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Thailand hot news, breaking stories, crime, politics, tourism, and business—stay updated with in-depth reports and exclusive interviews on the latest events across the country. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Thailand 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...

  • Husband and wife arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle crystal methamphetamine to Hong Kong

    Husband and wife arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle crystal methamphetamine to Hong Kong

    A man and his wife have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle 9 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, which they hid in shoulder bags, to Hong Kong. The drugs were seized nearly a year prior in Bangkok. Henry Kelechi Alaeto, a Nigerian national, and his Thai wife, 24 year old Wanwisa Pilatan, were detained by police in their Bangkok room,…

  • Phuket-Samui flights on Bangkok Airways resume from today

    Phuket-Samui flights on Bangkok Airways resume from today

    Flights between Phuket and Koh Samui that had originally been cancelled until the end of the month have now resumed nearly a week early as Bangkok Airways relaunched the flight route with limited service. From today, the Phuket Sandbox and Samui Plus schemes will be reconnected as part of the Sandbox 7+7 Extension, allowing people to arrive in Phuket, spend…

  • Man allegedly steals 6 bottles of alcohol gel from restaurant, cleans table before leaving

    Man allegedly steals 6 bottles of alcohol gel from restaurant, cleans table before leaving

    A man allegedly stole 6 bottles of alcohol gel from a famous restaurant in Udon Thani, a province in northeast Thailand. But before leaving, the man used the gel to clean a table and chair. The 38 year old restaurant owner, identified as Alias, says she woke up in the morning and was shocked to find that tables at her…

  • PM orders investigation into alleged police killing of man in custody

    PM orders investigation into alleged police killing of man in custody

    The PM has ordered an investigation into the alleged killing of a man while in police custody in the northern province of Nakhon Sawan. A leaked video of the alleged incident has gone viral, prompting outrage around the country. According to a Bangkok Post report, police arrested a man and woman accused of drug offences and, while questioning the pair,…

  • 80 year old Australian man kicked to the ground in Chiang Mai road altercation

    80 year old Australian man kicked to the ground in Chiang Mai road altercation

    An 80 year old Australian man was assaulted after he smacked a car that almost ran him over. The driver of the car got out of his vehicle and kicked the octogenarian in the back following the older man’s car smacking. Dashcam footage captured the incident that happened in Chiang Mai, the northern Thai province which is hoping to launch…

  • Vaccine update: Pfizer available to American veterans, foreigners in Pattaya

    Vaccine update: Pfizer available to American veterans, foreigners in Pattaya

    The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is now available to American veterans living in Thailand as well as foreign residents in Pattaya who are in the “at risk” groups, according to Democrats Abroad Thailand. The vaccine doses were donated to Thailand from the United States. Two doses of the vaccine are free under the Thai government’s mass immunisation campaign. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya…

  • Probe into alleged mishandling of Red Bull heir fatal hit-and-run case is underway

    Probe into alleged mishandling of Red Bull heir fatal hit-and-run case is underway

    The investigation into the alleged mishandling of the 2012 fatal hit-and-run case where the Red Bull heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidh­ya allegedly sped through Thong Lor, running over a police officer with his Ferrari, is underway and is expected to be closed in 16 months. Boss managed to evade justice and has since fled the country. Now, 15 senior police officers,…

  • Police chief transferred for probe into death during alleged extortion attempt

    Police chief transferred for probe into death during alleged extortion attempt

    A police chief in Nakhon Sawan is being transferred following allegations that he accidentally killed a man while demanding a 2 million baht bribe. A plastic bag was reportedly tied over the man’s head and he suffocated to death, but the superintendent of the station allegedly wrote the death off as drug overdose, according to Royal Thai Police inspector-general Wissanu Prasartthong-osoth.…

  • Covid-19 task force to debate partial re-opening of Thailand in line with PM’s pledge

    Covid-19 task force to debate partial re-opening of Thailand in line with PM’s pledge

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is expected to debate a plan to re-open the country before the end of the year, in line with the PM’s pledge last June. Back then, Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed to re-open the country within 120 days, but Covid-19 infections have risen significantly since those words were uttered. Despite this, the Bangkok Post reports that…

  • UPDATE: Gunman holds two people hostage on Bangkok bus

    UPDATE: Gunman holds two people hostage on Bangkok bus

    UPDATE: The man who allegedly hit a bus conductor in the head with a gun and held two people hostage at gunpoint told police he was stressed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Coconuts Bangkok. The suspect, Pheeranat Saengchan, who is around 23 or 24 years old, also tested positive for drugs. He was charged with drug use and coercion…

