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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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    Planning to extend your Thai visa? Why health insurance is more important than ever

    If you plan to stay longer in Thailand, having health insurance is now more important than ever. Thai immigration often asks for proof of medical coverage when you apply to extend your visa. This applies to many types of visas,...

  • Nature lovers seduced by waterfalls at Koh Rok in Krabi | Thaiger

    Nature lovers seduced by waterfalls at Koh Rok in Krabi

    Nature lovers were treated to the rare sight of waterfalls cascading down the mountains at Koh Rok, one of the island groups of Mu Koh Lanta National Park in the southern province of Krabi. It’s a rare sight because it happens only once a year. The Head of Mu Koh Lanta National Park, Chaiyaphruek Weerawong, revealed that two waterfalls flowed…

  • Officials arrest 18 in Phuket gambling bust | Thaiger

    Officials arrest 18 in Phuket gambling bust

    Officials arrested 18 people in a gambling bust in Phuket’s Thalang district on Monday. The eight men and ten women were caught at a gambling den in a house in the Thep Kasattri sub-district. The officials received complaints about an illegal gambling network in the area and acting on the information officers brought the suspects to Thalang Police Station. The suspects…

  • Bust sees 6 arrested for drugs, 6 police arrested for bribes | Thaiger

    Bust sees 6 arrested for drugs, 6 police arrested for bribes

    Six police officers were arrested in Songkhla, accused of dereliction of duty and soliciting bribes from a drug dealer. The officers included the Rattaphum Deputy District Chief along with five drug enforcement officers. They turned themselves in after a warrant was issued for their arrest. The charges come after a 35 year old drug dealer was arrested on Monday and…

  • Spiderman spins web to promote Thai tourism | Thaiger

    Spiderman spins web to promote Thai tourism

    A Thai tour guide has found a novel way of attracting tourists into his web of activities – by dressing as Spiderman. But, not only that, Spiderman has recruited a superhero sidekick to help him out – Superman. Kasidet Juthamas aka Spiderman recruited an Australian TikToker, Mitch Muscle Lagos, in a Superman uniform to join him on a rock climbing…

  • Hundreds of Chinese citizens arrested in Bangkok drug party raid | Thaiger

    Hundreds of Chinese citizens arrested in Bangkok drug party raid

    Thailand appears to be struggling a bit in its quest to draw in “high-quality tourists.” Bangkok police arrested hundreds of Chinese citizens at a raid on a drug party in the Sathorn area early this morning. The police busted a total of 266 people at a karaoke venue on Charoen Rat Road. 237 of the busted partiers were Chinese nationals,…

  • Drink driving Chonburi FC goalie released on bail for 100,000 baht after fatal crash | Thaiger

    Drink driving Chonburi FC goalie released on bail for 100,000 baht after fatal crash

    UPDATE The Royal Thai Police released 22 year old Worawut “Bank” Sakuna, the Chonburi FC goalkeeper, on bail for 100,000 baht. At 4.30am this morning, Bank was drink driving when he struck and killed a woman and seriously injured a man in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. Another Chonburi FC player, Chalermpong “Ball” Kerdkaew, arrived at the scene shortly after…

  • Ugandan prostitute snatches hundreds of thousands of baht from British tourist in Pattaya | Thaiger

    Ugandan prostitute snatches hundreds of thousands of baht from British tourist in Pattaya

    A Ugandan prostitute allegedly snatched a British tourist’s safe with hundreds of thousands of baht in it in Pattaya. Even though the incident happened on October 2, it was reported on Saturday that police still hadn’t caught the suspect. The victim, 57 year old Steven Paul, took a streetwalker he met on Walking Street back to his guesthouse on Soi…

  • 61 year old man beaten to death at Bangkok train station | Thaiger

    61 year old man beaten to death at Bangkok train station

    A 61 year old man was brutally beaten to death while waiting for a train at Bang Sue Grand Train Station in Bangkok. The murderer is still at large and the motive behind the murder remains unclear as the police investigate. The man, Sujin (surname reserved), was found dead on a bench on platform number two at Bang Sue Train…

  • Tourists in Surat Thani & Trat warned to beware of jellyfish | Thaiger

    Tourists in Surat Thani & Trat warned to beware of jellyfish

    Tourists have been warned to beware of jellyfish while swimming in the sea off the beaches at Koh Samui, and Koh Pha Ngan in Surat Thani, and Koh Mark, and Koh Kood in Trat. The Director of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Auttapon Charoenchansa, reported that it is venomous jellyfish season in Koh Samui, and Koh Pha Ngan…

