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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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    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?...

  • Alleged Thai ‘love scammer’ denied bail in Australia | Thaiger

    Alleged Thai ‘love scammer’ denied bail in Australia

    A Thai national detained in Sydney, Australia, for allegedly committing “romance fraud” was denied bail yesterday. Siriluck Fatima Chimmalee is accused of stealing from men she met online through a dating app. She is facing trial for over 100 charges of fraud. Police say 30 year old Siriluck allegedly pretended to be a registered remitter and charged customers steep inflation…

  • Stingy foreigner pays Thai taxi rider 20 cents for 450-baht ride | Thaiger

    Stingy foreigner pays Thai taxi rider 20 cents for 450-baht ride

    A motorcycle taxi rider in Samut Prakarn province near Bangkok warned other riders to be aware of a tight-fisted foreigner who duped him, handing over a 20 cent euro coin, about 7 baht, for a 450 baht fare. The 63 year old motorcycle taxi rider, Subin Waitook, yesterday revealed to the media that a foreign passenger agreed with him to…

  • The return of the begpacker sparks online debate | Thaiger

    The return of the begpacker sparks online debate

    While the Covid-19 pandemic brought tourism to a screeching halt in Thailand much to the detriment of millions of people’s livelihood and the country’s economy, one thing that the majority of people did not seem to miss has now reared its ugly head again. Social media erupted over the return of the much-maligned begpacker trend as photos of one in…

  • Thai Interior Minister plays down flood warnings | Thaiger

    Thai Interior Minister plays down flood warnings

    The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) today announced another day of heavy downpours, flooding, and traffic chaos throughout the country and told the kingdom to brace itself. The Interior Minister on the other hand played it down and said there was nothing to worry about. The TMD made known it is 70% likely that the nation will be hit by another…

  • Man complains after 23 taxi drivers in Bangkok refuse to serve him | Thaiger

    Man complains after 23 taxi drivers in Bangkok refuse to serve him

    An angry Thai man slammed Bangkok taxis on his TikTok account for favouring foreigners after 23 cab drivers refused to take him on a journey that was less than 15 minutes. The man said that taxi drivers in the Asoke area only wanted to serve foreign passengers because they can rip them off with expensive fares. The Thai TikToker, @iceprapadang,…

  • Old man held hostage & duped out of 100 million baht by fake doctors | Thaiger

    Old man held hostage & duped out of 100 million baht by fake doctors

    An 81 year old man was held hostage in a Bangkok hotel by two fake doctors and then duped him into giving away over 100 million baht in assets and priceless amulets so they could treat his Parkinson’s disease. Police eventually rescued Chawarit Chankana after his family filed a complaint saying the old man handed over a luxury car and…

  • More tourists are venturing into rural Thailand, says Airbnb | Thaiger

    More tourists are venturing into rural Thailand, says Airbnb

    Airbnb says more tourists in Thailand are opting for ‘off-the-beaten-track’ destinations, benefiting the environment and local economies. Thailand’s usual top tourist destinations are places with international airports – Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and Phuket. According to Airbnb, more tourists are venturing out of these hubs and into “lesser-known” destinations such as Koh Lanta, Trat, Pai and Cha-Am. Koh Lanta…

  • Cannabis bill goes to House today for urgent consideration | Thaiger

    Cannabis bill goes to House today for urgent consideration

    A new bill is set to be proposed to the House of Representatives today for urgent consideration to bring some regulation to the decriminalising of cannabis in Thailand. The bill took its lead from the best parts of several related laws and will propose restrictions on the growth and usage of the plant in the kingdom. Under the rules proposed…

  • PHIST, Southeast Asia’s biggest and best sustainable tourism forum is back as a live, in-person event! | Thaiger

    PHIST, Southeast Asia’s biggest and best sustainable tourism forum is back as a live, in-person event!

