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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...

  • Man claiming to be Tokay gecko catcher allegedly kills 2 pet dogs, steals valuable rosewood house pillars

    Man claiming to be Tokay gecko catcher allegedly kills 2 pet dogs, steals valuable rosewood house pillars

    A thief who claimed to be a Tokay gecko catcher poisoned two pet dogs and stole two house pillars made from valuable rosewood in the early hours of yesterday morning in the Isaan province Surin. 42 year old Saman Sooklom, who rents a house in Surin, woke up yesterday to find that his two pet dogs were dead and the…

  • Two officers accused of stealing motorbikes from police station’s evidence department

    Two officers accused of stealing motorbikes from police station’s evidence department

    Two police officers in southern Thailand are being accused of stealing 36 motorbikes, which had been confiscated from suspects. The motorbikes had been seized from suspects and were being kept at the police station in Songkhla as evidence. The officers allegedly sold the stolen motorbikes to other police officers. A former police station superintendent accused the two officers of stealing…

  • Thai prisons ban alcohol-based gel after inmate dies, others hospitalised from drinking hand sanitiser

    Thai prisons ban alcohol-based gel after inmate dies, others hospitalised from drinking hand sanitiser

    Alcohol-based hand sanitiser is being banned at Thai prisons after one inmate died, another blinded, and 31 others injured from mixing the hand gel with soft drinks to get drunk. All forms of alcohol products are typically prohibited on prison grounds, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, with major outbreaks at Thai prisons infecting tens of thousands of inmates, rules were…

  • Forensic doctor denies ‘signs’ Thai TV actress Tangmo was hit in the head

    Forensic doctor denies ‘signs’ Thai TV actress Tangmo was hit in the head

    A recent autopsy on the body of the Thai TV actress known as “Tangmo” shows that there was no sign she was hit in the head with a hard object before drowning in the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok last month, says a forensic doctor who examined the body of the 37 year old celebrity. There were reportedly no broken…

  • As Thailand’s fuel prices spike, stockpile raised

    As Thailand’s fuel prices spike, stockpile raised

    As Thailand’s fuel prices continue to spike, officials have announced that the government will extend fuel stockpiling. Thailand’s Deputy PM and Energy Minister said in a meeting yesterday that the government has instructed oil companies to extend stockpiling of oil reserves from 60 to 70 days to help defuse a pending crisis. He said Thailand will keep its policy of…

  • End in sight for Thailand Pass once Covid-19 declared endemic – TAT

    End in sight for Thailand Pass once Covid-19 declared endemic – TAT

    The governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says tourism numbers may need to be revised down due to the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which includes surging oil prices and rising inflation. Yuthasak Supasorn adds that entry restrictions will be relaxed in stages as officials move to declaring Covid-19 endemic. Cabinet has already approved a Public Health Ministry…

  • Officials warn about various scam Thailand Pass emails, some with malicious links

    Officials warn about various scam Thailand Pass emails, some with malicious links

    Thailand Pass applicants are being warned about numerous scam emails from accounts posing as the Department of Consular Affairs or a team from the Thailand Pass system. Some emails are requesting personal information, such as passport numbers, and others include an encrypted link. Officials haven’t confirmed if any other information besides email addresses has been compromised from the Thailand Pass…

  • Four fingernails from body of revered monk stolen, one has been returned

    Four fingernails from body of revered monk stolen, one has been returned

    Four fingernails from the body of the revered monk Luang Phor Hong were stolen, and so far one fingernail has been returned. The corpse of the Isaan monk, who died at age 97 back in 2014, is kept in a glass coffin which is opened only once a year for an annual robe-changing ceremony at Wat Phetchaburi temple in Surin,…

  • Police search for suspected hitman who allegedly shot M16 rifle, killing an officer

    Police search for suspected hitman who allegedly shot M16 rifle, killing an officer

    Two people, including a police officer, were killed in a gunfire exchange where a suspected hitman allegedly shot at officers using an M16 rifle in the southern province Phattalung. Another officer was severely injured and three suspects, including the alleged hitman, were able to escape. Eight police officers from the Crime Suppression Division tracked down Chamrat “Chui Chaochan” Rakchan, a…

  • Police strap on PPE gear after finding herbal drug for Covid at fatal road accident scene

    Police strap on PPE gear after finding herbal drug for Covid at fatal road accident scene

    Police stepped away from a man’s body who died in a road accident after they found the herbal medicine Fah Talai Jone, which is touted by many Thais to be an effective treatment for Covid-19. Those at the accident scene then dressed in personal protective gear as a preventative measure. An ATK test was later done on the body and…