  • Police arrest 35 protesters after clash at Bangkok’s Din Daeng intersection

    Police arrest 35 protesters after clash at Bangkok’s Din Daeng intersection

    In another clash with riot police at Bangkok’s Din Dang intersection, where numerous protests against the government have taken place, at least 35 protesters were arrested yesterday. A report from the Bangkok Post says a group of young activists on motorcycles called “Mob Thalugaz,” which means “mob that goes through tear gas,” drove to the intersection at around 5pm and…

  • Police investigate claims that officer accidentally killed a man in extortion attempt

    Police investigate claims that officer accidentally killed a man in extortion attempt

    The Royal Thai Police are looking into a report that claims a police officer from the northern Thai province Nakhon Sawan accidentally killed a suspect while the officer was attempting to extort the suspect for 2 million baht. The investigation came about after celebrity lawyer Decha Kittiwittayanan publicised the claim on Facebook. Decha’s post stated the case starts with the…

  • Phuket tourists rescued after being caught 3 kilometres off-shore while kayaking

    Phuket tourists rescued after being caught 3 kilometres off-shore while kayaking

    Phuket Tourist Police have rescued a Dutch couple who became trapped 3 kilometres off-shore while kayaking. The Pattaya News reports that strong waves meant the couple, who are on the island as part of the sandbox scheme, were unable to paddle back to shore. The incident happened around 1.30pm yesterday, with police responding to a report of the couple’s plight.…

  • Pattaya reopening plan for September 1 unlikely to happen

    Pattaya reopening plan for September 1 unlikely to happen

    Chiang Mai, which recently reported that, due to the Covid-19 situation and slow vaccination, they will delay their planned September reopening to October at the earliest, like many tourism areas that have seen plans to welcome back international tourists dashed by the intensity of the pandemic in Thailand. Now Pattaya has also acknowledged that their plan for reopening on September…

  • Charming Chiang Mai plan to reopen pushed to October or later

    Charming Chiang Mai plan to reopen pushed to October or later

    With Covid-19 still running rampant in Thailand, several tourist locations that were anticipating reopening in August or September are revising their plans to push back until October or later. Officials say that Chiang Mai will now delay their plans to reopen to international tourists due to Covid-19 issues. The deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand announced yesterday that…

  • Koh Samui flights resume Wednesday despite Covid-19

    Koh Samui flights resume Wednesday despite Covid-19

    The Samui Plus international reopening plan has seen a fraction of the success of the Phuket Sandbox reopening and were hampered by the grounding of nearly all domestic flights in Thailand, despite an exception for Sandbox flights. Now the province that’s home to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao will continue the Samui Plus programme and expects flights to…

  • MP challenges PM Prayut to kickboxing for prime ministership

    MP challenges PM Prayut to kickboxing for prime ministership

    Many people have challenged PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s competence to lead the nation, especially through the Covid-19 pandemic. But MP Mongkolkit Suksintharanon took it one step further, challenging PM Prayut to a bare-knuckled kickboxing match for the prime ministership. The parliament member is the leader of the Thai Civilised Party and posted a message on Facebook Thursday making the challenge to…

  • 24 arrested at illegal party in Koh Samui luxury villa

    24 arrested at illegal party in Koh Samui luxury villa

    Perhaps people are getting fed up with Covid-19 restrictions keeping them isolated and unable to socialize and party. Or maybe the police are cracking down more on the illegal parties that often become Covid-19 clusters or superspreader events. Either way, stories of private parties in violation of Covid-19 Emergency Decree restrictions being busted seem to be cropping up more and…

  • Phuket Sandbox order revises rules to cancel or modify

    Phuket Sandbox order revises rules to cancel or modify

    A new updated Phuket Provincial Order revises the international reopening scheme to include the new Sandbox 7+7 program but also slips in a revision to the parameters for cancellation or modification of the Phuket Sandbox. The order issued yesterday mostly revises the rules to include conditions for travelling to other destinations in Thailand after the first 7 days in Phuket.…

  • Airlines pushing for September reopening for domestic flights

    Airlines pushing for September reopening for domestic flights

    Struggling airlines are backing a push to reopen domestic flights in September from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport, a hub for low-cost carriers. Negotiations are in progress with the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, and budget airlines to create travel and safety regulations to resume flights. Airlines are struggling to remain liquid as nearly all domestic…

