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 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Cap seals being phased out
PHOTO: Thai Travel News The Pollution Control Department has sought cooperation from 7,000 water bottle manufacturers to stop using plastic cap seals within a year, in order to reduce plastic waste. The department has also sent letters to 19 ministries, the Food and Drug Administration and the Federation of the Thai Industries to seek their cooperation in promoting water bottles…
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Similan National Park to close for five months
The Department of National Parks (DNP) has announced that the Similan Islands in Phang Nga will be temporary closed from May 16 for five months. Today (May 4) there are still many tourists, both Thai and foreigners especially Chinese, at the Similan Islands. Most tourists want to enjoy the beach before the island will be closed in a few weeks.…
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Six metre python released back to the Krabi forest
Officials of a local foundation in Krabi have released a 6 metre long python back into a forest this morning (Friday) after they captured it at a house in the Muang district the previous evening. The snake, which weighs about 50 kilograms, was captured from a pile of wooden planks near the duck pen of a house in Tambon Tapprik.…
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Five people in custody after bomb-making equipment and chemicals discovered
Five people have been handed over to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) this morning (Friday) linked to the discovery of 1800 bars of ‘Powergel’ in Pathum Thani last month. Powergel is routinely used as a mining explosive and comes in the form of bars. Two of the suspects are 46 year old Yutthana Chidchol, a police officer from Sakoo station in Phuket,…
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10th ‘X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner’ sting – another 63 foreigners arrested
In what’s becoming a regular weekly announcement, Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpa from the national tourist police says another 63 foreigners have been arrested last night in the latest ’10th X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner’ sting. As before, the searches have focussed on international schools and language schools. General Surachet says five were arrested for overstaying their visa – one Lao, one Indian, one…
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Couple arrested over Facebook luxury goods scam
A couple has been arrested for allegedly stealing an ID card which they used to set up a fake retail business selling luxury goods through a Facebook page without delivering the goods. The arrest of 34 year old Napat Jun-anporn and 24 year old Suthiwat Mansathit was announced yesterday (Thursday) after they were apprehended at their home in Pathum Thani’s…
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Only one Patong bar staff failed the ‘purple pee test’
Only one out of 47 bar staff tested in Patong was found with purple urine (when added to a reagent) in drugs tests conducted in a raid of the party zone last night (Thursday). Officials from Kathu District Office led by Kathu District Chief Somprach Prabsongkram along with Patong Police and medical staff from Patong Hospital were randomly selecting Patong…
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Journalists urge NCPO to revoke orders that curb press freedom
The Thai Journalists Association (TJA) is calling on the ruling NCPO to revoke at least three of their absolute orders which have hindered freedom of the press and people’s liberties for almost four years since it came to power. The TJA demand came as it commemorated World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated worldwide on May 3, to reiterate the…
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Crackdown on illegal hotels
Tourist Police have announced a continuation of the crackdown on illegal hotels in Phuket. Tourist Police are also continuing to locate and get rid of tour operators’ nominees – using Thai people as a ‘front’ for foreign tour companies. The owner of a condominium project development company has been arrested after the condos were sold but the construction had never…
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AKSARA Collection appoints new Director of Hotels and Resorts
The Pattaravornee Family of Phuket are very proud to announce that Mr. Matthew C Hindmarch, who joined the company as General Manager for Kata Sea Breeze Resort and part of the development team of The SIS Kata Phuket four years ago, has been promoted to position of Director of Hotels and Resorts. In this role, Khun Matthew who has been…
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French man killed trying to stop a fight in Bangkok
PHOTO: Thai Visa Sanook website is reporting today (May 3) that police were notified that a foreign man had been stabbed to death at a bar in a guesthouse in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. See story here Sanook Witness at the scene told police that a Thai man named only as ‘Pae’ was drinking alcohol with his girlfriend last evening until…
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May Event Round-Up
with Paul Poole (South East Asia) May is typically the month of the popular Hua Hin International Jazz Festival and this year is no different. For two days from 18-19 May, the seaside resort transforms into a mecca for jazz lovers with performers and fans arriving from all over the world. This year’s highlights include Austrian-born Simone Kopmajer and New…
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More than 50 Patong operators releasing untreated wastewater
Patong Municipality is preparing to dredge the Pakbang Canal at the southern end of Patong Beach this week before more heavy rain. Operators who are releasing untreated wastewater into drains are being asked to urgently to solve the problem before legal action will be taken and enforced. Patong’s Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup says, “We are solving the problem of black and…
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COMMENT: The fall of the Emerald Development Group
Today is Mai Sawit Ketroj’s birthday. He’ll be spending it behind bars after being questioned by police about alleged fraud involving the Emerald Development Group. In a packed media conference yesterday Tourist Police Deputy Commander Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan outlined the unravelling of the prominent Phuket property development company. “The suspect admitted that he has a lack of financial resources…
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Phuket Town Gold shop thief arrested within five hours
Quick work by Phuket Town police in yesterday’s gold shop robbery case. The Phuket Town Police have arrested 35 year old Sermsin Thepwong from Khon Kaen at 6:30pm last night (Wednesday). Police seized many gold items and a gun during the arrest. He was arrested at a house on Anuphas Phuketkan Road in Phuket Town. Read yesterday’s story HERE. After…
