Bangkok News

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    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?...

  • Chinese-Thais pack Bangkok road for ‘day for shopping’

    Chinese-Thais pack Bangkok road for ‘day for shopping’

    Chinese-Thais packed one road in Bangkok today for ‘day for shopping,’ a day that comes two days before Chinese New Year. Bangkok’s Yaowarat Road is celebrating Chinese New Year until February 15, Nation Thailand reported. On ‘day for shopping,’ Chinese-Thais usually buy food and other offerings for deities and gifts for relatives. Tomorrow, Saturday, will be the ‘day to pay…

  • Daughter who stole 250 million baht ordered to pay compensation

    Daughter who stole 250 million baht ordered to pay compensation

    The daughter who stole over 250 million baht from her sick mother in Thailand has been ordered to pay more than 200 million baht (US$6 million) in compensation to the bedridden woman. In the suit filed by Huay Sriwirat against her daughter Mawadee Sriwirat, The Phra Khanong Civil Court has ordered Mawadee, two Kasikornbank employees, and a Kasikornbank bank to…

  • Passengers left waiting hours at Bangkok’s new central train station

    Passengers left waiting hours at Bangkok’s new central train station

    The opening of Bangkok‘s new central train station Bangkok Aphiwat Central Station did not go so smoothly yesterday with the first service to Chiang Mai departing three hours later than scheduled and many more delayed services. BBC Thai and CH7 report that services were delayed to await the arrival of Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, who was rather late to an…

  • Passengers at Bangkok’s main train terminal to get help from new robots

    Passengers at Bangkok’s main train terminal to get help from new robots

    Passengers at Bangkok’s Krung Thep Aphiwat Train Terminal will be getting help from new service robots. The massive train station, formerly known as Bang Sue Grand Station, will feature six robots which can communicate in English, Thai and Chinese. The robots can guide passengers to certain locations in the train station such as the food centre, ticket booths, and taxis.…

  • Thai man claims he fell asleep before car ended up on wall in Bangkok

    Thai man claims he fell asleep before car ended up on wall in Bangkok

    A Thai man claimed he fell asleep while driving before his car ended up on top of a barrier wall of an off-ramp to Rama IV Road in Bangkok yesterday. The car’s rear ended up on top of the off-ramp’s restraining barrier, while the front was smashed into the expressway. The driver, Atthapol Yolsophon, sustained minor injuries, and rescuers rushed…

  • Volunteer teaching English to underprivileged children in Bangkok

    Volunteer teaching English to underprivileged children in Bangkok

    Bangkok Community Help Foundation runs a weekly volunteer-led class that aims to teach English and improve the lives of underprivileged children in the Klong Toei area of the city. Children learn new English vocabulary, play games, dance Zumba, and do arts and crafts projects in a fun environment. At the end of each class, students are provided with a hot…

  • Teen shoots dead rival with 800 baht gun in central Thailand

    Teen shoots dead rival with 800 baht gun in central Thailand

    A Thai teenager used a gun he ordered from the Internet for 800 baht to shoot dead his rival in Samut Prakan province in central Thailand on Friday morning. The 17 year old culprit, Champ, killed 28 year old Kittisak, a YouTuber and former vocational student, with a single gunshot wound to the chest through his back at his own…

  • Protester jailed for burning King’s portrait

    Protester jailed for burning King’s portrait

    The food delivery rider who attempted to burn a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida during a protest in July 2021 has been sentenced to three and half years in prison. The court ruled that a portrait of the king is equivalent to the king’s person. Foodpanda delivery rider Sitthichok Sethasavet set fire to a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn…

  • Free shuttle bus from Yaowarat to Khao San for Chinese New Year

    Free shuttle bus from Yaowarat to Khao San for Chinese New Year

    Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is providing tourists with free shuttle buses between Yaowarat Road and Khao San Road from tomorrow until January 23 to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Deputy Bangkok Governor Wissanu Subsomphon announced yesterday that the BMA would temporarily operate a Yaowarat-Khao San Road BMA Feeder to facilitate tourists and reduce traffic jams during the Chinese Spring Festival,…

  • University student shot dead on a Bangkok footpath

    University student shot dead on a Bangkok footpath

    Two unidentified gunmen shot dead a university student in a drive-by shooting while the victim was walking on a Phaya Thai Road footpath in Bangkok on Saturday. Police are still searching for the gunmen. A security camera in front of the Faculty of Pharmacy of Chulalongkorn University captured the shooting incident on Saturday, January 14 at about 8.40pm. Two men…

