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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Thousands of people have been travelling between provinces
… but not quite as many as before, so far. The Director General of the Department of Land Transport says that more people have been using the inter-provincial buses services after the government recently easing Thailands’ lock down situation. He says… “Although some long distance services are still not in operation to comply with the night time curfew, many inter-provincial…
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2 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Thailand with one additional death (May 25)
Today the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced 2 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Thailand with 1 additional death. The 2 new cases consist of 1 imported case, a Thai woman repatriated from Russia last Wednesday who is currently under state quarantine in Chon Buri province. The other is a 49 year old Chinese citizen, the wife of an…
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Gas explosion in Pathum Thani destroys garage, 10 cars
Fire ravaged a garage in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, last night, causing a massive explosion of gas cylinders stored inside. Damage was extensive but, fortunately, no injuries were reported. Police at Khu Khot police station were notified at about 8pm, and say the bush fire broke out in tambon Lat Sawai of Lam Luk Ka district. More than 10…
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Bangkok City Hall plans more proactive Covid-19 testing, new rules for pet cafés
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration aka City Hall plans a “sentinel surveillance approach” to aggressively test for Covid-19 in high-risk areas, and has issued new rules for pet cafés to ensure the safety of guests, animals and staff. Bangkok’s governor made the announcement yesterday. “BMA will perform saliva tests in high-risk areas on at least 400 people per day until the…
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Police say mom forced toddler to drink bleach “to make him look ill”
Police in in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, have arrested a woman for allegedly forcing her toddler to swallow bleach to make him look ill for an online advertisement selling her health products. A police source says the boy has been rescued and is now under the care of a shelter for children in the province. The mother, identified…
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Former deputy commerce minister and 4 others plead not guilty to murder of judge’s brother
In a case which has shocked the nation, former deputy commerce minister, MP and police lieutenant Banyin Tangpakorn and 4 co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to the abduction and murder of the brother of the senior Bangkok judge who was handling his multimillion baht stock theft case. They entered their pleas via video conference from prison yesterday. The accused, including 56…
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Car bursts into flames on the way home from dealer – VIDEO
A couple in Nonthaburi province, just north of Bangkok, bought a used car for 22,000 baht, not expecting that would go up in flames before they got it home. The couple ran for their lives as the car was incinerated on the roadside. The Pak Kret Police Station was notified at 12:30 on Thursday of a car on fire on…
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Survey finds Bangkok’s public transport lacking when it comes to safety measures
A survey carried out by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation shows that some users of public transport in the capital are not confident new health guidelines are being adhered to. The biggest concern appears to be a lack of social distancing, blamed on a shortage of vehicles during peak times. A report in Nation Thailand says those considered “high risk”…
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‘New normal’ seen in shopping malls across Bangkok
Part of the ‘new normal’, in times of Covid-19 in Thailand, involves redesigning traditional ways of doing things and changing daily life to stay safe and virus free. Today The Standard has revealed a few things that you might see in the near future. To minimise the risk of the spread of Covid-19 in elevators, engineers have created a new,…
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Temple closes to mark decade since redshirt crackdown
A Bangkok temple, where 6 people were shot and killed by the military during the 2010 “redshirt” political protests, has closed during the tragic event’s 10 year anniversary. A sign was put in front of Wat Pathum Wanaram saying it was closed for “disinfection,” according to Khaosod. But many see the significance of the closure relating to the events a…
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Security guard stabbed to death in Samut Prakan
A female motorbike taxi driver has allegedly stabbed a security guard to death after a quarrel at a parking building in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok. Police heard about the fatal stabbing of 37 year old Sathaporn Thong-In at 10am. The victim was found lying in a pool of blood and had a stab wound on the left side…
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Ex high ranking Buddhist officials convicted of embezzling millions
5 former National Office of Buddhism officials, including a former chief, have been found guilty of stealing 21 million baht from the organisation back in 2015. The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases convicted the 5 of embezzlement and sentenced them to prison. They are also required to repay 21 million baht to the NOB. The convicted were…
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Bangkok officials conduct spot checks on 200 shopping centres and retailers
Following the further easing of Covid-19 restrictions, officials in Bangkok are carrying out inspections on shopping malls, shops and restaurants to ensure the guidelines governing the “new normal” are being adhered to. Nation Thailand reports that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has assigned officers to conduct the checks across 50 districts in the capital. They will be checking that adequate social…
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Thailand’s Covid-19 numbers, 2 from Bangkok, one in Phuket
Today at his daily press conference, spokesperson Dr. Taweesilp Visanuyothin reported 3 new cases of the coronavirus in Thailand, bringing the total cases to 3,031. No additional deaths were recorded, leaving the accumulated toll at 56. Dr. Taweesilp reveals that of the new cases 3 cases reported, two were a man and a woman in Nonthaburi province (north west of capital)…
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Unidentified foreigner arrested in Nonthaburi drug sting
77kaoded reports that police in Nonthaburi conducted a drug sting at a petrol station on Tiwanon Road late last week. They arranged to buy 20 grams of cocaine for 100,000 baht from a foreigner identified only as “Mike”, who arrived on a Yamaha motorbike. But as officers revealed themselves outside the petrol station toilets Mike realised his situation and ran off.…
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Bangkok sting results in seizure of 221 kilograms of marijuana
