Bangkok News

Bangkok news, politics, business, crime, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s capital. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Bangkok news source.

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  • Bangkok police arrest suspected motorcycle stealing ring | Thaiger

    Bangkok police arrest suspected motorcycle stealing ring

    Bangkok police announced yesterday they had arrested suspects who they believed were stealing motorcycles in Bangkok and selling them to neighbouring countries. The 4 suspects that were arrested are 37 year old Prateep or “Dee Dee Iamsamang”, 34 year old Sarayut AKA “Mu Yosain”, 22 year old Sutharat or “Jane Lomchan”, and 46 year old Wichai AKA “Nu Ku Rahong”.…

  • Police in Bangkok seize 2 truck loads of sex toys valued at 1 million baht | Thaiger

    Police in Bangkok seize 2 truck loads of sex toys valued at 1 million baht

    Sex toys valued at 1 million baht were seized by police in Bangkok. Reports don’t say exactly how many sex toys were seized by police, but apparently, police filled 2 large trucks with the dildos, vibrators and other pleasure enhancing products. A Chinese man was arrested for allegedly smuggling illegal sex products into Thailand and selling them online. Photos from…

  • Petrol station heist possibly inside job | Thaiger

    Petrol station heist possibly inside job

    Last week, a petrol station in the Bang Bon district of Bangkok was robbed. New information has come to light to suggest that the robbery was an inside job. “Information” has come out that the petrol station employee acted as a lookout while his friend burglarised the station. Police arrested the main suspect “James” on Tuesday and interrogated him, but…

  • Thursday Covid Update: Record high of 57 deaths; 5,533 new infections | Thaiger

    Thursday Covid Update: Record high of 57 deaths; 5,533 new infections

    5,533 new Covid-19 cases and a record high of 57 Covid-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, the CCSA has reported 235,971 Covid-19 cases. Out of the new cases, 44 were reported in correctional facilities, showing an improvement in the Covid…

  • Dutchman arrested for allegedly selling used cars with fake registration | Thaiger

    Dutchman arrested for allegedly selling used cars with fake registration

    Thai Immigration police arrested a 35 year old man from the Netherlands who ran a dodgy used car business where he allegedly faked the vehicle registrations. Police say he was also overstayed his visa by 10 years. Police identified the Dutchman as Stanley Richy. They say he ran a second-hand car business and had a business page on Facebook under…

  • Restrictions may be eased at some Bangkok camps to allow essential work to continue | Thaiger

    Restrictions may be eased at some Bangkok camps to allow essential work to continue

    Tough restrictions on movement at construction camps in Bangkok may be eased slightly to allow essential work to go ahead. Natthapol Nakpanich from the National Security Council says officials discussed the issue at a meeting yesterday, noting that the suspension of some works could pose a risk for engineering reasons or by delaying hospital builds. For this reason, construction work…

  • Bangkok sex workers and bar staff call for monthly cash handouts | Thaiger

    Bangkok sex workers and bar staff call for monthly cash handouts

    High heels were lined up on the ground and underwear was tied to a gate outside the Government House in Bangkok this morning as the city’s sex workers and other bar and nightlife staff called for monthly cash handouts. Covid-19 restrictions shut down bars and nightclubs, leaving many out of work for months. Only a group of around 20 gathered,…

  • Chief medic says Delta variant will become dominant strain in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Chief medic says Delta variant will become dominant strain in Bangkok

    The Department of Medical Sciences says it expects the Delta Covid-19 variant to become the prevalent strain in Bangkok within the coming months. The variant was first reported in Thailand in April, when it was detected in migrant workers in the Laksi district of the capital. The spread of the variant has sparked concern globally due to it being highly…

  • Monday Covid Update: 5,406 new cases; provincial totals | Thaiger

    Monday Covid Update: 5,406 new cases; provincial totals

    A significant uptick of 5,406 new Covid-19 cases was recorded today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, just as new restrictions are taking effect in Bangkok and other “dark red” provinces to curb the spread of the virus. Of the 249,853 Covid-19 cases recorded in Thailand since the start of the pandemic last year, the recent and most severe…

  • Covid-19 screening centre in Bangkok temporarily closed to migrant workers | Thaiger

    Covid-19 screening centre in Bangkok temporarily closed to migrant workers

    After many migrant workers infected with Covid-19 were reportedly abandoned at the Public Health Ministry’s Pre-Admission Centre in Bangkok, it is now temporarily closed to migrant workers. The centre is used to screen people who are infected with the virus before sending them to a facility for treatment. Apparently, a number of workers have been dropped off at the centres.…

