Hot News
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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Multiple murder suspect nabbed after 6 years on the run
A suspect wanted for the murder of 4 people in Ayutthaya, just north of Bangkok, was arrested in neighbouring Suphan Buri today, 6 years after fleeing arrest. Officers of the Crime Suppression Division arrested 57 year old Charn Saisang in front of a house in tambon Phlabphlachai in the central province. Charn was wanted on a warrant issued by the…
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Foreigners arrested for swimming at closed Pattaya beaches – VIDEO
Police in Pattaya arrested 3 foreigners who were violating public orders to stay off of public beaches at around noon today, at the back of a hotel in the province’s Pratumnak area. Pattaya City police officers told reporters they issued several soft warnings to the foreigners while they were in the water, but they refused to stop swimming and simply…
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Prachinburi police chief updates the case of murdered German man
The stabbing death of a German man who taught English in the Central province of Prachinburi “has damaged the image of Thailand” according to provincial police, as reported in 77kaoded. But the provincial police chief says said he “expects good news soon” after he chaired a meeting of investigators looking into the case. Chief Naradech Klomthuksing was addressing reporters after…
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710 people caught violating curfew in one night, most in Phuket
The Royal Thai Police Operations Centre has revealed that there were 710 arrests made on Thursday night for violators of the national curfew. Officials searched 27,011 individuals and 20,568 vehicles with a final arrest number of 710, on last Thursday night alone. The arrests consisted of… 612 suspects left their homes during the curfew with no valid reasoning, out of…
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5 charged over murder of Burmese man in Chiang Rai
After police officers from Maw Fah Luang in Chiang Rai received a tip-off from local residents to check a suspicious object floating in a swamp, a body was discovered in a 200 litre oil drum in Ban Thoet Thai. When police arrived they found a 200 litre steel drum floating around near the swamp’s shore. In the tank they found…
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6 police in Samut Prakarn accused of multiple kidnappings and extortion
6 police officers and 4 civilians stand accused of kidnapping more than a dozen people for ransom in the central province of Samut Prakarn. 15 victims gave their statements to police at Klongdan Police Station yesterday. Lawyer and president of the Crime Victim Assistance Association, Atchariya Reungrattanaphong, says he has informed the national chief of police. “The victims reached out…
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Thailand’s hotels face more pain after European tour group asks to defer debt
Hotels in Thailand, particularly in Phuket and some surrounding regions, have been hit with a double whammy. First the whole Covid-19-related wipe-out, now a cash-flow problem brought about after the TUI Group – an Anglo-German multinational travel and tourism company – has stalled repayments for hotel rooms. The amount owed to Thailand hotels is believed to exceed 2 billion baht. TUI is…
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PM confident economy will rebound when businesses reopen
Or… “what goes down, must go up”. “If workplaces reopen, there will be employment and salaries… If factories reopen and employ people, rehabilitation will start.” Responding to reporters yesterday, the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed confidence the economy will improve once businesses reopen and people are employed again, and when tourism resumes, with measures in place to give visitors confidence…
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Grocery giant Makro to add over 700 jobs
At last a snippet of good economic news. Thai big-box grocery giant Makro has announced plans to hire more than 700 employees to boost its delivery service and create jobs after the Covid-19 outbreak passes. Siam Makro’s CEO says a new company priority is to help people who’ve lost their jobs due to the Emergency Decree and subsequent lockdown measures…
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Bangkok immigration police nab Chinese loan sharks
Bangkok immigration police have arrested 5 organisers and 73 employees at a building in Chom Thong district today, where alleged Chinese loan sharks were running an illegal finance firm. The company, “Thai Luck Trade” extended loans at interest rates far higher than the limit under Thai law. The company was registered as a merchant dealing in glasses, watches and cameras…
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BTS and MRT roll out better preventative and social distancing measures
Since there has been a lot of backlash and social media scuttlebutt about the lack of social distancing on MRT and BTS train systems, the MD of the Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company, Sombat Kitjalaksak, has moved to apply improved social distancing measures by prioritising access to services in the station, platform, train, both at normal times and rush…
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Bangkok’s Chatuchak weekend market is reopening
Chatuchak, Jatujak, JJ, whatever you choose to call it, Bangkok’s legendary weekend market is reopening tomorrow. The massive indoor/outdoor market, popular with both Thai and foreign tourists, will reopen this weekend after weeks of being shuttered, but visitors will be required to observe physical distancing and wear face masks…. you know the drill. Walaya Wattanarat, deputy permanent secretary of the…
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Business recovery in the Covid-19 era
As some countries begin to tentatively look to reboot their economies in a Covid-19 world, what does the future hold for business? Nation Thailand reports today on an extensive Bank of Thailand survey that examined the impact of the pandemic on four business sectors and what might happen next. Things are looking a bit brighter for the manufacturing and retail…
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Beware overcrowding and virus transmission – PM
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says packed crowds in public spaces are a concern when it comes to the transmission of the Covid-19 virus. The Bangkok Posts reports that Dr. Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, says the PM wants to see more measures put in place to reduce overcrowding. Just a few days ago, a…
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Gamblers arrested, police investigated for ‘negligence’ in Bang Chan
Not a lockdown, not a global pandemic, not a series of recent arrests will slow down the urge for some gamblers to gamble. Now officials from the Department of Provincial Administration in Bang Chan, north-east of Bangkok’s city centre, have raided more illegal casinos with some senior police in the area being side-lined to inactive posts. There were recent raids…