  • Police detain SWAT officer who fled after nightclub shooting in southern Thailand | Thaiger

    Police detain SWAT officer who fled after nightclub shooting in southern Thailand

    UPDATE Police have tracked down and arrested Sergeant Bird, the SWAT officer who shot dead a man at Country Home nightclub in Trang province, southern Thailand, yesterday morning. Sergeant Bird fired 11 shots with a 9mm gun, nine hitting 32 year old Chitkorn “Khao” Kongchan. Two others were injured in the gunfire. After the SWAT officer fled the nightclub, he…

  • Police seize 263 guns in 15 days in southern Thailand | Thaiger

    Police seize 263 guns in 15 days in southern Thailand

    The Royal Thai Police confiscated 263 guns and 1,702 rounds of ammunition in eight provinces of southern Thailand over a 15-day period this month. Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered a crackdown on illegal firearms following the massacre at a daycare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu province earlier this month. Between October 10-24, police confiscated 263 firearms in Provincial Police…

  • Long weekend in Thailand draws tourists to natural sites | Thaiger

    Long weekend in Thailand draws tourists to natural sites

    Thailand’s recent three-day weekend drew tourists to some of the country’s most beautiful natural sites. Over 10,000 people ventured to Thailand’s highest mountain peak, Chiang Mai’s Doi Inthanon, according to officials there. Tourists visited a number of other natural sites as well. In the western Kanchanaburi province, a tourism business operator said the tourist influx in Sangkhla Buri district over the…

  • Pattaya clubs and police deny allegations of bribes | Thaiger

    Pattaya clubs and police deny allegations of bribes

    Netizens believe a photo circulating on social media, showing a list of names and numbers, reveals the names and numbers of police officers involved in soliciting bribes from local businesses. The officers and business owners allegedly named deny any wrongdoing. In the fallout of the Club One Pattaya drug raid, both Pattaya Police and venue owners are denying claims of…

  • Club One Pattaya faces 5 year closure after drug raid | Thaiger

    Club One Pattaya faces 5 year closure after drug raid

    The shocking story of the Club One Pattaya drug raid keeps getting juicier. The Sunday morning raid was thwarted by a rebellion, as patrons pushed past police to flee. Then the nightclub owner complained he already had a deal with authorities to avoid raids. Now, police suspect a Chinese national with an extensive criminal history to be the true owner…

  • Drug dealers use license plate flipper to trick police | Thaiger

    Drug dealers use license plate flipper to trick police

    Officers swooped and arrested a drug trafficking gang that managed to avoid capture for months by using a car license plate flipper to trick police. The Metropolitan Police Bureau in Bangkok held a press conference yesterday to reveal details of the license plate flipper scam and the arrest of a major drug trafficking gang in the central part of Thailand.…

  • US school shooting kills teacher and student | Thaiger

    US school shooting kills teacher and student

    There’s been another horrific school shooting in the US, this time in the city of St. Louis in Missouri state. The gunman attacked the Central Visual & Performing Arts High School on yesterday morning, killing two people and injuring seven, according to the latest updates. The two people killed were 16 year old student Alexandria Bell, and a health teacher…

  • Greenpeace study reveals most plastic cannot be recycled | Thaiger

    Greenpeace study reveals most plastic cannot be recycled

    A new study by Greenpeace reveals most of the plastic generated in the world today cannot be recycled. The report, Circular Claims Fall Flat Again, released yesterday, says that while paper, cardboard, and metals are all recycled at a high percentage rate, plastic fails on a massive scale. The Greenpeace study reported that households in the United States generated about 51…

  • Suvarnabhumi Airport calls for more taxis amid surging queues | Thaiger

    Suvarnabhumi Airport calls for more taxis amid surging queues

    While most are elated to see tourism returning to Thailand and international flights picking up, there’s one thing virtually everyone can agree they did not miss: taxi queues. As flight arrivals ramp up, there’s a shortage of available taxis for incoming travellers. Officials at Suvarnabhumi Airport are putting out the call for more taxis to register for pick-ups as the…

  • Bar on Koh Tao raided for offering laughing-gas balloons | Thaiger

    Bar on Koh Tao raided for offering laughing-gas balloons

    A bar named DIZABAR on Koh Tao island in the southern province of Surat Thani was raided on Saturday night after police discovered the establishment was offering laughing-gas balloons to partygoers at 100 baht a pop. Officers also discovered the bar did not have an operating license. Officers revealed that nitrous oxide is a popular new drug among partygoers in…

