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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Sponsored 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?...
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Thais don’t have enough savings – Gen Y, Gen X
Most working Thais only enough savings to last them about six months if they stopped working, or became unemployed. According to a study from the Customer Insights Centre of the Thai Military Bank, the premise particularly affects the Gen Y and Gen x groups. Generation X – Born: 1966-1976, Generation Y (Echo Boomers or Millennium) – Born: 1977-1994 The study is based on…
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Songkhla: Pet dog leads family to missing boy
A faithful dog has led a family of a missing five year ld boy to a Songkhla reservoir. Sadly, it turned out that the youngster had already drowned. The body of Panattha Thammaro resurfaced at about 8am this morning (Friday). The family said the boy disappeared from home at 3pm Thursday and couldn’t be found. Then at 8pm the dog, named…
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Chiang Mai: Virtual Stadium coming to Central Festival
A Virtual Stadium is coming to Chiang Mai for World Cup fans. The Central Pattana Group, together with Kasikorn Bank and Chang, are bringing what is described as the Virtual Stadium to Central Festival in Chiang Mai for just two days according to a press release. To satisfy the thirst of Thai football fans, the three organisations are transforming the…
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National: How many days over-stay?!
PHOTOS: Thai Tourist Police Bureau A 70 year old British pensioner has been named as the foreigner with the longest over-stay in the 15th round of “X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner”. the weekly national immigration crackdown. In cooperation with other agencies, Tourist Police announced the arrest of 110 foreign undesirables in 83 raids. People were busted for running romance scams, skimming operations, drug…
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Songkhla: Army recruit, high on methamphetamine, shoots friend
CCTV footage from Songkhla in southern Thailand shows an army recruit, on leave, in an apparent drug fueled rampage. 22 year old Jetsarin Siri was back home from Kanyaniwatana Camp in Narathiwat and was taking methamphetamine pills with his friend 26 year old Janthaya Chumchart when an argument allegedly broke out. Thai Rath reports that the man drew a gun on…
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School teacher humiliates student over unpaid school fees
A mother is crying foul after she claims her son was humiliated by a teacher who stuck a note on his shirt saying he owed 700 baht in unpaid school fees. The names of the mother, her son and the school have been withheld although you can trace back the original post on Thai Facebook pages. The mother posted the…
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Loose plastic chairs and locked exit door – Krabi-Phi Phi ferry
There is no doubt a lot of infrastructure is at critical ‘overload’ stage where tourist attractions are struggling to cope with the sheer number of tourists and visitors coming to the region. This applies to the transport infrastructure getting people here and there as well. While there has been an announcement about new ferry services linking the golden tourist triangle…
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Chiang Mai: Thai shoe thiefs caught red-handed at Wat Doi Suthep
Uproar yesterday following video showing a Thai man and woman stealing a Chinese tourist’s expensive shoes at Wat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai. Daily News reports that the mum and dad, with their child, were caught on CCTV at the temple. Mum takes off her shoes and these are put in a bag by the father. Then they come back and…
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Pretties, 500 World Cup punters and ‘influencers’ arrested over illegal betting
It was only a matter of time before we’d have some arrests related to illegal betting during the World Cup. Among 500 suspects being rounded up, police are also summoning 20 ‘influencers’ who have been posting on Facebook about the ‘Net Idol’ betting page and attempting to persuade youth to engage in soccer betting. Police have arrested 484 suspects – including…
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Krabi’s coastline damaged by strong winds and heavy waves
Strong winds and waves have damaged the Koh Kwang Beach in Krabi during the reason crazy monsoon weather. Somsak Tabbut, a village head man of the Baan Koh Kwang village in Muang Krabi inspected the beach this morning. The damage runs all along 800 metres of the beach. Khun Somsak says, “Every monsoon period, every year, strong wind and waves…
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British fraud gangs in Thailand – Pattaya, Porsches and prostitutes
Living the high life in Pattaya whilst funding the Porsches, champagne and girls with money stolen by cloning people’s credit cards. That was the life of just one of several Brits covered in a The Sun report. A vicious turf war between British gangs over stolen millions burst into the open last year when one was gunned down in cold…
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Chiang Mai: 33 year old found hanged in Nong Pa Khrang
A man has hung himself in a Chiang Mai apartment. On June 19, police were informed about a body found at a residence in Nong Pa Kerang, to the east of the Chiang Mai city centre. The deceased, later identified as 33 year old Worawut Srichaiwong, was found hanged from window bars. There was reportedly no sign of assault injury…
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Chiang Rai: Province tackling pineapple oversupply
It’s not only Phuket where the popular fruit crop, pineapple, is in oversupply. A glut is causing prices to drop, but not only in the southern provinces. In Chiang Rai the provincial government is taking a pro-active approach to try and support farmers through the short-term supply/demand problem. Chiang Rai Governor, Narongsak Osotthanakkorn has told Thai media that both short-term…
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Some stingray and sawfish species now declared ‘protected’
PHOTO: Green sawfish. Survival, Self Sufficiency and Sustainable Living Some types of the stingray and sawfish family will now be declared as protected species. The Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has now declared eight types of stingray and three types of sawfish as protected. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Gen Surasak Kanchanarat issued a ministerial announcement to…
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Bank of Thailand braces for trade war fallout
By Wichit Chaitrong “The trade row has increased the uncertainties for Thailand’s economy because it could have a negative impact on Thai exports, businesses, employment, consumption and investment.” Central bank keeps policy rate unchanged to facilitate growth; forecasts for GDP and export growth revised upwards amid weakening of the baht. Protectionism, stirred by the trade disputes between the United States…