Talk about being left holding the bag… police in Bangkok’s Nongjok district confiscated bricks of dried marijuana weighing 221 kilograms on Friday. According to officers at the Lam Phak She Police Station, officers, the raid was a followup to a sting operation that resulted in in the arrest of 46 year old Manop Buakareem, who had delivered a kilogram of…
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Architecture students propose redesign and makeover of Bangkok prison
Most of Thailand’s prisons are well past their designed capacity. Living conditions for inmates are cramped and unsanitary. Now some architecture students are trying to come up with creative solutions to improve the living environment at one Bangkok prison. They’ve been working on design proposals that would make the conditions more “humane” at the Thonburi Remand Prison. “Treeward” is one design…
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4 alleged gang members arrested, more than a million speed pills seized
Police today announced the arrest of 3 members of a drug gang at 2 houses in Bangkok, and a fourth in the southern Narathiwat province on the Malaysian border. More than a million methamphetamine pills were seized. Police say the houses were used to store drugs smuggled from Laos. A combined team of soldiers, police and officials from the Office…
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Tenants bailing out of pricey Bangkok offices amid pandemic
Bangkok’s high-end office district is looking more like a ghost town as the coronavirus pandemic seems to have many companies bailing out of their pricey office spaces. The increasing vacancy trend of Grade-A office space is expected to continue, possibly until a coronavirus vaccine is in effect, according to managing director of Phoenix Property Development and Consultancy, Surachet Kongcheep. Business owners have…
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Young student busted for big crimes
The Narcotics Control Board have announced the arrest of an 18 year old student at a private college in Nonthaburi province, just north of Bangkok, for possession of 10,000 ecstasy pills. “The student ordered 35,000 ecstasy pills by airmail from The Netherlands, paying in Bitcoin via the internet. He was arrested when the first shipment of 10,000 pills arrived. The…
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Bangkok’s largest international hospital hurts from halt in medical tourism
The coronavirus outbreak has hospitals across the world at their limits, but at one Thailand’s largest and most famous hospitals, the number of patients has been cut in half. Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok heavily relies on medical tourism. Since the pandemic has ground much of international travel to a halt, Bumrungrad is getting hit hard. 50% of the patients at…
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“Bangkok’s tap water is safe for cooking” – Metropolitan Waterworks
When people travel to Thailand they’re always warned not to drink the tap water. Or cook with it. But improved sanitation over the past few decades has now improved the quality of tap water around parts of the country, especially in the capital. Now the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority say that it is safe to use tap water to cook rice.…
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Bangkok police hunt activists who projected slogans onto landmarks of 2010 protests
The slogan Seek the Truth (in Thai) has been projected onto several Bangkok landmarks in what appears to be a commemoration of the violent end to political demonstrations in 2010. That year, protests rocked Bangkok for 3 months between March and May, when over 100,000 supporters of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra (known as the “Redshirts”) descended on the city, demanding elections.…
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Ministries, business leaders meet to discuss further reopenings
A meeting this weekend, chaired by the director-general of the Department of Disease Control and secretary to the Covid-19 Center for Situation Administration, discussed suggestions and assessments of businesses ready to reopen, which will be forwarded to the PM Prayut Chan-o-cha for consideration early in the week. Representatives of the Interior Ministry and Tourism Ministry along with those of multiple…
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Ex-deputy commerce minister and 5 accomplices face 10 charges in murder trial
In a case which has shocked the nation, former deputy commerce minister, MP and police lieutenant Banyin Tangpakorn and 5 accomplices, accused of involvement in the murder of a senior Bangkok judge’s brother, have been slapped with 10 separate charges. The Crime Suppression Division commander Jiraphop Phuridet says the accused are charged with: premeditated murder; detention; detention causing death; acting…
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77 year old woman falls to her death in Bangkok
An elderly woman fell to her death from a tenth floor condominium in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district yesterday morning, after a worried relative took her in to keep her safe from Covid-19. Police say 77 year old Surinee Dokkaew was found dead at about 6am on the ground at the base of the 15 storey building on Chaeng Wattana Road.…
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Bangkok immigration police nab Chinese loan sharks
Bangkok immigration police have arrested 5 organisers and 73 employees at a building in Chom Thong district today, where alleged Chinese loan sharks were running an illegal finance firm. The company, “Thai Luck Trade” extended loans at interest rates far higher than the limit under Thai law. The company was registered as a merchant dealing in glasses, watches and cameras…
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BTS and MRT roll out better preventative and social distancing measures
Since there has been a lot of backlash and social media scuttlebutt about the lack of social distancing on MRT and BTS train systems, the MD of the Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company, Sombat Kitjalaksak, has moved to apply improved social distancing measures by prioritising access to services in the station, platform, train, both at normal times and rush…
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Some taxis equipped with ‘barriers’ to protect against coronavirus transmission
Some taxis are being converted to be coronavirus-proof, well that’s the intention. A barrier designed by Royal Thai Air Force personnel, to protect people using taxis and keep drivers in business, has been rolled out. With possible close contact to many different people, taxi drivers are at risk of catching the virus. In February, a taxi driver was the first human-to-human virus transmission in…
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Beware overcrowding and virus transmission – PM
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says packed crowds in public spaces are a concern when it comes to the transmission of the Covid-19 virus. The Bangkok Posts reports that Dr. Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, says the PM wants to see more measures put in place to reduce overcrowding. Just a few days ago, a…
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