  • PE teacher faces prison for alleged rape of teen student | Thaiger

    PE teacher faces prison for alleged rape of teen student

    A school teacher accused of raping a teenage student handed himself in to police today in northeast Thailand. If found guilty, the 45 year old physical education teacher faces up to 20 years in prison. Wachira Phanomkaen, a PE teacher at a school in the Kuchinarai district, is accused of raping a 13 year old girl. The 45 year old…

  • Thai doctor kidnapped in Africa returns home | Thaiger

    Thai doctor kidnapped in Africa returns home

    A well-known Thai doctor who was kidnapped in Mali last month returns home today after being released by his captors. The 49 year old surgeon, Nopparat “Song” Rattanawaraha, was kidnapped while travelling near the Republic of Mali border in West Africa and held captive for 25 days. His captives let him go yesterday after he raised six million baht (US$156,000)…

  • Tourism officials plan Loy Krathong events for 6 Thai provinces | Thaiger

    Tourism officials plan Loy Krathong events for 6 Thai provinces

    The Thai holiday of Loy Krathong is coming up, and tourism officials are planning events in six provinces. Known as Thailand’s festival of lights, Loy Krathong is one of the biggest celebrations on the Thai calendar. This picturesque festival is a time for people to gather around rivers, canals, ponds, lakes, and other bodies of water to release lotus-shaped rafts…

  • VIDEO: Krabi resident secretly films gambling den | Thaiger

    VIDEO: Krabi resident secretly films gambling den

    A resident in Krabi’s main city district secretly filmed a gambling den, Thai media reported on Sunday. The blurry footage shows a crowd of people in a big house around a table. The video recorder said the house belongs to a former politician, although they did not specify who. However, some gamblers insisted that said the house belongs to a…

  • “Big Joke” says Pattaya Pool villa victims might have been involved in drugs | Thaiger

    “Big Joke” says Pattaya Pool villa victims might have been involved in drugs

    UPDATE There’s been yet another twist in the ongoing Pattaya pool villa shooting story. The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, held a press conference about the incident yesterday morning. Surachate said the victims of the shooting might have been involved in drugs, The Pattaya News reported. Surachate discovered illegal substances in their systems after…

  • The Coming War on China | Thaiger

    The Coming War on China

    As President Xi Jinping secured an unprecedented third term as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader yesterday The Coming War on China draws ever closer, predicts award-winning journalist John Pilger. In Pilger’s thought-provoking documentary, The Coming War on China, he notes the United States, backed by Western mainstream media (MSM), has been “beating the drums of war and the world has…

  • Kathu illegal excavation investigated as possible factor in landslide | Thaiger

    Kathu illegal excavation investigated as possible factor in landslide

    Phuket continues to be rocked by the fallout from storms, flooding and landslides. One landslide has been cleared enough in Patong Hill to allow pedestrians to cross. Another has led to the agreement to demolish an abandoned hotel near a bypass in Ratsada town. And authorities are now investigating if an illegal excavation led to a landslide that threatened the…

  • Abandoned Phuket hotel to be demolished after landslide | Thaiger

    Abandoned Phuket hotel to be demolished after landslide

    Phuket continues to be rocked by the fallout from storms, flooding and landslides. One landslide has been cleared enough in Patong Hill to allow pedestrians to cross. Another has led to the agreement to demolish an abandoned hotel near a bypass in Ratsada town. And authorities are now investigating if an illegal excavation led to a landslide that threatened the…

  • Carmageddon – Bangkok’s boy racers left standing by Cheshire’s EPL stars | Thaiger

    Carmageddon – Bangkok’s boy racers left standing by Cheshire’s EPL stars

    Wilmslow might be one of northwest England’s most desirable postcodes, but the name of the town has a simple ring of humour. Wilmslow in the heart of Cheshire sounds like the place where Monty Python sketches take place. Not exactly Purley, but close. One expects Wilmslow residents to sell insurance for a living, to be avid collectors of used bus…

  • No chance of parole for Bangkok’s imprisoned gorilla | Thaiger

    No chance of parole for Bangkok’s imprisoned gorilla

    After the latest round of public outcry, authorities claim for the umpteenth time that little can be done about gorilla Bua Noi, 33 years old, confined to a small cell in a Bangkok shopping mall. According to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa, the owners are free to continue doing as they please with the beast they have kept…

  • Academics in Thailand welcome President Xi’s third term | Thaiger

    Academics in Thailand welcome President Xi’s third term

    Academics in Thailand welcomed news yesterday that Chinese leader President Xi Jinping secured an historic third five-year term as general secretary of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. President Xi’s third term will be viewed as undemocratic and autocratic by the Western powers but Thailand’s top boffins believe continuation is the key which will benefit the kingdom and ASEAN countries. Thai…