    PRESS RELEASE PHIST (Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism), Southeast Asia’s biggest and best sustainable tourism forum is back as a live, in-person event! Over 1,000 participants, including senior executives and keynote speakers, will gather in Phuket on Monday 26th September 2022 to tackle the most important sustainability issues impacting the industry today. Approximately 30 green exhibitors are also expected…

  • 2 female Thai party leaders emerge as strong PM candidates | Thaiger

    2 female Thai party leaders emerge as strong PM candidates

    While King Charles III effortlessly ascended to the throne upon the death of England’s Queen Elizabeth II this week, the path to the prime ministership in Thailand will be a bit more protracted and messy. Two women have emerged as top candidates for Prime Minister, with Thai Sang Thai Party’s Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan so far polling above Pheu Thai Party…

  • Hong Kong speech therapists jailed over children’s books | Thaiger

    Hong Kong speech therapists jailed over children’s books

    Five speech therapists in Hong Kong have been accused of brainwashing children after they wrote children’s books involving sheep and wolves. The five therapists, who are all between 25-28 years old, have been sentenced to 19 months each in prison. The books tell stories about a village of sheep trying to stop a pack of wolves from invading their home.…

  • New draft act to make one joint ticket for all Bangkok transport | Thaiger

    New draft act to make one joint ticket for all Bangkok transport

    Travelling around Bangkok may get a little bit easier if the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has its way. The OTP is planning to propose a joint ticket that would be created to be valid on all public transport in Bangkok to make commuting around the city using public transportation much more streamlined. Bringing all the different transport…

  • Coffin floats through the flooded streets of Bangkok | Thaiger

    Coffin floats through the flooded streets of Bangkok

    Flood waters can be deadly, but locals in Saphan Mai, located in the northern part of Bangkok, were shocked by the sight of a coffin floating by in the floodwaters that swept through the streets. The floating coffin was captured on videos and posted on social media where it quickly went viral. People may have feared and questioned: Is it…

  • Rice exporters say Thailand needs new rice breeds to be competitive | Thaiger

    Rice exporters say Thailand needs new rice breeds to be competitive

    Rice exporters have said that Thailand needs new breeds of rice to compete in the global rice market. The president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association said yesterday that Thailand tends to set its rice prices too high for its quality, which is why the country’s rice export volume has continued to drop. The president, Charoen Laothamatas, said that new…

  • Koh Samui hotel thieves may have been led by the ex-lessee | Thaiger

    Koh Samui hotel thieves may have been led by the ex-lessee

    In the curious case of a hotel owner claiming her hotel was dismantled by thieves who took literally everything, three more suspects were arrested in Koh Samui. Police executed a search warrant on Thursday for a warehouse on Samui that they say contained items they believe to be stolen from the remains of the Chaweng Blue Lagoon Teak Wing. Though…

  • Dead baby girl in a plastic bag found in Phuket temple | Thaiger

    Dead baby girl in a plastic bag found in Phuket temple

    A dead newborn baby girl was left in a black plastic bag at a temple in Kathu in Phuket and police are searching for answers. The bag with the baby’s remains was found yesterday at Wat Anuphat Kritsadaram in Thung Thong in Kathu, with police receiving a call at around 5pm to report it. Three monks walking through the area…

  • Bangkok woman stabs husband to death after a few days isolating in the same room | Thaiger

    Bangkok woman stabs husband to death after a few days isolating in the same room

    A woman stabbed her husband to death this morning in Bangkok. The couple were both infected with Covid-19, living in a house of five, and had been isolating in the same room for a few days. Officers from Udom Suk Police Station received a report at 6.57am today that a woman had killed her husband at their home in the…

  • Husband shoots dead lover of estranged wife in Khon Kaen | Thaiger

    Husband shoots dead lover of estranged wife in Khon Kaen

    A jealous husband shot dead the lover of his estranged wife while he relaxed in a hot tub at a resort in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen. The alleged murderer, 40 year old Rungroj Tianyoi, secretly followed his estranged wife and her lover to a resort in the Phu Phra Marn district of Khon Kaen on Wednesday and booked…

  • Man shot dead by officers after he stormed a police station | Thaiger

    Man shot dead by officers after he stormed a police station

    A man wielding a baseball bat was shot dead by officers after he stormed a police station, smashed up police vehicles, and taunted officers in the Isaan province of Ubon Ratchathani. The man’s family is seeking justice because they believe the police used excessive force. The 32 year old man, Pattawin, drove a white sedan car into Nam Yuen Police…

  • Train smashes into car in eastern Thailand, 1 killed, 3 seriously injured | Thaiger

    Train smashes into car in eastern Thailand, 1 killed, 3 seriously injured

    A car crashed through a barrier and was hit by a train in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, at 2am today. One woman was killed in the crash and three more people are seriously injured. Officers at Don Hua Lo Police Station received a report at 2am that a train had hit a car where the road and railway track…