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May 17 target for shopping centres to re-open
The rumours have been flying since this week’s cabinet meeting about the next raft of re-openings as Thailand’s economy starts to plod back into gear. Now, after a meeting yesterday of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, there’s general consensus that shopping centres and retail stores will be able to re-open on Sunday, May 17. Of course the caveat is…
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Unemployed elephants in Thailand’s north trek home
The Covid-19 crisis has affected the livelihoods of countless millions of Thais… not all of them human. Elephant camps in Chiang Mai, and elsewhere in Thailand’s north, have been devastated by the drop in tourism, forcing some to close and having to leave their elephants without food to survive. More than 100 are now marching up to 150 kilometres back…
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20,000 military-grade masks are on the way to help battle Covid-19
The Thai Royal Army has approved the production of military and medical protective masks, a total of 20,000 pieces valued at 600 million baht, to help the nation save over 500 million baht on imported N95 masks. Funding has come from government agencies and the private sector, hoping to help 500 medical personnel in need in the southern border provinces…
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German national stabbed to death in central Thailand
A 60 year old German man, who worked as an English teacher, has been found stabbed to death at his home in the central province of Prachan Buri. The Bangkok Post reports that the man’s body was discovered by his ex-wife, 45 year old Sriwan Khunmak. He has been named in Thai media as Wilhelm Klaus. It’s understood that he…
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4 arrested over park ranger’s shooting death
Further to a story published yesterday by The Thaiger, police have now arrested 4 men for the shooting death of a forest protection officer at Sap Langka Wildlife Sanctuary in the central province of Lop Buri. Police overseeing the Central Plains provinces say the arrested men are residents in tambon Kut Ta Phet of Lam Sonthi district. The men, allegedly poachers,…
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7 Russians arrested on Koh Phangan
Police on Surat Thani province’s Koh Phangan, the island best known for its “full moon parties,” have arrested 7 Russian tourists for violating the Emergency Decree. Acting on a complaint filed by concerned Koh Phangan citizens, police raided a two-storey house at Nai Wok village in the wee hours of Monday morning. The next full moon party would have been…
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Issuing of driving licences suspended during emergency decree
The Department of Land Transport has declared a moratorium on the issuing of new driving licences until the emergency decree ends (currently scheduled to end on May 31). Thai Residents reports that DLT Director General Jirut Wisarnjit says the recent extension to the emergency decree means services will not re-open from May 7 as planned. “The decision has been taken…
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Visakha Bucha Day, Buddhist holiday – alcohol ban today
Today is a public holiday in Thailand to mark Visakha Bucha Day, the most significant day in the Buddhist calendar, commemorating three defining events in the life of the Lord Buddha; his birth, attaining enlightenment at 35 years old, and then his death 45 years later, which all occurred on the full-moon day of the sixth lunar month. Visakha Bucha…
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WHO and intelligence community awaiting evidence from US President Trump about “Wuhan lab” claims
The World Health Organisation says they’re awaiting evidence to support “speculative” claims by the US President and Secretary of State that the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab in Wuhan. The Five Eyes, a network involving UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada intelligence officials, say they do believe that Beijing has not necessarily been transparent about how coronavirus initially spread…
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Blacktipped reef sharks return to Koh Hong, Krabi – VIDEO
Yesterday morning, while Than Bok Khorani National Park staff were checking the area, they came across dozens of Blacktipped reef sharks swimming and feeding along the shores of Koh Hong in Krabi province. They reported that there could be a group up up to 50 Blacktipped reef sharks, with a body length of almost 1 metre. They were chasing after…
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Two women in Rayong fined 15 million baht each for ciggie smuggling
A Thai ‘auntie’ and her daughter from Rayong have been fined 15 million baht for smuggling 37 crates of cigarettes, valued around 200,000 baht, from Cambodia. 53 year old Pisamai and 34 years old Somradee tried to smuggle nearly 19,000 packets of cigarettes over the border. Investigators raided their apartment in Muang Rayong. They were caught red handed loading the cases…
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Hello world! Kim Jong-un resurfaces after 20 day absence
Dispelling recent rumours that he was in a “vegetative state” or even dead after an apparent heart attack and a botched surgery, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has resurfaced and made his first public appearance after a 20 day absence. Well, either him or a very good replica. North Korean state media reported today that he “celebrated the completion of…
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Surat Thani governor confirms that residents coming back from Phuket will be quarantined
With the exodus of people from Phuket heading back to their home provinces, officials from Surat Thani have confirmed that they will be quarantined at home for 14 days when they arrive. Surat Thani is about a 3-4 hour drive northeast from Phuket. The Surat Thani governor Witchawut Jinto has ordered all district chiefs in the province to quarantine visitors…
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Thai baht up 3% against USD over past month
Potential tourists and expats shipping in money from overseas were hoping the Thai baht would continue to fall against the US dollar. But they’d be surprised that the baht has rebounded in April against the greenback – about 3% in value. But Thailand’s Central Bank is warning that the recent strengthening of the baht against the USD may “not be sustainable”.…
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Committee votes to ban harmful pesticides from June 1
The National Hazardous Substances Committee has voted to push ahead with the ban on two pesticides, effective June 1. The products are paraquat and chlorpyrifos, 2 of 3 toxic weed killers that have come under scrutiny. It was agreed to allow the controlled use of glyphosate, the third chemical, until the end of November this year. The vote comes following…
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