  • Police arrest 21 people at Pattaya party violating Covid-19 decree

    Police arrest 21 people at Pattaya party violating Covid-19 decree

    Yet another party breaking all Covid-19 restrictions was just broken up in Central Pattaya tonight, with 21 people arrested. The event was in front of the Tree Town Market area on Soi Buakhao and police raided the party just before 9 pm. Pattaya and the rest of the Chon Buri province is now a maximum control dark red zone, and…

  • OnlyFans to ban “sexually explicit” content from October 1

    OnlyFans to ban “sexually explicit” content from October 1

    OnlyFans has become a popular website for amateurs creating adult content to earn money, but a statement issued by the company that now boasts over 2 million content creators and 130 million users says they will be banning “sexually explicit” content starting October 1. Products and services often don’t end up becoming popular for their original intended uses. Coca Cola…

  • Teenagers arrested for handing out small bombs at Bangkok protest

    Teenagers arrested for handing out small bombs at Bangkok protest

    Police arrested three teenagers for allegedly distributing ping pong bombs at Sunday’s protest in Bangkok’s Din Dang area. Officers say the teenagers had added more gunpowder to the explosives to make them more powerful. Police seized 75 ping pong bombs from a suspect’s home. The teenagers allegedly told police that they had purchased the 100 ping bombs from a factory…

  • Protester injured and loses sight in one eye, family plans legal action

    Protester injured and loses sight in one eye, family plans legal action

    A 29 year old protester injured in a Bangkok rally last week has lost sight in one eye. Tanat Thanakitamnuay’s family says his right eye was hit by a “blunt cylindrical object” – which Coconuts Bangkok says was a tear gas canister – tearing the cornea, rupturing the eyeball, and causing his retina to peel off. Several protesters have been injured…

  • Phuket government warn businesses against price gouging

    Phuket government warn businesses against price gouging

    The Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong has reinforced the warning for vendors in Phuket to avoid price gouging or overcharging customers. He requested officials in Phuket to be vigilant in checking stores and vendors to make sure their pricing is reasonable and not artificially inflated. With the economic pummeling Thailand, and Phuket in particular, have taken with the loss of international…

  • Immigration police arrest man for allegedly laundering money for drug trafficking syndicate

    Immigration police arrest man for allegedly laundering money for drug trafficking syndicate

    A 31 year old man from India was arrested by Thai immigration police for allegedly laundering money for an international drug trafficking syndicate in Southern Thailand. Officers say the man has been buying gold with money obtained through the illegal drug trade and opened an electrical appliance store in Bangkok’s Pahurat area as a cover for the money laundering operations.…

  • Thailand planning travel bubble with South Korea once Covid crisis eases

    Thailand planning travel bubble with South Korea once Covid crisis eases

    Thailand plans to launch a travel bubble arrangement with South Korea once the Covid-19 situation improves, according to tourism officials. The Tourism Authority of Thailand says the plan would allow for quarantine-free travel between the 2 countries, with hopes it will provide Thailand with a much-needed tourism boost. The plan has been confirmed by the TAT’s Thanet Petchsuwan, who will…

  • Amnesty International demands investigation into shooting of protesters

    Amnesty International demands investigation into shooting of protesters

    Amnesty International Thailand is calling for a full investigation into the shooting of young anti-government protesters, with 1 teenager currently in a coma. The unnamed 15 year old was shot in the back of the neck, while a 14 and 16 year old were also shot. The father of the 14 year old has already filed a police complaint. However,…

  • SEC fears cryptocurrency trading by inexperienced traders

    SEC fears cryptocurrency trading by inexperienced traders

    The Securities and Exchange Commission in Thailand is worried about crypto investor ignorance as cryptocurrency trading volume in Thailand surged to 700 to 800 billion baht over the past 10 months. The chief executive of Zipmex Thailand predicted trading will hit 1 trillion baht by the end of 2021. At the PostToday Cryptocurrency Forum 2021 yesterday the Zipmex executive said…

  • 60 of 155 national parks reopened across Thailand

    60 of 155 national parks reopened across Thailand

    With Covid-19 closing or prohibiting many things people love about Thailand – nightlife, massage shops, cheap drinks, even some beaches – the country’s natural beauty is once again be available for people to enjoy. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has reopened 60 of the 155 national parks across all of Thailand from now until further notice.…