Central Thailand News
Central Thailand news, Ayutthaya news, Kanchanaburi updates, and business developments—stay informed on local events, tourism, and culture, including landmarks like the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Central Thailand news source.
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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Thai man buys 12 pairs of Converse as offerings to god of wealth
A Thai man has bought 12 pairs of Converse sneakers and offered them to the god of wealth in the central province of Ang Thong after his wishes came true. Other locals are now copying the idea, helping the god have his own shoe collection. Yesterday, the media reported that they found a display case placed in front of the…
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Teenagers assault family car in central Thailand, injuring 3 year old
A group of teenagers have assaulted a family of 3 in the central province of Samut Prakan. The teenagers were “throwing a party” in the middle of road at a housing estate in Bang Sao Thong district, and refused to move out of the way of the family’s car. The teenagers threw a rock through the car window, injuring the…
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UPDATE: Compensation promised after teenage passenger killed in police chase
Following last week’s report of a teenager who was killed after the motorbike she was a passenger on crashed into a police pickup, the police officers have now promised to pay compensation to the victim’s family. No charges have been filed against the police at this stage as the case is still under investigation. On May 27, a car accident…
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Police pickup crashes into motorbike, one teenager dead and another seriously injured
One teenager is dead, and another is seriously injured after a car accident in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok. The victims’ friends claimed that a police pickup was chasing after them and “intentionally” crashed into the victims’ motorbike, causing them to lose control and hit a guard rail. Last night, at 12.30 am, police officers from the Lad Lum Kaew…
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French woman dies riding bicycle in central Thailand
A young French woman was killed in a road accident in Ayutthaya province in central Thailand yesterday evening. The 26 year old tourist got confused at an intersection when a green and red light shone at the same time, leading her to drive into oncoming traffic. A man driving a sedan through the green light couldn’t break in time, striking…
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Large banana plantation near Bangkok goes viral, Thai netizens say owner wants to avoid land tax
One of the biggest exhibition centres and event venues, Impact Arena, in the central province of Nonthaburi, basically just north of Bangkok, is showing off its large banana plantation on their official Facebook page. The page claims the CEO desires to increase green spaces for people, but Thai netizens have figured out it’s just a way the controlling company is…
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Policeman suspended after kicking, stomping on 2 handcuffed teenagers
A police officer at Sam Phran station in the central province of Nakhon Pathom has been suspended after video footage emerged of him and another officer assaulting 2 teenagers. According to a Bangkok Post report, both victims were handcuffed at the time and the video footage shows they were on the ground. Chaiyapoj Khotsamrarn, deputy crime suppression chief at Sam…
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Police under investigation in central Thailand after viral video
Police have transferred 2 officers to inactive posts in Thailand’s central province of Nakhon Pathom following a viral video of the officers kicking and stomping on 2 young men. A fact-finding investigation of the 2 officers is now underway. The video first shows the officers pulling over on the side of a road in their truck, as 3 young men…
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Student accidentally kills shooting instructor in central Thailand
A beginner level student has accidentally shot dead her instructor at a shooting range yesterday in Thailand’s central province of Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok. The student, a 50 year old woman named only as Thacha, said she thought that it was a dummy round after picking up a bullet mixed with others on the floor, according to Thai…
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Ayuttaya featured in Forbes’s Top 50 Best Places to Visit Post-Pandemic
Forbes magazine has featured Thailand’s central province of Ayutthaya in their list of 50 best places to travel to post-pandemic. Forbes selected the province for its historical and cultural significance as well as its expansive scenery. Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says he is thankful for Thailand’s spot on the list and expects the feature will attract tourists into Ayutthaya…
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Overhead traffic sign strikes car, passengers escape unscathed
As if Thailand’s roads weren’t dangerous enough, now drivers have another hazard to watch out for: falling objects from aging highway infrastructure. In recent weeks, there have been numerous reports of signs and concrete striking vehicles. The latest incident happened on Thursday, when a massive overhead traffic sign fell and struck an SUV on Phahonyothin Highway in the central province…
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UPDATE: Missing family from central Thailand flew to Istanbul, Turkey
THE LATEST After checking their database, Thai police have discovered that the family from central Thailand who went missing on April 10 flew to Istanbul, Turkey on that day. The family, who lived in Sukhothai, flew from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. It is unclear whether they are still in Istanbul, or have moved to another spot. Police also found the couple’s…
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Police allegedly selling dodgy ‘special tickets’ allowing Burmese to stay in Thailand
Four police officers from the main city Samut Sakhon Police Station, south west of central Bangkok, were dismissed from their positions after being reported for allegedly selling “special tickets” to trafficked Burmese migrants. The tickets required Burmese migrant workers to pay a monthly fee of 500 baht and carry the tickets everywhere to avoid arrest. On April 19, Thai media…
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Daughter searches for her family after they went missing 10 days ago in central Thailand
A 19 year old daughter is searching for her missing family. Her parents and two siblings disappeared from their house in the central province of Sukhothai ten days ago, since April 10. Thai netizens and Facebook pages from various rescue teams are spreading the story of the 19 year old teenager around to try and re-unite her with her missing family.…
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Python in central Thailand feasts on 10 chickens
It wasn’t very difficult for rescue workers to catch a greedy python yesterday in Ang Thong province, central Thailand, after it ate ten chickens and couldn’t move. Staff from Ang Thong Provincial Rescue Association received a request yesterday to remove a large python which was asleep inside a chicken cage at a house in Pho Thong District. Police Lt. Col.…
