News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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Sponsored 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Latest Thai social media craze, sweet soy sauce soda, poses serious health risk, says health dept
The Department of Health issued a warning to the public regarding the consumption of a trendy Thai social media beverage called sweet soy sauce soda. According to the department, the drink has unhealthy quantities of sodium and sugar, which surpass the recommended daily intake and can pose a health hazard. The drink is trending after a famous Thai sauce company,…
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Thailand – Cambodia border checkpoint overwhelmed ahead of Songkran
The Poipet International Border Checkpoint between Thailand and Cambodia is so busy ahead of the Songkran – or the Southeast Asian New Year – that Thai authorities have had to open a second checkpoint nearby to ease congestion. Like Thailand, Cambodia is celebrating the Buddhist New Year this weekend. In Cambodia, the holiday is called “Moha Sangkranta” and will be celebrated…
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Sergeant major-turned-cyberpunk surrenders after allegedly hacking 55 million Thais’ data
UPDATE: The sergeant major turned cyberpunk accused of hacking the personal data of 55 million Thais surrendered to police this morning. The alleged hacker, Sgt. Maj. Khemarat Boonchuay, arrived at the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) this morning with his wife for questioning. Police said the suspect remained silent and did not respond to any questions. Sgt. Maj. Khemarat was suspended…
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TAT expects Phuket to generate at least 4.5 billion baht during Songkran
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects Phuket to generate at least 4.5 billion baht during the Songkran Festival, with over 200,000 tourists expected to visit the island province. The director of TAT’s Phuket Office, Lertchai Wangtrakundee, stated that 84% of hotel rooms have already been booked from April 13 to April 16. Additionally, 258 international flights with 48,302 passengers…
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Phuket Island: A Destination for Fitness, Health, and Wellness
Phuket island in southern Thailand is quickly becoming one of the world’s top destinations for fitness, health, and wellness. Athletes from around the globe are flocking to this tropical paradise to take advantage of its world-class training facilities, stunning natural landscapes, and warm climate. The Thaiger team recently had the opportunity to explore some of the top fitness, health, and…
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Tourism Authority of Thailand pushing for 150,000 Saudi tourists this year
Thailand continues to set new tourism goals. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is now pushing for 150,000 Saudi tourists this year, according to Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, TAT’s deputy governor of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. The improved diplomatic relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia have had a very positive impact on Thailand’s tourism sector, Siripakorn said. There…
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Fruitless: Tourists they face jail time for bringing fruits to Thailand, govt warns
The Thai government issued a warning to tourists that it would be fruitless to bring fruits into Thailand unless they wanted to go to jail. The Department of Agriculture specifically stated that transporting fresh fruit into Thailand without a phytosanitary certificate could result in a fine of 20,000 baht or a jail sentence of one year. The director-general of the…
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Porsche driver caught using fake registration plate to avoid tollway fees
A 69 year old Porsche driver who has a history of repeated traffic offences was charged by the police. The driver had been using a fake license plate to evade tollway fees on 22 separate occasions. The police took action after receiving a complaint from the legitimate owner of the license plate. Last year, Thailand introduced a new payment system…
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Bangkok rescue volunteers brawl over territory
It turns out, turf battles happen even among rescue volunteers. Rescue volunteer teams from Ruamkatanyu and Petchkasem foundations brawled over territory on Monday night following a motorcycle accident on Bamrung Road, TV Channel 7 reported. The teams initially attempted to negotiate but the talks turned into an argument, leading to members of both groups attacking each other. More rescuers from both…
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Thailand seeks extradition of 3 men suspected of murdering Chinese student
Thailand‘s Deputy Police Chief Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn wants to see the three Chinese nationals suspected of abducting and murdering a Chinese student in Nonthaburi province, before fleeing to China, to be extradited to Thailand to face prosecution. On April 1, the body of 22 year old Thonburi University Student Jin Can was found dumped in a swampy ditch at a…