  • Japanese gangster arrested for allegedly stealing 2 million baht in gold from Bangkok shop

    Japanese gangster arrested for allegedly stealing 2 million baht in gold from Bangkok shop

    A Japanese man allegedly robbed a gold shop at Bangkok shopping centre, taking off with 975 grams of gold valued at around 2 million baht. Police say the suspect is involved with Japanese “Yakuza” crime syndicates. The Royal Palace Police Station received a report on Monday from a gold shop Thong Suay at The Old Siam Shopping Plaza, claiming that…

  • Tourism officials not bothered by US advice to citizens to avoid travel to Thailand

    Tourism officials not bothered by US advice to citizens to avoid travel to Thailand

    Tourism officials have shrugged off a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notice which advised citizens to avoid travel to Thailand. Earlier this week, the US CDC added Thailand to its list of Level 4 countries, due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation in the kingdom. However, Yuthasak Supasorn from the Tourism Authority of Thailand says that won’t make much…

  • Phuket welcomes first group of Test & Go tourists travelling by sea

    Phuket welcomes first group of Test & Go tourists travelling by sea

    Phuket welcomed its first group of Test & Go travellers entering the island province by sea and tourism officials say more visitors travelling on cruise ships and yachts will be entering under the quarantine exemption scheme. On March 1, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration eased travel restrictions, allowing Test & Go travellers to enter Thailand by land and sea,…

  • South Koreans vote for new president in scandal-filled election

    South Koreans vote for new president in scandal-filled election

    In the midst of a number of scandals, South Koreans voted for a new president today. The scandals with both candidates have caused so much commotion that they have even agreed to not investigate each other if they win the election. Both candidates’ wives have publicly apologised for separate scandals. The conservative candidate, Yoon Suk Yeol, used to be a…

  • Prominent Thai MP jailed for housing project corruption

    Prominent Thai MP jailed for housing project corruption

    A Thai MP, who at one point was involved in Thaksin’s Pheu Thai party, was jailed on Friday for corruption in a housing project. MP Watana Muangsook, who left Pheu Thai to join Thai Sang Thai last year, is charged with 11 counts of corruption, including abuse of power and demanding bribes. In 2003, Watana was involved in the Ua…

  • Tangmo witness Robert admits he ‘lurched’ boat forward, sending actress overboard

    Tangmo witness Robert admits he ‘lurched’ boat forward, sending actress overboard

    One of the five boat buddies — i.e. “witnesses” — of Thai actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong has confessed to causing the vessel to “lurch,” tossing the celebrity actress overboard where she drowned in the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi on the night of February 24, the Bangkok Post reported police as saying Tuesday. Phaiboon “Robert” Trikanjananun, told investigators he had…

  • Body of dead baby with children’s toys found in freezer at Chiang Mai home

    Body of dead baby with children’s toys found in freezer at Chiang Mai home

    The body of a baby has been found in a freezer at a home in Chiang Mai along with children’s toys. The baby was stillborn and a report from the Bangkok Post says police suspect the father put the body in the freezer more than a year ago. A man cleaning and renovating his 83 year old mother’s house found…

  • Government says Songkran can go ahead, CCSA to decide what that looks like

    Government says Songkran can go ahead, CCSA to decide what that looks like

    The Thai government says Covid-19 won’t stop this year’s Songkran celebrations, but insists that disease prevention measures will need to be followed. What that means for the mass water fights that were such a huge part of the celebrations pre-pandemic remains unclear for now. According to a Bangkok Post report, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has given the green light for interprovincial…

  • Thai noodle price crisis averted

    Thai noodle price crisis averted

    After some local media outlets reported that noodle prices will rise soon, Thai trade officials claim this isn’t true. The director-general of Thailand’s International Trade Department told the Bangkok Post the department has not yet approved any manufacturers raising their prices. The director-general said the department regularly speaks to instant noodle manufacturers. He said manufacturers who want to raise prices…

  • UPDATE: Tangmo’s memorial services; police to close case FRIDAY; netizens leak CCTV footage; witnesses lied…

    UPDATE: Tangmo’s memorial services; police to close case FRIDAY; netizens leak CCTV footage; witnesses lied…

    As the investigation into the death of Thai TV actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong enters its second week, here are the latest developments… • Three days of Christian memorial services for Tangmo (แตงโม) are scheduled to take place over the weekend on March 11-13, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm each day, at Liberty Church Bangkok in Saphan Sung district, Bangkok. Despite her…