  • Thai court denies bail to alleged Singaporean Forex-3D scammer

    Thai court denies bail to alleged Singaporean Forex-3D scammer

    Today, Thailand‘s Criminal Court denied bail to the alleged Singaporean Forex-3D scammer who was nabbed by police at Phuket Airport as he tried to flee the country on Monday. He was taken straight to Bangkok Remand Prison. The accused, 32 year old Daryl Cai Yonghui, is charged with “public fraud” and “inputting false information into a computer system in a…

  • Bangkok to gain more dog-friendly public parks

    Bangkok to gain more dog-friendly public parks

    Finding a green area to walk your furry friend in Bangkok is difficult because pet dogs are not allowed in all but one of the city’s public parks. That is about to change thanks to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s (BMA) “15-minute” park project. The BMA has acquired 107 plots of land, covering a collective 659 rai, which will be transformed…

  • Bangkok to become brighter, greener, cheaper after street lights upgrade

    Bangkok to become brighter, greener, cheaper after street lights upgrade

    Bangkok Metropolitan Administration plans to improve the city’s streetlights. The Department of Public Works reported it will replace 25,000 of the capital’s 400,000 high-pressure sodium (HPS) light bulbs with light-emitting diodes (LED) to make Bangkok brighter, greener, and cheaper. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told the media on Tuesday, January 3 about the plan to change the city’s street light bulbs…

  • Court rules 8 years in prison for Thai man who dumped model’s body in Bangkok condo lobby

    Court rules 8 years in prison for Thai man who dumped model’s body in Bangkok condo lobby

    Thailand‘s Court of Appeal upholds an eight-year prison sentence for a man convicted of abducting an unconscious woman and dumping her dead body in the lobby of his condo in Bangkok over three years ago. In September 2019, models Rachadech “Nam Un” Wongtabutr and Thitima “Lalabelle” Noraphanphiphat were both hired to provide entertainment at a house party in Bang Bua…

  • Sea nomads take struggle over alleged land encroachment to Bangkok

    Sea nomads take struggle over alleged land encroachment to Bangkok

    Sea nomads are taking their struggle over alleged land encroachment to Bangkok. The nomads are part of the Moken minority, a group of semi-nomadic Austronesian group that lives in Thai coastal provinces and inhabits over 800 islands in the Andaman Sea. Today, a group of Moken people from Koh Lipe rallied in front of the Treasury Department, demanding justice over…

  • Silicone strips seized stopping safety-sacrificing surgeries

    Silicone strips seized stopping safety-sacrificing surgeries

    Officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) teamed up with police on a raid of several plastic surgery clinics and a manufacturer’s warehouse to confiscate a large number of counterfeit silicone pieces. The joint operation was announced on Monday by the FDA Secretary-General and the Deputy Chief of the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD). Previous raids had been carried…

  • Bus hits overpass injuring student footballers aboard

    Bus hits overpass injuring student footballers aboard

    A school football team and their coaches were left reeling after their bus met with a shocking accident while transporting them from the Nong Chok district of Bangkok to a field in the Bang Sao Thong district, Samut Prakan. The bus slammed into the top of a motorway overpass, causing the roof to cave in and injuring 13 of the…

  • Bangkok kids suffer food poisoning after eating free noodles for Children’s Day

    Bangkok kids suffer food poisoning after eating free noodles for Children’s Day

    Bangkok kids suffered food poisoning, photo by Amarin TV. A group of Bangkok kids suffered food poisoning after eating free noodles on Friday for Children’s Day. Over 10 ambulances rushed to Wat Naknimit School on Soi Suksawat 14, Suksawat road, to help the 30 kids. Reports said the children suffered nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and headaches. One female student said someone…

  • Potential homeowners need to show some financial frugality this year, says Bangkok property platform

    Potential homeowners need to show some financial frugality this year, says Bangkok property platform

    One of Bangkok‘s largest property platforms is urging potential homeowners to show some financial frugality this year if they’re planning to invest in the real estate market. DDproperty.com pointed out that property prices and interest rates are rising and warned buyers to show some due diligence. DDproperty.com General Manager Wittaya Apirakviriya reckons residential prices will increase by 5-10%, in line…

  • Chinese business leaders to gather in Bangkok

    Chinese business leaders to gather in Bangkok

    Around 4,000 Chinese business leaders are set to gather in Bangkok in June to meet entrepreneurs from around the globe at the first World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention since the pandemic and the 16th since it was launched in 1991. Today, WCEC is the biggest forum for connecting Chinese entrepreneurs with international partners. Narongsak Putthapornmongkol, president of the Thai-Chinese Chamber of…

