Thailand News

Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.

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    Where to travel in Thailand in April [2025]

    Travelling in Thailand is peak during April if you are looking for a real taste of summer. With high temperatures, amazing beaches, and exciting events, April is an amazing time to visit the country as a whole. Due to the...

  • Hotel loan program extended through June 2023

    Hotel loan program extended through June 2023

    Hotels trying to recover from closing down for the Covid-19 pandemic are getting a little extra financial help. The Thai Cabinet has decided to extend low-interest soft loans until June 2023. The loans were created to help hotels address property repairs after many opted to close when customers dried up because the borders closed amid the pandemic. The announcement was…

  • FIFA warns Thailand World Cup broadcast will be cut off after illegal access spotted

    FIFA warns Thailand World Cup broadcast will be cut off after illegal access spotted

    The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) urged Thailand to tighten its security system on its FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 broadcast after the kingdom’s transmission access was spotted being used in other countries. FIFA warned Thailand that its broadcast will be cut off if the country cannot follow its rules and tighten its security problems. The Sports Authority of…

  • Alleged Chinese drug tycoon married to Thai policewoman surrenders to police

    Alleged Chinese drug tycoon married to Thai policewoman surrenders to police

    Chinese businessman “Tuhao,” wanted on drug charges in Thailand, surrendered to police today after they raided his mansion in Bangkok this morning. The accused is married to a high-ranking Thai police officer who works for the foreign affairs division. Yesterday, Southern Bangkok Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant for “conspiring to commit drug offences and possessing…

  • Man crashes car into elephant at Khao Yai National Park

    Man crashes car into elephant at Khao Yai National Park

    A Thai man risks a charge of violating the National Park Act after he crashed his sedan into an elephant at Khao Yai National Park in the central province of Nakhon Nayok. The driver was hurt in the collision and sent to Pak Chong Nana Hospital to have his injuries looked at. Officers reported that they are still looking for…

  • Business is booming on Khao San Road thanks to the World Cup

    Business is booming on Khao San Road thanks to the World Cup

    Business is booming on Khao San Road in Bangkok thanks to the FIFIA 2022 World Cup. The President of the Khao San Road Business Association, Sa-nga Rueangwattanakun, revealed that businesses on Khao San Road increased by 50%. Sa-nga said visitors flocked to entertainment venues and restaurants in the area to watch the World Cup matches providing a welcome boost to…

  • Chinese woman stabs Russian boyfriend’s Chinese mistress to death in Bangkok

    Chinese woman stabs Russian boyfriend’s Chinese mistress to death in Bangkok

    UPDATE The Chinese woman who murdered a fellow Chinese woman in a Bangkok shopping mall toilet yesterday told police that the deceased was in a secret relationship with her Russian boyfriend. The foreign killer was found to have overstayed her visa in the kingdom, said police, adding that 36 year old Tang Jun entered Thailand on a tourist visa which…

  • 36 sex workers in Pattaya arrested for prostitution

    36 sex workers in Pattaya arrested for prostitution

    Thirty-six prostitutes in Pattaya were arrested last night near Walking Street for selling their bodies. Channel 3 reported that the Pattaya tourist police, and volunteers, patrolled Pattaya Walking Street yesterday at about 10pm. Officers were acting on complaints by tourists that they had been robbed in the area and their mission last night focused on the resort’s sex workers illegally…

  • AirAsia Thailand passenger data allegedly leaked after ransomware attack

    AirAsia Thailand passenger data allegedly leaked after ransomware attack

    AirAsia group allegedly fell victim to a ransomware attack that leaked the personal data of five million passengers and all staff of AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Malaysia, and AirAsia Indonesia. The Daixin Team, a ransomware and data extortion group, allegedly leaked the data after the airline refused to pay a ransom. On Monday, the Daixin Team was the focus of a…

  • Fate of Thai baht depends on return of Chinese tourists, economists say

    Fate of Thai baht depends on return of Chinese tourists, economists say

    The Thai baht has been flying recently but its upward trend could draw to a standstill unless Chinese tourists return to the Kingdom of Thailand, according to economists. In the past month, the baht appreciated almost 6% against the US dollar as reports indicated the US Federal Reserve (Fed) would slow down its aggressive interest rate hikes. Despite inflation, a reinvigorated…