  • 112 endangered green sea turtle eggs found at Koh Surin National Park

    112 endangered green sea turtle eggs found at Koh Surin National Park

    A nest containing 112 eggs from an endangered green sea turtle was found by park rangers at Koh Surin National Park in the southern province of Phang Nga on Sunday. Since the nest was in a potential flood zone, and the eggs were at risk of being eaten by animals, park rangers decided to relocate the eggs to a safe…

  • 1 billion baht in assets seized in human trafficking cases, officer “Big Joke” reports

    1 billion baht in assets seized in human trafficking cases, officer “Big Joke” reports

    Assets valued at more than 1 billion baht have been seized from human trafficking operations in Thailand where Burmese people were trafficked from the northern province Tak down to the Malaysian border. The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, made the announcement at a recent press conference, adding that authorities are still investigating and plan…

  • Police arrest alleged kingpin of drug network in Northern Thailand

    Police arrest alleged kingpin of drug network in Northern Thailand

    Police arrested an alleged kingpin of a drug network in Northern Thailand known as “Polly.” Yesterday’s arrest follows a drug seizure of 2.3 million methamphetamine pills, or “yaba,” which means “crazy drug,” in the Phrae province back in January. 44 year old Amnatsin Jansuk, also known as “Ek Samrong,” was arrested in Samut Prakan, just southeast of Bangkok. He was…

  • Som tum seller arrested for allegedly luring Thai women into sex work in Malaysia

    Som tum seller arrested for allegedly luring Thai women into sex work in Malaysia

    A som tum vendor in Bangkok was arrested on sex trafficking charges for allegedly luring a woman into prostitution in Malaysia. The victim had contacted the Royal Thai Embassy in Malaysia for help after she got caught up in a prostitution ring. Authorities helped send her back to Thailand. The victim provided information to the Anti Human Trafficking Division, saying…

  • Will Songkran be wet or dry? CCSA to discuss restrictions on March 18

    Will Songkran be wet or dry? CCSA to discuss restrictions on March 18

    The question of whether or not to allow massive water fights to celebrate Songkran, the Thai New Year, will be discussed on March 18 at a Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meeting. The celebrations with water guns and splashing have been called off for the past two years to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Recently, the Department of Disease Control…

  • Booking.com predicts bumpy recovery for travel in Asia-Pacific region

    Booking.com predicts bumpy recovery for travel in Asia-Pacific region

    Online travel agency Booking.com says travel in the Asia-Pacific region will be slow to recover as a number of countries adopt a more cautious approach to re-opening. Laura Houldsworth, MD for Asia-Pacific, says while some countries in Southeast Asia are starting to re-open, with various levels of paperwork and restrictions, most North Asian destinations still have significant entry restrictions in…

  • US government tells citizens to avoid travel to Hong Kong, New Zealand – and Thailand

    US government tells citizens to avoid travel to Hong Kong, New Zealand – and Thailand

    Americans are being told to avoid travel to Thailand, Hong Kong, and New Zealand, due to the rise in Covid-19 infections in each country. According to a Reuters report, the travel advisory was issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has raised its travel alert for Thailand to “Level Four: Very High”. In total, the US…

  • Thai government looking at ways to help stranded Ukrainian, Russian tourists

    Thai government looking at ways to help stranded Ukrainian, Russian tourists

    The Thai government says over 7,000 Ukrainian and Russian tourists affected by flight cancellations will be allowed to extend their visas free of charge. It’s one of a number of measures officials are implementing to help visitors stranded as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Other measures potentially include offering shelter and access to a Chinese payment platform, according…

  • Event Announcement: Sustainable solutions for Southeast Asia’s recovery to be held on 16-17 March

    Event Announcement: Sustainable solutions for Southeast Asia’s recovery to be held on 16-17 March

    Press Release The Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) 2022—Sustainable Solutions for Southeast Asia’s Recovery will be held on the 16th and 17th of March by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). SEADS 2022 brings together a powerful lineup of thought leaders, decision-makers, and insight influencers to discuss new insights, innovative solutions, and policy responses that can help Southeast Asian nations “build…

  • Cannabis is Thailand’s “secret weapon” to bring back tourists, health official says

    Cannabis is Thailand’s “secret weapon” to bring back tourists, health official says

    One public health official says Thailand has a “secret weapon” to bring back tourists… It’s cannabis. Some experts and officials hope that decriminalising marijuana, alongside declaring Covid-19 as endemic, will help tourism in Thailand bounce back to pre-pandemic levels. The public health official made the statement over the weekend at a medical marijuana conference at Surin’s Rajamangala University of Technology.…