  • First case of Beta variant reported in Bangkok | Thaiger

    First case of Beta variant reported in Bangkok

    Bangkok has reported its first case of the Beta variant of Covid-19, originally detected in South Africa. According to a Bangkok Post report, the patient had contact with an infected person in the southern province of Narathiwat. Hundreds of cases of the Beta variant have already been reported in southern Thailand and are believed to have been imported from Malaysia.…

  • Businesses in dark red zones appeal for government aid | Thaiger

    Businesses in dark red zones appeal for government aid

    Businesses that have been affected by the latest round of Covid-19 restrictions imposed in Bangkok and 9 other provinces are appealing for state aid. New measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus come into force today, in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani, Narathiwat, Songkhla, Pattani, and Yala. They include a ban on eating…

  • As Phuket opens, Bangkok, 9 provinces face new restrictions | Thaiger

    As Phuket opens, Bangkok, 9 provinces face new restrictions

    Things are changing next week in the level of severity of the rules and restrictions for Covid-19 safety and control. No, we’re not talking about loosening all the restrictions in the Phuket Sandbox reopening, we’re referring to partial lockdowns in Bangkok and 9 other provinces around Thailand to battle rising Covid-19 infections. The Royal Gazette published today the new restrictions…

  • Military, police deployed to seal off nearly 600 construction worker camps | Thaiger

    Military, police deployed to seal off nearly 600 construction worker camps

    As Thailand polishes up the immigration desks to welcome back international travellers from this Thursday, the military and police are being deployed to seal off nearly 600 construction worker camps in the Bangkok and inner provincial area to ensure the inhabitants don’t leave before their camps are sealed off as a prevention measure against the latest Covid outbreaks. The Thai…

  • Multiple business associations oppose lack of Bangkok lockdown | Thaiger

    Multiple business associations oppose lack of Bangkok lockdown

    After the government announced yesterday a one-month closure of construction camps, the Federation of Thai Industries and many other business associations complained that the action was too weak. The FTI and other business groups believe that a full lockdown is necessary to control Covid-19 outbreaks in Bangkok and half-measures like this are ineffective at best. The federation is one of…

  • Covid-19 patient dies after waiting 1 week for ICU bed | Thaiger

    Covid-19 patient dies after waiting 1 week for ICU bed

    As Bangkok faces a health crisis of bed shortages for Covid-19 patients, one woman died after waiting a week to be assigned an ICU bed. The woman was 38 years old from Laos and lived in Ban Krua Nuea in Bangkok. She suspected that she caught Covid-19 at her work selling clothes around Pratunam Market. After developing a cough she…

  • 1 month closure of Bangkok, southern work camps ordered | Thaiger

    1 month closure of Bangkok, southern work camps ordered

    While Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul claimed the situation in Bangkok hospitals was not critical, senior doctors at many hospitals are proposing a 1-week full lockdown of the capital city. Perhaps meeting in the middle, late this afternoon PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced the 1-month closure of all construction work camps in Bangkok as well as 4…

  • Protest groups vow continued demonstrations this weekend | Thaiger

    Protest groups vow continued demonstrations this weekend

    Protest groups Prachachon Khon Thai and Thai Mai Thon, who led large protests against threats of legal action yesterday, have vowed to continue the protests tomorrow. A third prominent anti-establishment group, Ratsadon, were demonstrating yesterday at the Democracy Monument but have not committed to a protest event tomorrow. Despite police declaring they would prosecute leaders and protesters at yesterday’s events…

  • Anutin says health system won’t collapse despite shortages | Thaiger

    Anutin says health system won’t collapse despite shortages

    After senior doctors said the Covid-19 outbreak situation was critical and suggesting a one-week lockdown in Bangkok, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reassured people that the health system will not collapse. With a rise in new Covid-19 infections, available hospital beds are getting scarce and there are shortages of medical staff, despite the reassurances of Anutin.…

  • Pair allegedly steals phone cards valued at 240 million baht | Thaiger

    Pair allegedly steals phone cards valued at 240 million baht

    Yesterday, 2 people have been arrested for allegedly stealing prepaid phone cards. Collectively, they caused north of 200 million baht in damages. The two phone card nabbing suspects are 43 year old Naret Chamnong and 46 year old Phatcharalak Waenwong. They are both former employees of a mobile phone operator. Police searched 2 locations yesterday in Bangkok and Saraburi, a…