  • Thai woman accused of faking her death to escape loan sharks

    Thai woman accused of faking her death to escape loan sharks

    A debt-ridden Thai woman has faked her death to get out of paying her debtors, says a local loan shark. A 37 year old woman from the central province of Lopburi, called Lookpad, ran up millions of debt and then hoped to escape paying her arrears by pretending to be dead. The woman’s family allegedly backed her plan, says the…

  • Thais among Asian stars ranked on Top Face of the Years 2022

    Thais among Asian stars ranked on Top Face of the Years 2022

    Thais are on a list of Asian stars in the Top Face of the Years 2022,” ranked by a Twitter account named 100 the best face. The list was compiled by counting Twitter users’ comments, likes or shares with the hashtag #topfaceoftheyears2022. At the top of the list is Kim Taehyung, a member of the world sensation K-pop band BTS.…

  • Multiple rapist known as the ‘Bondi Beast’ finally named

    Multiple rapist known as the ‘Bondi Beast’ finally named

    It may be too late for the many victims of the man the press labelled the “Bondi Beast” but police finally managed to link DNA samples to the serial rapist. Unfortunately, the multiple sex offender, Keith Simms, died in February aged 66 before justice could be served. Simms was known as the “Centennial Park rapist” in the 1980s, the “Bondi…

  • Ponzi schemes in the crosshairs for DSI, Finance Ministry

    Ponzi schemes in the crosshairs for DSI, Finance Ministry

    Sometimes cracking down on scam crimes just creates smarter criminals. The Ministry of Finance and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) are teaming up to crack down on new forms of the classic Ponzi scheme. The director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office announced that the ministry was meeting with the DSI to discuss updates on the laws regarding new scams.…

  • Chinese woman stabs fellow Chinese woman 27 times in Bangkok, Thailand

    Chinese woman stabs fellow Chinese woman 27 times in Bangkok, Thailand

    A Chinese woman stabbed a fellow Chinese woman to death in the bathroom at a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand, this afternoon. Text messages reveal that the perpetrator had accused the deceased of “messing with” her “man” prior to stabbing her 27 times. At 1pm, officers from Thong Song Hung Police Station were informed that a Chinese woman was stabbed…

  • Wife returns lottery winings to cuckold husband but kicks him out of family home

    Wife returns lottery winings to cuckold husband but kicks him out of family home

    The alleged cheating wife of a lottery winner who ran off with her lover and her cuckold husband’s 6 million baht winnings agreed to return the money she has left. She insists she does not have a lover, despite what her son and husband said, and that she will return the money on the condition her husband leaves the family…

  • Bungling thief borrows 500 baht from victim and asks for sex before escaping

    Bungling thief borrows 500 baht from victim and asks for sex before escaping

    An incompetent thief broke into a woman’s house in the early hours of yesterday morning and asked for sex and 500 baht. The victim managed to persuade the wannabe thief to give up on the sex idea and leave her in peace on the promise she transfers the 500 baht to him through an app. The bungling thief thanked the…

  • Cannabis fate discussed today by Narcotics Control Board

    Cannabis fate discussed today by Narcotics Control Board

    Today is the day the future of cannabis in Thailand will be decided. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board is meeting to discuss proposals calling for the plant to once again be classified as a Type 5 drug. But some powerful political figures insist that the board is powerless to stop the legalised proliferation of cannabis. Minister of Public…

  • Good citizens return lost leopard cat to national park in northern Thailand

    Good citizens return lost leopard cat to national park in northern Thailand

    A baby leopard cat who strayed away from Nam Nao National Park in Phetchabun province, northern Thailand, has returned home with the help of some good citizens. Yesterday, the Office of Conservation Area 11 posted photos of an adorable, tiny, striped leopard kitten on Facebook with the caption… “We appreciate the good citizens who brought the #leopardcat (Prionailurus bengalensis), a…

  • Man files police complaint after finding stranger’s houses on his land

    Man files police complaint after finding stranger’s houses on his land

    A Thai man filed a complaint with the police after discovering that a stranger built two houses on his land in the western province of Kanchanaburi. The tale should be filed under “stories you’ll only find in Thailand.” The 45 year old land owner, Pairat (surname reserved), escorted reporters around his 442 square-metre estate in the Lad Ya sub-district of…

  • Farang man brutally assaults Thai girlfriend in Pattaya, Thailand

    Farang man brutally assaults Thai girlfriend in Pattaya, Thailand

    A farang man stamped on his young Thai girlfriend until she was seriously injured in the early hours of the morning in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. At 4.30am, staff from Sawang Boriboon Thammsat Rescue Foundation received a report of an assault at a house in Nong Prue district in Bang Lamung district. At the scene, rescue workers found…

