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 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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Australian filmmaker gets 6 years in a Cambodian prison for ‘espionage’
PHOTO: cambodiadaily.com 69 year old Australian filmmaker James Ricketson has been sentenced to six years in prison by the Phnom Penh municipal court in Cambodia. The Court found James guilty of ‘espionage’ for flying a drone over an opposition party’s political rally, this according to Reuters. Thai PBS reports that the Australian was arrested last June after he was photographed…
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Police uncover a major farm scam
It works a bit like the famous Nigerian scam when you have to deposit money into an account to unlock promised million (that never arrive of course). But this one was in Thailand… Police have arrested an alleged fraudster who claimed that his company was contracted by the UN to provide 1 million baht financial support to Thai farmers. 56…
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Big Bangkok Busts
The Metropolitan Police Bureau are crowing about their ‘protection operations’ during the past two months have resulted in the arrest of many suspects and huge drug seizures. Pol Maj Gen Ruchakorn Jornjewut, deputy commissioner of the bureau, held a press conference on the “Protecting People” operations from July 1 to August 30. He said the operations saw 6,392 alleged drug…
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British yacht catches fire – rescued off Phuket
Five boat crews on a British yacht have been rescued by Thai fishing boat after caught fire off Panwa Cape yesterday (August 30). The Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command (NAC 3) officers were notified from Sanit Woranut who was on the British national yacht Philkade which caught fire at 9pm yesterday (August 30) south-east of Cape Panwa. The Royal Thai Navy reported…
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Tourist police report says evidence doesn’t support assault allegation on Koh Tao
The Deputy Commander of the Tourist Police has submitted findings from an investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a British tourist on Koh Tao to the Consulate of the United Kingdom in Thailand. Deputy Commander of the Tourist Police, Pol Maj Gen Surachete Hakparn says that the area said to be the scene of the crime would have been…
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Thaiger Radio News – Friday
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German tourist’s death remains a mystery – Koh Phi Phi police
Police are continuing their investigation into the death of a German tourist on Koh Phi Phi. They say they’re unsure whether he died after accidentally falling from rocks or if it was a suicide. The man was found dead on Wednesday evening. The body of 50 year old Markus Steibach was found lying near a rock formation on the beach…
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Darasamut Underpass to close for maintenance
The Phuket Highway Office has issued an announcement that says the Darasamut Underpass (adjacent to Central Festival) will be closed from 9am to 3pm on Wednesday (September 5). Mr Somwang says, “Both the northbound and southbound lanes through the underpass will be temporary closed.” “Workers will be carrying out maintenance, repairs and replacing water pumps and light bulbs from 9am to…
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The world’s first mahout training school opens in Chiang Mai
The school bell rings and it’s off to learn how to manage and care for elephants in the world’s first mahout training school launched in Chiang Mai province. Maetang Elephant Camp has joined forces with Chiang Mai Rajabhat University to launch the unique school which is expected to open its gates for student admissions next year, said the camp owner…
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50 foreign prisoners to return to their home countries to finish sentences
FILE PHOTO Fifty foreign inmates in Thai prisons have been approved to serve their remaining sentence behind bars in their home countries. The Corrections Department chief Narat Sawettanan says that inmates from Iran, France, the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain qualified for the transfers as per the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced People. The department had since 1990…
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Police say they will seek arrest warrants for publishers of Koh Tao story
FILE PHOTO: Sairee Beach, Koh Tao Khaosod English are reporting that Police are seeking a warrant to arrest the editor of a news site that published accounts of an alleged sexual assault on the tourist island of Koh Tao. According to the report, the editor of the Samui Times, Su Buchanan, will be charged under cybercrime laws for defaming the…
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Sister and boyfriend arrested over alleged rape of 12 year old autistic girl
Two youths have been arrested in Songkhla after a 15 year old girl allegedly let her 19 year old boyfriend rape her 12 year old autistic sister. The accused girl and her boyfriend of three months, Sanpich Kobbai, also allegedly returned to the girl’s home in Songkhla’s Sadao district, to rob her 73 year old grandmother of a gold ring,…
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Come back and file rape complaint by Sept 25 – Thai police
The 19 year old British woman, Isabel, who claims to have been drugged, robbed and raped while vacationing on Koh Tao should come and file a complaint with Thai police before the statute of limitations in the case expires on Sept 25. This is the suggestion from Region 8 Provincial Police commissioner Pol Lt Gen Sorasak Yenprem . Thai PBS…
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Arson attack on Yala electricity building and vehicles
Five alleged insurgents have raided an office of the Provincial Electricity Authority in Yala and set fire to the building and two vehicles just after midnight. Police said the attackers raided the PEA office in Ban Bannang Dama in Tambon Bannang Dama of Yala’s Kabang district at 12:30am (Thursday) and tied up six officials leaving them them at the rear…
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Emergency water shut off hits Kathu
FILE PHOTO: PWA The Phuket Water Authority (PWA) says that water supply in some areas of Kathu will be shut off today (August 30) after mains pipes broke earlier this morning. The mains were shut off from 3.30pm until repair works can be completed. The PWA says that water supply in some areas of Kathu will be shutoff while work is being…
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‘Boom’ denies all charges – 800 million baht bitcoin scam.