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Sex traffickers held Southeast Asian women captive in South Korea
Sex traffickers held four Southeast Asian women captive on South Korea‘s Jeju Island. Jeju provincial police said they arrested four subjects who allegedly held the women, The Korean Herald and Asia News Network reported yesterday. The suspects included a Korean bar owner in his 40s, his Chinese wife, and two other accomplices. The suspects were sent to the prosecutor’s office. The victims…
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RTP warns public to be vigilant ahead of Songkran after 312 million baht stolen in online scams
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) cautioned the public to be extra vigilant ahead of the Songkran Festival after scammers last week fraudulently stole over 310 million baht in online extortion. The RTP reported over 5,300 fraud cases were reported by victims last week, with most complaints related to online shopping and bank transfer scams. Yesterday, Pol. Lt. Gen. Sompong Chingduang,…
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Tourists or illegal workers? Police raid Pattaya host club and arrest six
Police raided a host club in Pattaya in the early hours of yesterday morning and arrested the manager and five Lao men following a complaint about the employment of illegal workers. Four of the accused Lao men denied they were working at the bar and insisted that they were tourists. Officers from Mueang Pattaya Police Station raided the host club,…
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Cops bust 6 overstayers in northeast Thailand ahead of Songkran
Cops busted six overstayers in northeast Thailand’s Buriram province ahead of the Songkran festival. A crackdown by Immigration Police in Buriram led to the detention of six foreigners for overstaying their visas. The operation took place from March 27 to April 10 and was aimed at preventing and suppressing crime during the Songkran Festival, according to Naewna. Pol. Maj. Gen.…
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Bangkok backpacker haven Khao San Road to close from noon to 8pm for Songkran
Khao San Business Association today announced that the Bangkok backpacker haven will be closed for business between noon and 8pm every day so revellers can enjoy the Songkran celebrations. Businesses, bars and restaurants will reopen as usual straight after the 8pm cut off. Khao San Business Association President Sanga Ruangwattanakul revealed that the closure of Khao San Road, for the…
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Thai man’s Emerald Buddha Songkran office party outfit is ‘inappropriate,’ monk says
A Thai man won 5000 baht for ‘best outfit’ at his office’s Songkran party in Udon Thani province yesterday, but a senior Buddhist monk says that dressing like the Emerald Buddha is “inappropriate.” The Emerald Buddha is a statue of the historical Buddha in a meditative pose, made out of the semi-precious stone jasper and considered the “sacred palladium of…
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RTA suspends AWOL sergeant major turned cyberpunk after hacking 55 million Thais’ personal data
The sergeant major turned cyberpunk who was accused of hacking the personal data of 55 million Thais has been suspended by the Royal Thai Army (RTA). Police on Friday reported that the suspect and his wife were detained and questioned about the alleged crime, but the couple has since disappeared. Maj. Gen. Sirichan Ngathong, the deputy spokesperson, stated that “SM2…
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Police bust gang of thieves targetting foreigners in northeast Thailand
Police announced the results of their investigation into a gang of thieves targetting foreigners with families all over the Isaan region this afternoon in front of the Provincial Police Region 3 Headquarters in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand. Police seized stolen assets worth an accumulative 3 million baht. The gang found its victims by sitting in shopping malls around…
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Repeat offender arrested in Bangkok after drugging woman, swindling over 1 million baht
The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau arrested a Thai man at a shopping mall in the Sukhumvit neighbourhood of Bangkok yesterday after he allegedly drugged and swindled over 1 million baht from a woman. He was twice arrested on the same charge last year. The scammer, 32 year old Phachara Ninjiasakun, was arrested inside the shopping mall following a complaint made…
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Unveiling the dark side of sex doll collecting: Thai man’s spooky encounters with his new doll
A Thai sex doll collector took to Facebook to share some spooky stories that would not look out of place in a horror movie after he bought a new doll from a stranger online. The man, who runs a Facebook page called the Imaginary Diary of a Drink Vendor (ไดอารี่สุดกาวของพ่อค้าร้านน้ำ), believes the sex doll he bought is haunted by a…
