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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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    What do you need before moving from the US to Thailand?

    The Thaiger key takeaways The most common medical emergencies for expats in Thailand include motorcycle accidents, tropical diseases, and food or water-borne illnesses. Air pollution and heat-related conditions like heatstroke also pose serious seasonal health risks, especially in northern and...

  • Second death in China from virus concerns officials with the CNY holidays looming | Thaiger

    Second death in China from virus concerns officials with the CNY holidays looming

    “At least 41 people have now been diagnosed as being infected this latest flu-like strain.” Medical officials in China’s Wuhan city have announced that another man had died after being infected by the new coronavirus strain. Thailand and Japan have now reported new cases of a the Chinese Coronavirus that has already killed two and infected at least 40 in…

  • Salty tap water and dirty air – Bangkok’s environmental woes continue today | Thaiger

    Salty tap water and dirty air – Bangkok’s environmental woes continue today

    Brackish tap water, with increased salinity caused by seawater back-flowing into the Chao Phraya River, is threatening the gardens in and around the Government House compound. Government House officials are seeking assistance from the Agriculture Department. Several small tree species – Lamduan, Chor Sumalee, Rachavadi, Nom Maew and Hom Muenlee – are more vulnerable to brackish tap water. The gardens…

  • Nearly 300 bone fragments found in Bangkok pond, police searching for more bodies | Thaiger

    Nearly 300 bone fragments found in Bangkok pond, police searching for more bodies

    288 bone fragments have been retrieved from a pond near the home of a man who was charged last week with murdering his girlfriend and concealing the corpse. Forensic police have now identified most of the bones as ‘human’. The bones are currently being examined at Siriroj Hospital. Up to 20 divers were involved in yesterday’s grisly search. Divers found…

  • Motorcycle ‘win’ drivers charge 380 baht for 4.7 kilometre trip through Bangkok | Thaiger

    Motorcycle ‘win’ drivers charge 380 baht for 4.7 kilometre trip through Bangkok

    It’s not just tourists that get ripped off by the notorious Win drivers in Bangkok (The Thaiger is a regular Grab Bike user but has never had any specific problems with Win drivers). A win-motorcycle user (motorcycle taxi) has related a recent rip off on Thailand’s most popular website, Pantip. The user said they were traveling with another friend from Victory…

  • “Don’t be f**king nosey.” Government committee meeting turns sour. | Thaiger

    “Don’t be f**king nosey.” Government committee meeting turns sour.

    Strong language ahead… Claws were out at a committee meeting of the House Anti-Corruption and Misconduct Committee. A heated argument started between the committee chairman, Pol Gen Seripisut Temiyavet and two of the committee members, Pareena Kraikupt and Sira Jenjakha. The nasty and noisy spat erupted when Ms. Pareena, a Palang Pracharat MP, asked Seripisut why her petition, demanding an investigation…

  • Thai teacher caning a student in Ayutthaya reports to police – UPDATE | Thaiger

    Thai teacher caning a student in Ayutthaya reports to police – UPDATE

    A teacher, now identified as teaching in Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok at the Chiang Rak Noi School, met with the girl’s mother and police last night. Teacher Som Ruseeprasit was caught on video flogging a young female student whilst screaming appalling Thai swear words at the student. The girl was struck at least three times in the video although he admitted…

  • 2 more alleged call centre scam suspects arrested in Japan | Thaiger

    2 more alleged call centre scam suspects arrested in Japan

    Two men arrested in Japan yesterday stand accused of operating a large-scale call centre scam based in Thailand, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to 28. Japanese police believe 36 year old Kengo Yasutake and 34 year old Shimpei Hirata operated a luxury home in Pattaya, where a team of Japanese men would call people across Japan…

  • Thai political leader proposes legal brothels and sex shops | Thaiger

    Thai political leader proposes legal brothels and sex shops

    A controversial Thai MP is proposing licenced brothels and sex shops as a way of addressing the problem of sexual abuse in Thailand. Mongkolkit Suksintharanont, leader of the Thai Civilised Party and a member of the House committee studying ways to reduce rape and other sexual violations, commented in a Facebook post that he would raise the proposal with committee…

  • Former head of the National Office of Buddhism has assets valued at nearly 600 million baht | Thaiger

    Former head of the National Office of Buddhism has assets valued at nearly 600 million baht

    Nice work if you can get it. Except you’re working for the National Office of Buddhism. Now the former director of the National Office of Buddhism, Nopparat Benjawattananant, has been pointed out by the National Anti-Corruption Commission for being “unusually wealthy”, having “suspiciously” amassed assets worth about 575 million baht during his four year tenure. NACC secretary-general Worawit Sukboon says that…