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Emerald Condo alleged fraud case – CEO arrested
Sawit ‘Mai’ Ketroj arrives at Patong Police Station for questioning this morning The owner of a condominium project development company has been arrested after the condos were sold but the construction had never started. Police say that their current investigation estimates potential losses for buyers could exceed a billion baht. Police commanders have ordered officers to investigate after Patong Police…
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Huge narcotics haul seized from four major drug operations
Police said four successful recent drug busts had led to the confiscation of a huge haul of narcotics, including more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, three kilograms of highly concentrated hashish oil, over 100,000 methamphetamine pills, some 5,300 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 850 grams of ketamine. Deputy police chief Pol General Chalermkiat Srivorakhan and Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) head…
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Six Kalasin state officials sacked over alleged drugs involvement
The governor of Kalasin province, north-east Thailand, Kraisorn Kongchalard, has terminated the employment of six state officials and employees while proceeding with serious disciplinary charges against them involving drugs. A monthly meeting of Kalasin kamnans and village headmen on Wednesday also saw participants undergo urine tests for substance abuse as a proactive measure. Kraisorn instructed all 18 district chiefs and…
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Panwa Boonak crowned 2018 Thailand Optimist National Championship
131 Optimist dinghies competed at the 2018 Top of the Gulf Regatta in Pattaya, all vying for top honours in the Thailand Optimist National Championships, and the three-day competition was fierce, with reigning champion Panwa Boonak (THA) looking to hold off strong challenges from fellow Thai juniors and many of the best young sailors from around Asia. Thailand’s premier youth…
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British man dies in fall from Pattaya condo
A British man has fallen to his death from the 18th floor of a Pattaya condominium early today (Wednesday), in what is believed to have been a suicide. Pol Lt Col Kamol Uppakarat was alerted at 1am about the death at a luxury condominium in Tambon Na Klua in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. The body of 68 year old…
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Planned projects for Karon wastewater treatment
Karon Municipality is planning to construct a sediment trap system or wasteland to prevent black and wastewater flowing into the sea. Today (May 2), officials were inspecting the area. No more black water was found. The Bangla Canal which is about 800 metres long has water flowing into it from the Karon community. Tourists were enjoying the beach as normal.…
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Bryde’s whales thrill tourists off Chumpon coast
People along the shore of Pathiu district in southern Chumphon province have been treated to the sight of a pair of Bryde’s whales today (Tuesday). The whales – commonly referred to as Bruda whales because of the pronunciation of the Norwegian name Bryde – surfaced repeatedly for about an hour near Koh Ran Ped and Koh Ran Kai, about…
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Residents complain about pet crematorium in Paklok
Paklok residents have complained that they are facing problems from smoke from a private pet cremation business. The operator has responded to the complaints at the Damrongdhama Centre saying that they have a legal construction license to conduct the cremation services. Residents are opposing the business after the first three months of operation. The new pet cremation business was established…
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Untreated wastewater flowing into Karon Beach
News has gone viral in social media stating that “Phuket’s Governor must check this”! The Karon Municipality is investigating the black water caused by heavy rain from the local canal that needs to be urgently dredged. Phuket’s Governor also ordered an urgent solution. Yesterday (May 1) a video clip of black water flowing into Karon beach went viral on social…
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Not this year – PM rejects activists calls for a 2018 election
The Thai PM is playing down rallies by pro-democracy groups planned for this month to press the NCPO to hold the long-delayed election this year. Prayut Chan-o-cha is insisting that the election would have to be held next year following a conclusion by the junta-appointed legislative assembly to delay the implementation of the MP election laws. “I have told the…
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Pattaya tour boat operators continue to use beachfront
Many boats have continued to use the beachfront area to pick up and drop off tourists despite being ordered to resume using Chon Buri’s Southern Pattaya Pier (Laem Balihai) from today (Tuesday). Boat owners had been using the beach temporarily during the restoration of the pier. They claimed they could not switch back to using the pier as they were…
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Lights, camera, MONEY – Thailand’s earnings from foreign film makers
PHOTO: PRLog.org. Behind the scenes, filming The Hangover Part II on Phang Nga Bay. Figures are out from the Department of Tourism showing that revenue from foreign film productions shot in Thailand generated 799 million baht in only first quarter of 2018. The Director-General of the Department of Tourism, Anan Wongbenjara, Department Director General Anan Wongbencharat, says that a total…
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Tenants and landlords. Things change from today.
If you rent property in Thailand there are new guidelines for tenants and landlords that come into effect from today. Mostly good news but there are a few exceptions that you will need to be aware of. The days of the unscrupulous landlord may be partly over. With thanks to Thailandproperty.news and Tilleke & Gibbons, leading south east asian lawyers, here’s a…
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WARNING: Shocking accident between motorcyclist and pick-up
WARNING: Graphic photos Gruesome pictures of an accident in Phuket show the aftermath of a collision between a female motorcyclist and the rear of a pick-up truck. The woman was impaled on the back bumper suffering severe injuries to her left leg and losing a lot of blood. Rescue organisations used cutting equipment to get her free then she was…
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Seven year old Trang Twins marry in a big ceremony
Translated from Thai Tharaporn and Tharapong – seven year olds – are the children of Natthapong and Pilanthana Pankhong who own a big agricultural equipment supply firm in the southern Thai town. The twins were married in a lavish ceremony. Some 1000 guests turned up for the ceremony that is held to satisfy old beliefs that by so doing the…
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