Thai actor Jiratpisit “Boom” Jaravijit and his sibling, Thanasit Jaravijit, yesterday acknowledged charges of colluding in fraud. The charges were filed by the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) as part of their investigation into an alleged 800 million baht bitcoin investment scam. The actor continues to maintain his innocence despite police insisting they have evidence against him, including an electronic account…
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Body of missing Irish man found in Kanchanaburi river
The body of a man from Northern Ireland has been found floating on the Kwae Noi River in Kanchanaburi’s Sai Yok district this morning after his Thai wife went to the police to say he had been missing for two days. The body of 51 year old Robert Lytle was found just hours after his wife, 39 year old Supapansa…
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11 US exchange students were lost but now they’re found
A group of American exchange students got lost in a Chiang Mai forest yesterday, stranded on the edge of a cliff and had to be rescued by officials very early today (Thursday). Fortunately, the Nok Kok Cliff above the Tad Mok Waterfall has a mobile phone signal, so the students, one boy and ten girls, managed to call tourist police…
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“It’s ok, it’s just a drill” – Phuket Airport
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket The Phuket International Airport is conducting an Emergency Plan Exercise: PEMEX, an annual, real-life practice drill today (August 30), from 10pm to 1.30am tomorrow. The Phuket PR Office says that the simulations involve a ‘Sabotage and Suicide Bomber in Domestic Passenger Terminal’ scenario. Some sections of the area for the practice drill will be closed. The Phuket…
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Thaiger Radio News – Thursday
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Oh no! No more Ofo.
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket The Ofo Thai Company has issued an announcement to the Phuket City Development (PKCD) company that they’ve cancelled the Ofo bike project on the island. The announcement says that “the Ofo bike head office in China has canceled the Ofo bicycle project in Thailand. The cancellation is effective from August 28, 2018.” “The Ofo Thai Company will…
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Millions of soldier crabs found on Krabi beach
Millions of soldier crabs have once again been found cavorting around Klong Sai Din Dang Noi Beach in Mueang Krabi after three years. Niwat Wattanayommanaphon, a committee member of the Krabi local conservationist group says, “These soldier crabs were last seen three years ago. They have shown up again this year. The crab species is about one centimetre wide and…
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Prince of Songkla University students send strong safe-sex message
In what has now become a regular event at the Prince of Songkla University campus in Kathu, Phuket, over 200 Thai and international students attended a Safe Sex Campaign. All students worked together to prepare thousands of safe sex packs with the aim of reducing HIV in Phuket and beyond. A total of over 30,000 packs were prepared during this…
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Myanmar rebukes UN over Rhakine genocide report
By Khine Kyaw , Yangon Myanmar has responded to the UNs Fact Finding Mission that concluded genocide had been committed in Rakhine, saying the Myanmar Government did not recognise the mission and accused the writers of the report of intending to create a rift between the civilian government and the military. “We have already dissociated ourselves from the resolution of…
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The Nai Harn awarded for effective water management
The Nai Harn has received a Best Water Treatment Management award from Thailand’s Regional Environment office in Phuket. This latest green award follows recognition earlier this year when Thailand’s Department of Environmental Quality Promotion, part of the Ministry of Natural Resources, bestowed a “Gold Level” Green Hotel Award on The Nai Harn for its ongoing initiatives and eco-friendly operations. “It…
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Van crash injures 14 pre-schoolers
A passenger van carrying 25 children to a nursery in Chiang Rai’s Wiang Pa Pao district has crashed into the rear of a truck, injuring the van driver and 14 of the children. The accident on the Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai road in Moo 6 village in Tambon Wiang Ka Long happened at around 7:20am this morning. The van driver 59…
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Local fishermen call for action to fix garbage dumping in Rassada
Local fishermen in Rassada are calling for action to be taken against garbage dumping in Tha Chin canal which flows into the sea. Today (August 29) local fishermen at Tha Chin Canal community in Rassada, led by Suchart Ponkit, filed a report to the Damrongtham Centre (ombudsman’s office) at the Phuket Provincial Hall. Col Teeerasak Thammasatit of the Phuket Provincial…
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VietJet upgrades to larger planes for Chiang Mai sectors
Vietjet, the Vietnamese-owned budget carrier, says it will add its newest Airbus A321 aircraft on some flights to Chiang Mai. Vietjet is the first airline to assign the 230-seat aircraft to a domestic route in Thailand replacing the smaller 180-seat A320 on two flights daily to Chiang Mai during the morning and evening peak traffic hours. By mid-September, up to…
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Chinese arrivals down, but not by much
Thailand’s July travel figures are showing the first signs of a decline in Chinese arrivals – this from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ latest data. But the news isn’t catastrophic. The July figures indicated a marginal decline as opposed to some reports of a mass exodus of Chinese tourists following the Phoenix boat disaster in Phuket on July 6.…
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Phuket girl wins a bronze medal in Karate at the Asian Games 2018
Monticha ‘Nam Phueng’ Tararattanakun, a Phuket-born girl, has won a bronze medal for Karate in the Asian Games 2018 being held in Jakarta. Nam Phueng also won a bronze medal for Karate in Kuala Lumpur’s 29th SEA Games 2017 and the Asia Championship at Kazakhstan. Nam Phueng says, “I have been interested in Karate since I was seven years old. I told…
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