  • British and Thai man arrested for flogging fake watches online | Thaiger

    British and Thai man arrested for flogging fake watches online

    A British and a Thai man are in custody after a sting operation in Pattaya caught them selling counterfeit brand name watches online to foreign buyers at a huge markup. Police identified them as 43 year old Mark Peter Dorey and 45 year old Virut Bua-raem. After a tipoff, an officer pretended to be a buyer and contacted Dorey. He…

  • Police track down “the great Bangkok pantie snatcher” | Thaiger

    Police track down “the great Bangkok pantie snatcher”

    One man’s been busy moving around Bangkok condos and apartments in the northern suburbs and ‘sampling’ a range of women’s underwear and lingerie. But police have curtailed his part-time activities and arrested a 55 year old and charged him with stealing more than 1400 pieces of women’s underwear. He was arrested at a condominium in Bangkok’s Don Muang District, according…

  • 10 ways Thailand is moving to a greener future | Thaiger

    10 ways Thailand is moving to a greener future

    “Green” is not usually the word that comes to mind when speaking of Thailand, especially when you are speaking through a PM2.5 face mask. But with recent attempts to improve the environment and tackle waste, here are some positive changes to shift your attention from air pollution and help you feel good about the decision to live, invest, or retire…

  • Pattaya police investigate a man’s shooting death, the day after his birthday | Thaiger

    Pattaya police investigate a man’s shooting death, the day after his birthday

    A man in Pattaya has died after being shot. The 32 year old Thai man was found with a gunshot wound to the head. Police were notified of the incident yesterday at about 6:30am and are investigating to determine whether it was suicide or homicide. Police and emergency responders arrived at the scene on a rural road to find 32…

  • Mother and baby killed in Nakhon Si Thammarat intersection | Thaiger

    Mother and baby killed in Nakhon Si Thammarat intersection

    A mother and her 19 month old son have been killed after their motorcycle was struck by a car in a collision in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand. The incident occurred at a three-way junction on Therdphrakiat road in the main city district this morning around 8am, according to police. The 38 year old motorcycle rider, Supanrat Srisawang, was making a right…

  • Man in custody after allegedly throwing grenade into Bangkok apartment | Thaiger

    Man in custody after allegedly throwing grenade into Bangkok apartment

    A lovesick Lat Phrao man is currently being questioned by police after allegedly throwing a suspected grenade into the apartment of the 20 year old girl he had fallen in love with. The incident happened at a Lat Phrao district apartment in northern Bangkok on Monday evening. Lat Phrao police and officers from Explosive Ordnance Disposal headed to the apartment…

  • Singaporean threatened with execution if he didn’t pay up a million dollar ‘debt’ in Thailand | Thaiger

    Singaporean threatened with execution if he didn’t pay up a million dollar ‘debt’ in Thailand

    A Singaporean man stands accused of masterminding a plot to abduct a fellow Singaporean from Suvarnabhumi Airport last Thursday. Police report that the suspect, identified only as ‘Kim’, will be charged with conspiring to commit robbery, illegal possession of firearms, illegal detention and the physical assault of 32 year old compatriot Mark Cheng Jin Quan. Mark owns a software and application…

  • Dramatic video shows high speed impact, eight British tourists injured on their way to Pattaya – VIDEO | Thaiger

    Dramatic video shows high speed impact, eight British tourists injured on their way to Pattaya – VIDEO

    Dramatic highway CCTV has now been released of the crash of the passenger van, injuring eight British tourists travelling from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya. Three were seriously injured in the high speed crash which scattered contents of the van over the road and grassed verge between the two sides of the motorway. Eight British tourists are in hospital after their…

  • Eight British tourists injured in Thai passenger van crash – VIDEO | Thaiger

    Eight British tourists injured in Thai passenger van crash – VIDEO

    Eight British tourists are in hospital, three seriously injured, after their passenger van crashed into the median railing on the Bangkok-Chon Buri motorway. The incident occurred about 10:30am on the Pattaya-bound side of the road. The driver, 53 year old Thanakorn To-iam, said he picked up the passengers at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok and was taking them to Pattaya when…

  • Taiwanese husband arrested over death of Sri Racha woman in a suitcase | Thaiger

    Taiwanese husband arrested over death of Sri Racha woman in a suitcase

    Just days after the body of a foreign woman washed up in a travel bag on Sri Racha Beach near Pattaya, police say they’ve arrested a Taiwanese man for the murder of the woman, his Chinese wife. The gruesome discovery was made by an officer from the nearby naval base. Police yesterday arrested 38 year old Lu Ji Yang of …