  • Gathering for 89th anniversary of constitutional monarchy | Thaiger

    Gathering for 89th anniversary of constitutional monarchy

    Beginning early this morning, hundreds of people gathered at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok to commemorate the 89th anniversary of the revolution that created the constitutional monarchy of Thailand. At 4:30 am on June 24, 1932, the revolutionaries with the People’s Party declared that the absolute monarchy was over. Today, Ratsadon and other related anti-establishment groups met at the monument…

  • Multiple Bangkok hospitals stop Covid testing, citing fear of insufficient beds | Thaiger

    Multiple Bangkok hospitals stop Covid testing, citing fear of insufficient beds

    Multiple hospitals in the Bangkok area have stopped doing PCR swab tests for Covid-19. Their rationale is that if some test comes back positive, there won’t be beds for the patients. Other hospitals have “scaled down” the swab tests because their staff is too busy, says Dr Suppachok Kirdlarp. Dr Thiravat Hemachudha, head of the Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases…

  • UPDATE: Police identify alleged gunman who opened fire at field hospital, killing a patient | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Police identify alleged gunman who opened fire at field hospital, killing a patient

    Update: Police have identified the shooter as 23 year old Kawin Saengnilkul who served as a private in a special warfare unit in Lop Buri. He was dismissed in November 2019. Police told the Bangkok Post that Kawin decided to become a special forces soldier because of his love for weapons. On Kawin’s Facebook page, many of his photos and…

  • Guitarist from “Playground” dies in road incident | Thaiger

    Guitarist from “Playground” dies in road incident

    The guitarist from a well known Thai, alt-rock band “Playground” died in a fatal car accident yesterday morning. The band is seeking the public’s help in providing footage from the incident. 41 year old Watchara “Tui” Chaiphan was involved in a road accident just before 8 am. He was riding a classic motorcycle when he crashed into the back of…

  • Shipment of 2 million Sinovac vaccines arrive from China | Thaiger

    Shipment of 2 million Sinovac vaccines arrive from China

    Today marks the delivery of another 2 million of the Chinese-made Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines arriving in Thailand from China. This delivery is the second this month, following the June 5 arrival of 500,000 vaccines from the Chinese manufacturer, donated by China to help Thailand in its vaccination drive that launched June 7. The arrival of these 2 million additional Covid-19…

  • Bangkok public hospitals run low on beds for Covid-19 patients in critical condition | Thaiger

    Bangkok public hospitals run low on beds for Covid-19 patients in critical condition

    In the midst of the most severe wave of Covid-19 in Thailand, public hospitals in Bangkok are running extremely low on available beds for patients in critical condition. Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms occupy all but 20 of the beds. Health authorities say they must keep 20 beds open for those who need emergency treatment. Bangkok is the epicentre in…

  • Woman dies after jumping from Phra Khanong BTS station in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Woman dies after jumping from Phra Khanong BTS station in Bangkok

    In an apparent suicide, a 38 year old woman jumped from the busy Phra Khanong BTS station over Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Road yesterday afternoon. First responders and police officers from the Klong Tan station were called to the scene and attempted to resuscitate the woman. Reports say the woman had critical head injuries and died on the way to Police General…

  • Angry ex allegedly sets motorcycle on fire in school parking garage | Thaiger

    Angry ex allegedly sets motorcycle on fire in school parking garage

    Yesterday afternoon, Thong Lor police and firefighters were called to a school’s parking garage after a woman allegedly set her ex-husband’s motorcycle on fire. Firefighters went to the 3rd floor of Srinakharinwirot University Prasarnmit Demonstration School’s parking lot to find a copious amount of smoke and a fire blazing. It took the firefighters an estimated 10 minutes to put the…

  • Bangkok police warn that protests planned for Thursday break the Emergency Decree | Thaiger

    Bangkok police warn that protests planned for Thursday break the Emergency Decree

    Bangkok police are warning pro-democracy activists that they may face legal again if they hold a rally. Several Bangkok-based groups backing the movement pushing for monarchy and government reform are planning to hold a rally on Thursday to commemorate the anniversary of the 1932 Siam Revolution. On July 24, 1932, the Khana Ratsadon political party, which means “Peoples’ Party,” led…

  • Bangkok restrictions lifted on 8 categories, including swimming | Thaiger

    Bangkok restrictions lifted on 8 categories, including swimming

    Break out your footballs, reading glasses, and – yes, finally – swimsuit! The governor of Bangkok has just approved the reopening of 8 categories of businesses and locations, with previous Covid-19 safety restrictions being lifted. And you’ve only got to wait a few hours for the ban to be lifted as the order goes into effect Monday. This afternoon, Bangkok…