  • Report reveals Thais need to save 15%-30% of salary for retirement | Thaiger

    Report reveals Thais need to save 15%-30% of salary for retirement

    Thai people are being urged to save more money for their retirement instead of relying on lotto prizes, inheritances, or descendants’ income. The Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy of Chulalongkorn University launched a National Retirement Readiness Index (NRRI) for Thailand yesterday. The report revealed that Thai people are not financially ready for retirement. Most people are ready for retirement in…

  • Airbus A380 lands at Thailand’s Don Mueang Airport for the first time ever | Thaiger

    Airbus A380 lands at Thailand’s Don Mueang Airport for the first time ever

    An Airbus A380 aircraft landed on the runway at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International rt (DMK) for the first time ever yesterday. The Emirates flight was redirected to Bangkok’s smaller airport due to heavy rainfall disrupting the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport. At 9.40pm, flight EK363 from Guangzhou in China descended on DMK after the runway became impassible at Suvarnabhumi International Airport,…

  • Shameless monk steals second-hand car in central Thailand | Thaiger

    Shameless monk steals second-hand car in central Thailand

    The Buddhist faith was clouded in yet another day of scandal when an alleged monk stole a car from a second-hand car dealer in the central province of Saraburi. There has been a seemingly endless number of monastic scandals over the past year in Thailand involving Buddhist monks being caught engaging in criminal acts in violation of their monastic vows from…

  • Japan donates cute trains to Thailand, ready for public use next month | Thaiger

    Japan donates cute trains to Thailand, ready for public use next month

    On Tuesday, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) conducted a trial run of a cute white and purple locomotive donated by Japan. It is one of 17 Kiha 183 passenger trains donated by the Hokkaido Railway Company, which will be used for short tourism routes as soon as next month. Governor of the SRT Nirut Maneephan said the trains will…

  • AirAsia X disagrees with government’s proposed tourism fee | Thaiger

    AirAsia X disagrees with government’s proposed tourism fee

    AirAsia X’s chief executive disagrees with the Thai government’s proposal of a tourism fee on flights. Tony Fernandes, the acting group chief executive of AirAsia X says, instead, that the government should bank on the influx of travellers as aiding the economy. He says the tourism fee would be a smaller impact on the economy than an increase in tourism.…

  • Court may pump brakes on PM’s tenure ruling | Thaiger

    Court may pump brakes on PM’s tenure ruling

    After a key document leaked to the public, Thailand’s Constitutional Court may be pumping the brakes on the prime minister’s tenure ruling. The special meeting today had some hoping that the speed of the ruling would change, but the secretary-general of the Office of the Constitutional Court, Chaowana Traimas, dispelled those rumours. Instead, he says the press briefing was called…

  • Central department stores to get facelift funding | Thaiger

    Central department stores to get facelift funding

    The Central department stores, seen throughout Thailand and other countries, may be looking a lot less shabby as the retail giant has approved a 15 billion baht makeover for its stores. Central Department Store Co, under Central Retail Corporation, has approved the funding as part of its efforts to expand the retail business from 2023 to 2027. Oliver Bron, the…

  • Thailand rekindles historical ties with Greece | Thaiger

    Thailand rekindles historical ties with Greece

    Thailand’s Governor of Tourism was in Greece today to meet his Greek counterpart in a bid to resurrect tourism and promote the previous historic relationship shared between the two nations. Yuthasak Supasorn met with Olympia Anastasopoulou, General Secretary of Tourism Policy & Development, in the Greek capital to revive a tourism cooperation memorandum signed by both countries 16 years ago.…

  • Teenager stabs school bully after he made fun of his poverty | Thaiger

    Teenager stabs school bully after he made fun of his poverty

    A 15 year old schoolboy in the northeastern province of Buriram stabbed one of his friends in the neck after he bullied him and made fun of his poor family. The teenager, named A, attacked his friend in the classroom of a school in the Pakam district of Buriram province last Friday, September 2. He launched at him stabbing him…

  • Thai man sits on roof for 2 days because his family won’t let him smoke marijuana | Thaiger

    Thai man sits on roof for 2 days because his family won’t let him smoke marijuana

    A disgruntled man in northeast Thailand climbed onto the roof when his family cut off his access to marijuana and stayed up there for two days. Yesterday evening, he got hungry and climbed down before being taken to hospital. The man’s wife said her 42 year old husband Kantaphi is a “weed addict,” so she took him from Bangkok to…