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Executed 26 year old had grilled chicken and rice for final meal
In the wake of Thailand’s first execution in nine years, a few more details have emerged about the prisoner’s last moments and of his family. According to witnesses, the first man to be executed in Thailand in nine years was calm during the last few moments of his life. Identified only as Thirasak by authorities, the 26 year old remained…
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Sadvertising: The art of making us cry and selling stuff
“Sadvertising is a consumer advertising trend in which ad creators are using a certain set of strategies to play on people’s emotions and touch off feelings of sadness, melancholy or wistfulness. Touching or emotional advertising has become increasingly popular in recent years as companies work to create strong emotional ties around their products. This is based on a belief that…
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2.8 million tourists visit Thailand in May
Tourist arrivals in Thailand gained 6.3% to 2.8 million in May 2018. This compares to May tourist arrivals in 2017. The Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Sports, Pongpanu Svetarundra, said the majority of visitors last month were from East Asia, followed by Europe, South Asia, and the United States. Pongpanu said the Chinese remained at the top of international arrivals. For…
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Krabi bridge washed away in heavy rain
Officers from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Krabi Office brought in machinery to Tupprik Sub-District yesterday (June 19) to fix the Huay To Bridge after it was damaged by flash flooding yesterday. The damage of the bridge blocked a local community of 30 houses near Khao Panom Benja National Park as well as officers at the national…
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Khon Kaen: 5 year old girl dies after being left in a locked pick-up
Khon Kaen Governor Somsak Jangtrakul is assisting with aid and grief counselling to the family of five year old Kabinta “Nong Yam” Kehphuang, who died last Monday after being inadvertently left inside a locked pickup truck in sweltering heat outside a school for eight hours. The girl’s death – the eighth such fatality since 2012 – prompted her teacher, 32…
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Missing Ranong woman found after Saturday’s flash floods
The Thaiger reported about a woman who went missing on Saturday night amongst the torrential rain when the pick-up truck she was in got caught in a flash flood. Sadly, she was found dead. Searchers have recovered the body of the Ranong woman who was a passenger in a pickup truck that had been swept into a canal. The four-day…
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Nakhon Ratchasima: Ten injured in Korat bus crash
Another day in Thailand. Another bus crash. This time in Nakhon Ratchasima. Ten passengers have been injured after a Bangkok-Nong Khai bus ran off the road in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Sida district early this morning (Wednesday). Police say the accident happened at 2.05am on the Mittraparp road. Ten passengers, who weren’t seriously injured by the impact, were sent for treatment at…
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Pattani: Suspected insurgent shot by southern troops
The Nation is reporting that suspected Muslim insurgent has been killed during a gunfight with Army troops from the Pattani Taskforce in the Kapor district on Wednesday morning. Troops from the Pattani Taskforce surrounded a house in Moo 3 village in Tambon Karubee after they learned that the suspect, Sulaiman Muhammad, was hiding there. Troops claimed that the suspect shot at…
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Hua Hin: Bomb squad called in to check suspected grenade
A bomb disposal crew in Hua Hin was called to the Soi 6 area on Monday following the discovery of an object which locals said looked like a grenade and could have been an explosive device. Local police and military officials attended the scene next to the railway line on Soi 6 where they found an M18 smoke grenade, as…
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Beijing: Kim, Xi discuss denuclearisation and closer cooperation
PHOTO: Yonhap As historic as last week’s summit between the leaders of the US and North Korea was, this week’s meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un was far more important to the long-term stabilisation of the Korean Peninsula. The Korea Herald reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping has voiced his strong support for North Korea’s commitment to…
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Response to first execution in Thailand since 2009
“According to the third national human rights master plan on the justice system for 2014 to 2018, Thailand had a road map to suspend all executions in the country by 2014, amend the Criminal Code to legally abolish the death penalty by 2017, and ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR by this year.” Yesterday’s execution of a murderer…
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Announcement by Thai PM casts doubt on poll date
PHOTO: His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn “Today, the NCPO gives importance to the preparation of the coronation. Every Thai must not forget. This is important.” – PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha The Thai PM yesterday broke with tradition by mixing politics with the forthcoming coronation saying the government would need to prepare for the important royal ceremony before calling the long-awaited election.…
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Krabi to be developed as a ‘Tourism for All’ city
Relevant tourist and municipal organisations are working together to develop Krabi as a city of ‘Tourism for All’ by developing facilities for the disabled and elderly persons. Today (June 19) officials, led by the Krabi Governor Lt Col ML Kittibodee Prawit, were inspecting a pier at Pak Klong Ji Lard in Muang Krabi where tourists depart on boats to Koh Phi…
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Pattaya: Re-invented destination? Not everyone is convinced.
PHOTO: Oriental Escape “Pattaya has reinvented itself for upscale travellers.” In recent years, Pattaya has been striving, perhaps even struggling, to show itself to be more of a upscale and family-orientated destination. Pattaya was under the spotlight again as this year’s host for the Thailand Travel Mart Plus (TTM+), with organiser, Tourism Authority of Thailand placing an emphasis on romance…
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Ministries collaborate on rehabilitation of tourism sites
Maya Bay and Boracay Island aren’t the only tourist magnets to be suffering from too much tourist love. Thai ministries are now looking at all the tourism hot spots in an effort to find a more sustainable way forward. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has joined the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in looking for ways to rehabilitate…
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