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Thai MP permanently banned from politics for using forest reserve land for farm
A former MP of Thailand’s Palang Pracharath is now permanently banned from Thai politics for using forest reserve land in Ratchaburi province for her farm. The issues around the MP, Pareena Kraikupt, using land began to surface in 2019. The Royal Forest Department then investigated the land, and concluded that Pareena’s poultry farm encroached on it. The department asked the…
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Investigation launched in central Thailand after 2 oil tanker explosions in a month
An investigation is being launched into why there have been 2 oil tankers explosions in Bangkok in the space of a month. The Transport Ministry has instructed the Marine Department to launch a probe into the explosions, the latest of which occurred on Sunday. The Ampar 8 was carrying over 3 million litres of crude oil from the island of…
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Monks host funeral for scarecrow named ‘Covid’ to ward off disease
Well, anything is worth a try at this stage! Monks at a temple in the central Thai province of Suphan Buri have hosted the funeral for a scarecrow, which was named “Mr. Covid Omicron”. Thai locals believed this ceremony could help ward off evil, which is Covid-19 in this case. Residents were scared and worried about the spread of Covid-19…
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Too much monkey business in Petchaburi, now they’re getting sterilised
In Petchaburi, a central province, monkeys are breeding like rabbits. They might look cute at first, but the booming number of monkeys might threaten tourism since the monkeys often steal peoples’ belongings. Right now there are 1,000-1,500 per district, and this number is rising to 3,000 in Muang district. An adviser to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said…
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Officers seize monitor lizards, monkeys from farm suspected of exporting to restaurants
A farm owner was arrested for allegedly raising and exporting water monitor lizards and macaque monkeys in the northern province of Phichit. Officers say they suspect the farm was exporting the animals to Cambodia, and then to Vietnam and China to be sold to restaurants, according to the commander of the National Resources and Environmental Crime Division. When officials arrived…
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Monks caught drinking alcohol on New Year’s Day say they were honouring ancestors
Three Buddhist monks are facing expulsion from monkhood after they were caught drinking alcohol on New Year’s Day, which is a violation of their rules. Apparently, locals gave rice whiskey to the temple as an offering to their ancestors, but a monk says they drank the alcohol as a way to “deliver the alcohol to the dead people.” Residents called…
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Thai woman faces charges over fake job posts for masseuse positions in Japan
A woman in Thailand’s Isaan region is being accused of posing as a job broker by using Facebook to make fake recruitment posts for masseuse positions in Japan. According to the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division, 37 year old Pawinee Yomseedum was arrested and charged with fraud at her house after using to advertise the recruitment service on social media and…
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9 prison escapees back behind bars, lotion the key to escape
The case of 9 prisoners who managed to escape a temporary detention centre has now been officially closed, with all inmates now back behind bars. The group had used a saw to hack through the bars of their room, then used their clothes to soften the barbwire atop the prison walls and climbed to freedom, albeit briefly. The governor of…
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Two women arrested for allegedly running unauthorized Covid-19 laboratory
Two women were arrested for allegedly issuing unauthorised Covid-19 certifications when police raided the D Lab Inter Group clinic in Muang district of Pathum Thani province on Monday. According to the head of the Consumer Protection Police Division, Pol Maj Gen Anant Nanasombat, two women who identified themselves as Wasita and Pornnapa were reportedly charging 500 baht for each Covid-19…
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9 inmates escape temporary prison facility, 4 captured
After a group of 9 prison inmates made a daring escape from a detention facility in Nakhon Pathom, 4 have now been rounded up while a manhunt is on for the remaining 5. The group of men – 6 drug offenders, 2 charged with theft, and 1 charged with physical abuse – broke free from a temporary prison in the…
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Muang district in Ayutthaya allow to serve alcohol in restaurants
The CCSA seems to be slowly rolling out the lifting of the alcohol ban in Thailand on a province by province, and sometimes district by district, basis. Muang district in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya is the latest district to receive the green light to ease Covid-19 restrictions and allow alcohol to be served in restaurants. The district in Ayutthaya has…
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Cha-am permitted to sell alcohol in restaurants from December 1
While tourist areas all across Thailand are fighting to be allowed to sell alcohol, Cha-am will be the next tourist pilot area to get to sell drinks. The Phetchaburi Provincial Communicable Disease Committee is preparing to test allowing restaurants and shops to sell alcohol in the tourist city until 10 pm. The trial run of the new permission will be…
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Thai man dies by flurry of bullets while going to get 2nd Covid shot
A 27 year-old Thai man has died after receiving a flurry of bullets from a gunman who had stopped the vehicle in which he was travelling. The man, Ampol Bunthong, a native of Phetchabun, was shot 10 times, according to police. The attack occured at about 8:20am this morning, at the Saraphi junction in Muang district. Ampol was riding with…
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Thailand’s oldest reclining Buddha partially submerged in flood waters
Thailand’s oldest reclining Buddha at Wat Dhammachakra Sema Ram is the latest casualty from the country’s central flooding. Authorities say the statue was partially submerged as a result of flooding by mountain runoff yesterday. The 1,300 year old Buddha is located inside the Muang Sema Historical Park in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Sung Noen district. The Dvaravati-style, sandstone image, which measures 13.3…
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Widespread flooding easing across affected provinces
Officials say the widespread flooding that has affected Bangkok and several other provinces is showing signs of easing. However, there are already forecasts of another storm that could affect Thailand from next week. AP News reports that so far, 8 people have been killed by the floods, with 1 woman still missing. Thousands of homes have been affected, across 32…
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