  • Foreigner repeatedly scams petrol stations in central Thailand

    Foreigner repeatedly scams petrol stations in central Thailand

    A fearless foreigner of unidentified nationality is touring the small province of Nakhon Nayok in central Thailand and scamming staff at petrol stations over and over again. Yesterday, staff at a PT Station in the Mueang district opposite a Toyota shop complained that a foreigner deceived them into giving him money. At around 9pm, an English-speaking man wearing a red shirt…

  • Chinese man operates illegal hairdressers in plain sight in Pattaya, Thailand

    Chinese man operates illegal hairdressers in plain sight in Pattaya, Thailand

    Immigration Police arrested a Chinese man and four foreign employees for operating an illegal hairdresser’s shop in the middle of Pattaya city in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. The Chinese owner claims he didn’t know that hairdressing was a career strictly reserved for Thai people. Under the Foreign Business Act, certain occupations in Thailand are strictly prohibited for foreigners and…

  • RTP contravened UN ruling using rubber bullets on protestors

    RTP contravened UN ruling using rubber bullets on protestors

    A non-governmental organisation slammed the illegal use of rubber bullets by the Royal Thai Police (RTP) after skirmishes outside of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre left a man blind in one eye and dozens of others injured. International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (iLaw Network) made known that the RTP contravened a United Nations ruling by using rubber bullets to…

  • More heavy rain and flash floods expected in Thailand

    More heavy rain and flash floods expected in Thailand

    More heavy rain and flash floods are expected in Thailand this week, the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) said today. The low pressure will cover the Gulf of Thailand while the monsoon will pass through the southern parts of Thailand from November 23-24. Those in the eastern and southern regions have been warned about the possibility of flash floods. The country’s…

  • Rowdy monkeys moved on Phuket island

    Rowdy monkeys moved on Phuket island

    Two rowdy monkeys on an island off Phuket have been moved to the far side of the island after bothering residents. The two macaques had been disturbing locals and causing trouble, according to the head of Khao Phra Thaeo Nature and Wildlife Education Center Pongchart Chuahom. Officers from a rescue foundation of the Khao Phra Thaeo Non-hunting Area arrived on…

  • Pattaya Flying Club claims another victim, a Russian

    Pattaya Flying Club claims another victim, a Russian

    The Pattaya Flying Club claimed another victim yesterday after a Russian man fell to his death from the 8th floor of his hotel in the notorious holiday resort hot spot. The insensitively named Pattaya Flying Club is the term given to troubled foreigners who commit suicide by throwing themselves off a balcony of a Pattaya hotel and ultimately to their…

  • Cheating husband shoots wife in the head live on Facebook in southern Thailand

    Cheating husband shoots wife in the head live on Facebook in southern Thailand

    A cheating husband shot dead his wife after she caught him in bed with three women in Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand yesterday. When she caught him, she went live on Facebook and scolded him, making him so angry that he shot her in the head. The incident was also clearly captured by CCTV. At 6.30am, officers from Mueang…

  • Nike defends sweatshops accusation in Thailand

    Nike defends sweatshops accusation in Thailand

    Sportswear giant Nike defended itself over accusations it is running sweatshops in Thailand, paying its factory workers 42 baht an hour to make England 2022 World Cup replica jerseys while they make fortunes of profit. Controversy surrounding the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar just won’t go away. On Friday, The Thaiger broke a story of an alleged match-fixing scandal…

  • British man to have leg amputated after being stung by scorpion

    British man to have leg amputated after being stung by scorpion

    A British man launched a Just Giving page to raise funds for his father stuck in a Thai hospital after being stung by a scorpion. The father faces losing his leg. Alan Stephenson, from Bilton in Warwickshire, was stung by what he suspects was a scorpion while he was exploring Thailand earlier this month. He felt a sharp pain but…

  • BMW driver kills homeless man in hit-and-run in Bangkok

    BMW driver kills homeless man in hit-and-run in Bangkok

    Thai police are searching for the driver of a BMW who killed a homeless man in a hit-and-run in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday. At 11pm, officers from Bang Khun Thian Police Station received a report of a fatal car crash on the outbound Ekachai Road Soi 76 in Bangkok’s Bang Bon district. Police found the body of 52 year old Boonsri…