  • Bentley driver’s blood test reveals methamphetamine use

    Bentley driver’s blood test reveals methamphetamine use

    Police today revealed that the Bentley driver who caused a three-car crash was not only under the influence of alcohol but drugs were also found in his system. Police confirmed to the media that a drug test discovered methamphetamine and another unidentified narcotic in his blood system. More updates are expected to be announced this evening. The Bentley driver, Suthat…

  • Bangkok taxi fare increase effective today

    Bangkok taxi fare increase effective today

    Bangkok taxi fares will increase to a minimum fare of 40 baht today after staying at 35 baht for 30 years. The increased fare, which applies to Bangkok registered taxis with no more than seven seats, is effective today according to its announcement in the Royal Gazette yesterday. However, passengers may not notice a rise in fares straight away as…

  • 85% of restaurants at Suvarnabhumi Airport are ‘Clean Food, Good Taste’ certified

    85% of restaurants at Suvarnabhumi Airport are ‘Clean Food, Good Taste’ certified

    Thailand‘s Department of Health certified 85% of restaurants in the passenger terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport as having “Clean Food, Good Taste,” according to the department’s director-general Suwanchai Wattana. Suwanchai congratulated the operators of 58 restaurants (85.29% of restaurants in the terminal) who passed the health and safety standard with flying colours at an award ceremony yesterday. Any hungry passengers waiting…

  • Bentley driver charged with drunk driving granted bail at 100,000 baht

    Bentley driver charged with drunk driving granted bail at 100,000 baht

    Under pressure police finally charged a Bentley driver with drunk driving for causing a three-car crash. After much public criticism and deliberation, police charged the driver because he refused to take a breathalyser test in the first place. The driver was reported to have been granted bail of 100,000 baht yesterday. Suthat Siwapiromrat, the millionaire Bentley driver who caused the…

  • 11 victims injured in collision after car drives against traffic flow

    11 victims injured in collision after car drives against traffic flow

    A 21 year old man caused a six-car collision on a road in Bangkok by driving his Volvo hatchback against the flow of traffic and crashing into a pickup on Christmas Day. Eleven people were injured as a result of his actions. The result of the suspect’s alcohol and drug test has not been made public. Pattheera Datepae, a relative…

  • Thais pay respect to albino buffalo sculpture toppled by drunken Englishman

    Thais pay respect to albino buffalo sculpture toppled by drunken Englishman

    The atmosphere is sombre outside Samyan Mitrtown in Bangkok where buffalo enthusiasts and art lovers laid bouquets of flowers to pay their respects to the toppled albino buffalo sculpture which was ruined by a drunk English tourist who attempted to mount it on the weekend. “Kwai: Calm” (buffalo: calm) the fibreglass albino buffalo remains in a sorry state on its…

  • MOPH to open vaccination centre for foreigners

    MOPH to open vaccination centre for foreigners

    The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) plans to offer Covid-19 vaccines for foreigners at Bang Rak Medical Centre in Bangkok for about 1,000 baht. The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn announced on Wednesday, December 28 that he planned to give free booster shots to foreigners but added it would need Cabinet approval in January. The proposal was seen…

  • Bangkok’s controversial Bang Sue Grand Station name change on hold

    Bangkok’s controversial Bang Sue Grand Station name change on hold

    Bangkok’s controversial Bang Sue Grand Station name change is on hold after it received heavy backlash for its US$1 million price tag. When His Majesty the King renamed Bang Sue Grand Station, “Krung Thep Abhiwat Central Terminal,” in September, some questioned the need to spend such an amount in taxpayers’ money. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Transport Minister Saksayam…

  • Bangkok City Hall assesses Covid readiness

    Bangkok City Hall assesses Covid readiness

    With travel increases to Thailand, and with the reopening of China, comes the risk of spreading Covid-19. Bangkok City Hall is taking steps to ensure that visitors can enjoy their stay while keeping themselves and others safe as they brace for an influx of tourists. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt tasked his deputy governors with conducting a full assessment of the…

  • Fans boo Thai royal anthem at Blackpink concert

    Fans boo Thai royal anthem at Blackpink concert

    K-pop band Blackpink kicked off their world tour in Bangkok on Saturday to a chorus of boos. Thai media reported video clips released on social media shows fans booing as the Thai royal anthem played on stage as the words “Please pay your respects to His Majesty the King” appeared on the screen before the band took to the stage. Prachatai English…