  • Gold shop gunman could have fled to Chon Buri | Thaiger

    Gold shop gunman could have fled to Chon Buri

    The armed gunman who shot and killed three people, injuring another four during an apparent gold shop robbery in Lop Buri last week, could have fled to Chon Buri. Police are raising the possibility after the Thai army chief Apirat Kongsompong met with the heads of Provincial Police Regions 1 (Bangkok) and 2 (Chon Buri) in Bangkok yesterday. Some media and…

  • New rules for Royal road motorcades around Thailand | Thaiger

    New rules for Royal road motorcades around Thailand

    His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has expressed concern about the motorcades of Royal Family members inconveniencing public road users. Around Thailand, when a member of the Royal Family travels by road, the roads are routinely closed off and hundreds of police stationed along the well-planned route to hold off traffic until the motorcade has passed through. Now HM The King…

  • Central Thailand farmers ignore orders to stop burning off their sugar cane | Thaiger

    Central Thailand farmers ignore orders to stop burning off their sugar cane

    Stick your burning ban up your 2.5 micron particulate! Local sugarcane growers in Nakhon Sawan, central Thailand, are burning their fields at night despite authorities’ ban on the practice. It appears little to nothing is being done to curb the practice which is one of the main causes, if not the main cause, of the smoke and haze problems in…

  • Killer in Lop Buri gold shop attack may be ex-military | Thaiger

    Killer in Lop Buri gold shop attack may be ex-military

    Police now believe the attack at a Lop Buri gold shop in central Thailand last Thursday that killed three, including a two year old boy, may have been carried out by a former military officer. Four others were wounded in what appeared to be a botched robbery. A high ranking police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that…

  • Thousands join the pro and anti government protests in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Thousands join the pro and anti government protests in Bangkok

    Protesters, from both sides of the political camp turned up in two different parts of the capital yesterday for their respective political rallies. Organiser of the anti-regime “Wing Lai Lung” (Run to Oust the Uncle), Tanawat Wongchai, told the crowds at Suan Rot Fai in Chatuchak, a northern suburb of Bangkok, that the run marked the start of the campaign…

  • Murdered foreign woman’s body found in travel bag on a Sri Racha beach | Thaiger

    Murdered foreign woman’s body found in travel bag on a Sri Racha beach

    Chon Buri police are seeking a suspect after the body of a foreign woman washed up in a travel bag at Bang Phra Beach in the province’s Sri Racha district, north of Pattaya. The victim was stuffed inside a black travel bag with red patterns. Her nationality remains unknown. The woman was dressed in a camouflage shirt, black shorts, and white running…

  • Drought prompts Tesco Lotus to increase bottled water production | Thaiger

    Drought prompts Tesco Lotus to increase bottled water production

    Tesco Lotus, the Thai division of Britain’s biggest retailer, is boosting bottled water production to help customers cope with drought. The chain says it will increase production of its own branded bottled water and also increase orders of other brands to sell at its branches nationwide, in response to this year’s drought and water shortages, which is predicted to be the…

  • Two motorbike thieves nabbed in Phuket | Thaiger

    Two motorbike thieves nabbed in Phuket

    Two men have been arrested in Phuket last night. They’ve been charged with stealing motorcycles and then reselling them. One of the arrested men is an unemployed 36 year old tour bus driver. According to police, he was able to convince a 21 year old accomplice, who was his neighbour, to help him steal the motorcycles,. The stolen motorbikes were…

  • Thousands gather for this morning’s protest running event in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Thousands gather for this morning’s protest running event in Bangkok

    This morning’s fun run/rally/political event/marathon/jog/protest at Suan Rot Fai park in Chatuchak, a northern Bangkok suburb, attracted thousands of runners. The run was organised as a protest against Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his government. The “Run Against Dictatorship” was organised by opposition political parties and activists calling for greater political freedom. The event was held less than 10…

  • 5 dead, 8 injured as tourist passenger van slams into rear of broken down truck in central Thailand | Thaiger

    5 dead, 8 injured as tourist passenger van slams into rear of broken down truck in central Thailand

    Five tourists have died and another eight injured after their passenger van slammed into the rear of a parked ten wheel truck that had broken down. The incident happened outside the Ban Noi PTT petrol station in Nong Phai district on the Saraburi to Lomsak Road. The van was on its way from the south to Khao Khor in Petchabun,…

  • Bangkok haze and smog continues over the weekend | Thaiger

    Bangkok haze and smog continues over the weekend

    There is unlikely to be much respite of the air pollution shrouding Greater Bangkok this weekend. And the PM is urging people to inform a hotline of any vehicles belching smoke and fumes into the Bangkok sky. The Pollution Control Department says the smog, which saw just about all of the 50 air quality stations hitting levels of PM2.5 over…