Thaiger

    China opening up a boost for Thailand tourism

    China yesterday announced it will reopen its borders and abandon its strict Covid-19 quarantine for travellers and mainland citizens on January 8. The announcement signals great news for Thailand as the kingdom continues to prosper from the worldwide relaxation of Covid restrictions. Chinese visitors topped the nation’s No.1 tourist charts before the pandemic outbreak in 2020. From 2014 there had…

  • Bangkok hailed one of the top 10 places in the world to spend New Year’s Eve | Thaiger

    Bangkok hailed one of the top 10 places in the world to spend New Year’s Eve

    Bangkok has been hailed as one of the top 10 places in the world to spend New Year’s Eve while riverside shopping mall ICONSIAM is recommended as the No.1 spot to enjoy a fireworks display and countdown to the upcoming new year. US multinational news channel CNN produced a list of 10 Great Places to Spend New Year’s Eve. The…

  • Top 5 Fun Things to Do in Thailand | Thaiger

    Top 5 Fun Things to Do in Thailand

    There are lots of places to visit in the world and Thailand is on the bucket list of so many travelers. Once you’re there you’ll get to enjoy the sun and engage in lots of interesting activities. While you’re there, you can do all sorts of things to pass the time instead of being stuck in your hotel room. When…

  • Bangkok court grants bail to Tuhao’s wife for 2 million baht | Thaiger

    Bangkok court grants bail to Tuhao’s wife for 2 million baht

    Southern Bangkok Criminal Court granted bail to Pol. Col. Wanthanaree Kornchayanan – the wife of Chinese gangster Tuhao – for securities of 2 million baht this afternoon. Yannawa Police arrested and detained Wanthanaree and nine others yesterday on transnational drug and money laundering charges. The court does not usually grant bail to those accused on such serious charges in case…

  • Phuket remembers anniversary of Indian Ocean Tsunami | Thaiger

    Phuket remembers anniversary of Indian Ocean Tsunami

    Today marks the anniversary of one of the deadliest natural disasters ever to befall mankind. The Indian Ocean Tsunami, also known as The Boxing Day Tsunami, struck Phuket and the surrounding areas at 10am on December 26, 2004. In the province and neighbouring provinces, religious ceremonies were held today to mark the 18th anniversary of the deadly tsunami. Religious ceremonies…

  • Scientists discover secret of see-thru frogs | Thaiger

    Scientists discover secret of see-thru frogs

    Scientists have discovered the secret of how frogs found in South and Central America have the ability to turn themselves almost transparent, according to a report in the journal Science. During the day, these nocturnal frogs sleep by hanging underneath tree leaves. Their delicate, greenish transparent forms don’t cast shadows, rendering them almost invisible to birds and other predators passing…

  • Golden gunmen set to repel crime wave in Thailand’s Wild West | Thaiger

    Golden gunmen set to repel crime wave in Thailand’s Wild West

    In the lawless shopping malls of Mae Sot – Thailand’s Dodge City – golden gunmen are set to a repel crime wave. Gold shop owners in the western border province are being given firearms training, as an epidemic of armed robberies grips the Thai side of the frontier with Myanmar. Three gold shops in the province have been held up…

  • Foreign man fornicates with Thai woman on Pattaya street ‘for 30 minutes’ | Thaiger

    Foreign man fornicates with Thai woman on Pattaya street ‘for 30 minutes’

    A foreign tourist and a Thai woman were spotted fornicating against an electricity pole near a busy intersection in Pattaya “for 30 minutes” early this morning. At 4am, reporters received explicit video evidence of a foreign man and a Thai woman having sex on the roadside in central Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district in Chon Buri province. Locals are urging police…

  • Meteorological Department head, corruption, blamed for navy ship sinking | Thaiger

    Meteorological Department head, corruption, blamed for navy ship sinking

    In the wake of the devastating navy ship sinking last month, someone needs to take the blame. Yesterday, the Pheu Thai Party declared that the person accountable for the tragedy of the HTMS 442 Sukhothai is the weatherman. The director-general of the Meteorological Department of Thailand is being blamed for not providing a more accurate report of the dangerous weather.…

  • Police ordered not to name nationalities, arrest Swedish man with gun and meth | Thaiger

    Police ordered not to name nationalities, arrest Swedish man with gun and meth

    The Royal Thai police have given foreign troublemakers a bit of a Christmas gift. In an order put out late on Christmas Eve, the RTP told all provincial police bureaus to no longer release to the media the nationality of any foreigner arrested in Thailand. A spokesperson for the Royal Thai Police said that people accused of a crime in…

  • Tasteless Thai food humbled by American culinary excellence | Thaiger

    Tasteless Thai food humbled by American culinary excellence

    Thai food was humbled by American when TasteAtlas announced their top 50 best cuisines from around the world, and almost everyone was offended. While some obvious countries made it into the top spots, not everyone agreed with the breakdown. Taking the top three spots were Italy, Greece and Spain, who were joined by the likes of Japan, India, Mexico and…

  • Bitcoin mine raided over suspiciously big electricity bill | Thaiger

    Bitcoin mine raided over suspiciously big electricity bill

    A commercial building in Nang Rong district, Buri Ram, has been running up a suspiciously big electricity bill. The premises – two storey-building with two shop fronts – were raided by police Sunday, is a search for an illegal bitcoin mining operation. China’s recent ban and crackdown on cryptocurrency has fuelled a cryptocurrency mining boom in Thailand as small investors…

  • Road accidents involving motor bikes on the rise in Phuket | Thaiger

    Road accidents involving motor bikes on the rise in Phuket

    As we head into what has become known in Thailand as the “Seven Days of Danger” – the holiday period from December 24 to January 4 that always sees an increase in road deaths – a new report initiative is shedding light on an increase in motorbike accidents in Phuket. The Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation has begun releasing a report…

  • Tuhao, wife reunited for Christmas in prison | Thaiger

    Tuhao, wife reunited for Christmas in prison

    Police have arrested Pol Col Wanthanaree Kornchayanan, niece of Pol Gen Pracha Promnok, the former national police chief who acted as Yingluck Shinawatra’s deputy prime minister, and wife of alleged Chinese gangster Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) arrived at a luxury condominium in Bangkok on Saturday afternoon to arrest Wanthanaree and six others. As is…

  • Air pollution at unsafe levels in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Air pollution at unsafe levels in Bangkok

    Bangkok residents should pay close attention to the air-quality in their vicinity and protect themselves, according to Bangkok Environment Department. The capital’s air quality is invariably appalling at this time of year, due to still air and is expected to remain unsafe over the weekend. The deteriorating air quality is attributed to a cold front from China and only weak breezes.…