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Splash into Songkran! Silom Road to remain open for water fights in Bangkok
Bang Rak District Office officially announced that Silom Road, a popular destination for water fights in Bangkok during Songkran, will remain open this year. Locals and tourists can take part in the water fights on the streets and sidewalks of each Soi. After three years of being affected by the pandemic, the Songkran Festival and its accompanying water fights will…
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Mother and 8 year old son murdered in northern Thailand
Police have launched a murder investigation after the bodies of a woman and her eight year old son – from Myanmar – were discovered yesterday in a rented room in Lamphun province in northern Thailand. At 7.15pm, officers from Mueang Lamphun Police Station were called to a rented room in Ban Hua Fai in Nong Chang Kwan subdistrict after locals…
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South Korean Embassy in Thailand ‘boogies’ to celebrate Songkran Festival (video)
The South Korean Embassy in Thailand got down and boogied in preparation for this week’s Songkran Festival. The embassy staff, including the South Korean Ambassador to Thailand, Moon Seoung-hyun, got into the Thai New Year festive spirit by taking part in the traditional “Ram Thai” dance. The two-minute video went viral, receiving over 400,000 views in just four days on…
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Bangkok voted No.3 top destination for backpackers 2023
Thailand‘s capital Bangkok sits among the top destinations for backpackers in 2023, according to UK retail company Cotswold Outdoor. Bangkok is a backpacker’s dream with cheap accommodation, delicious street food for a bargain, inexpensive beers, free activities, and a variety of public transport systems. While Thailand offers plenty of luxury travel options, it’s easy to have a blast in Bangkok…
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Airline industry blames rising costs for expensive airfares, is this true?
Expensive airfares look set to stay for the foreseeable future according to the airline industry. The industry is trotting out the usual excuses that the recent spike in expensive ticket prices is attributed to a rise in operational costs, including surging fuel prices and other factors. Nok Air CEO, Wutthiphum Jurangkool, cited a surge in prices for aviation supply chain…
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Thailand prepares for 14000+ flights this Songkran
Thailand will facilitate 14,180 domestic and international flights over the Songkran holidays, from today until April 17, according to the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (Aerothai). This represents a 66% increase in flights compared with the same period last year. On average, there will be 2,026 flights per day, Aerothai President Nopposit Chakrapitak revealed yesterday. The president said Thailand’s aviation industry…
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Thai woman attempts to commit suicide at a neighbour’s house in Bangkok
A Thai woman survived a suicide attempt at a neighbour’s house in Bangkok yesterday. The homeowner, a 70 year old woman named Kannika, alerted a rescue team after discovering a woman, later identified as 35 year old Bee, cut her own throat in her house in Soi Thoet Thai 21 in the Thon Buri district of Bangkok. Upon arrival, the…
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Police capture one suspect in cop with a grudge killings in southern Thailand
UPDATE: Police managed to capture one of the two suspects on the run in the cop with a grudge killings in southern Thailand. Pol. Snr. Sgt. Maj. Atthaporn Wichian remains at large but police managed to arrest his accomplice Manop Wang-ngan at 2pm yesterday at a house in Thap Put district, Phang Nga province. Both men are wanted in connection…
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Thai zoo successfully breeds Asian king vulture for the first time in Thailand in 30 years
Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo in the Isaan region of Thailand announced that their team has successfully bred a red-headed vulture, commonly known as the Asian king vulture. This is an important milestone as it signifies the first successful breeding of this species in Thailand in the last 30 years, and only the second instance worldwide. Korat Zoo announced today that a…
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6 elderly Thais killed in collision with soldier’s pickup truck filled with illegal cigarettes
Six elderly Thais were killed in a collision with a soldier’s pickup truck in Buriram province, northeast Thailand, this morning. The soldier – the only person to survive the crash – was carrying 257 sleeves of illegal cigarettes which he attempted to hide in the woods nearby. Six elderly Thais dressed in traditional outfits were on their way to set…
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