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.
-
Sponsored 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
-
Foreign mafia who attacked 2 Thai women in Koh Samui found in Phuket
National Police Deputy Commissioner Surachate Hakparn, aka Big Joke, ordered police in Koh Samui to speed up the search for the foreign mafia gang that attacked two Thai women at a bar on New Year’s Eve. Officers from Bor Phut Police Station in Koh Samui reported that they know the identities of two of the group members and stated that…
-
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…
-
Thai NGO reports highest number of missing children in 4 years
A Thai NGO reports that the country’s number of missing children last year was the highest it had been in four years. The Mirror Foundation, which works to help families find missing children, reports some disturbing numbers. Last year, 252 children went missing from home in Thailand. This was a 25% increase from 202 children in 2021, the foundation said. …
-
Russian man attacked in Pattaya bar after refusing to pay 60 baht bill
A Russian man was assaulted by a female bar owner in Pattaya after he refused to pay a 60-baht bill. The owner claimed she acted in self-defence as the man was drunk, refused to pay the bill, and slapped her in the face first. A rescue team was notified that a Russian man, later identified as Michael, was injured in…
-
Corruption investigation leaves some Thai immigration officials in hot water over helping Chinese businessmen
A corruption investigation has left some Thai immigration officials in hot water over their alleged involvement in helping Chinese businessmen. Senior Immigration Bureau investigators say they found clear evidence that some officers are helping foreign criminals by serving as owners of foundations that provided visas to Chinese nationals. According to Bangkok Post, one of the ‘foundations’ had its headquarters in…
-
Another black life taken in US police custody
Three things are certain in life in the United States: day follows night, innocent people become fatal victims of random gunman attacks, and black people die in police custody. Already this year, three black men have lost their lives while in the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The latest black life to be lost while in LAPD…
-
Cops swoop on 360 million baht gambling den in Pattaya
Cops swooped on a gambling den in Pattaya on Wednesday that had accounts with about 360 million baht in its circulation. Officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce raided a luxury condominium in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district and arrested four suspects, one man and three women. The police confiscated two laptops, four screens, three smartphones, and other appliances worth 100,000…
-
Thai police bust nine YouTube scammers that allegedly contributed to middle schooler’s suicide
Thai police busted nine YouTube scammers that allegedly contributed to a Nonthaburi middle schooler’s suicide. Police say they arrested two suspects yesterday, 38 year old Ratchanon Saijind, and 34 year old Chaiyawat Virasorn, after they were suspected of purchasing cryptocurrency using a now deceased middle schooler’s money. After police interrogated the two suspects, they said they learned the identities of…
-
2-metre tapeworm found in Thai man who eats raw meat
A Thai man posted a video on his social media TikTok account to warn people to avoid eating raw meat after a two-metre tapeworm was found in his body. Amarit Chuetamuen posted videos on his TikTok account, @tex2499, to share his deworming experience. In the first video, Amarit told his followers that his anus had become itchy and then felt…
-
Officials panic Thailand hits lowest birth rate in 7 decades
Officials are panicking after Thailand hit its lowest birth rate in seven decades last year. The Social Development and Human Security Ministry announced today that the kingdom hit a 71-year low. Last year, Thailand’s target birth rate was 700,000, however, only 502,000 babies were born. The birth rate was therefore about 30% below the target. The ministry’s permanent secretary Anukul…
-
Motorists seek compensation after electric transformer explosion damages 4 vehicles
Motorists are seeking compensation after an electric transformer exploded and destroyed three cars and a motorcycle in front of a garage in the Song Phi Nong district of Suphan Buri. The deputy superintendent of the Tungkok Police Station, Taksin Khanthongdee, told Khaosod that the police and firefighters were notified of the fire in front of the U Chai Service garage…
-
Thailand is the happiest of 7 regional APAC countries, survey says
The people of Thailand are the happiest out of seven regional Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries, according to a survey of 85,000 adult respondents via the polling app Votee. Stats were collected from respondents in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines between October 2021 and December 2022. Respondents were routinely asked to score their happiness level out of…
-
Russian woman almost drowns on Patong beach
It was a close call for one Russian woman who almost drowned on Patong Beach yesterday. The incident happened at the part of the beach near the Bangla Police Box. Tourists pulled the unconscious woman out of the water, and lifeguards, once aware of the situation, rushed to help. The lifeguards, and a tourist who was a doctor, worked to…
-
Central Fraud Registry, coming soon to clean up Thai banking
Thailand‘s forthcoming Central Fraud Registry will be a new investigative authority, working alongside the Computer Emergency Response Team, a group of financial institutions focused on cybercrime in the banking industry. The new fraud registry will concentrate on financial fraud in the industry. Thai Banking Association (TBA) chairman Payong Srivanich did not set a time frame for setting up the registry.…
-
International school teacher accused of molesting kindergarten pupil in Koh Samui
A teacher at an international school in Koh Samui in Surat Thani province, southern Thailand, has been accused of molesting a kindergarten pupil. Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police Pol. Maj. Gen. Surchate “Big Joke” Hakparn travelled to the island yesterday to attend a meeting about the progress of the case so far. The parents of a kindergarten student…
-
Twitter staff in Singapore fired, more job losses in Asia predicted
Staff at Twitter‘s Singapore office were fired yesterday. Employees were told via email that they had to evacuate the CapitaGreen building premises by 5pm. An anonymous staff member informed the press that Singapore-based employees at Twitter have been temporarily reassigned to work remotely within the company’s internal system. According to a tweet by Casey Newton, the operator of the technology-focused…
-
Assets over 10 million baht stolen from businessman at fitness centre
A businessman filed a complaint with police after assets of over 10 million baht were stolen from a fitness centre safety box at a shopping mall on Ngam Wongwarn Road in Nonthaburi. This isn’t the first time the fitness centre has been targeted by thieves. Their task is made a lot easier by the fact there are no security cameras…
-
Thailand Tourism Ministry strives for 80 million international tourists in 2027
Thailand‘s Ministry of Tourism and Sports set a sky-high target of 80 million international tourists in the kingdom by 2027. The target exceeds Thailand’s current total population of 69 million. To frame the ambitious figure, pre-pandemic Thailand welcomed an average of 40 million international tourists per year. In 2022, Thailand welcomed 11.5 million international arrivals, exceeding the Tourism Authority of…
-
Thaiger Unfiltered | Ask Us Anything
Click the link to watch the video: https://youtu.be/OldX0msS1jI Here’s a chance for our viewers to ask Natty, and Sara any questions they have, and they will answer you with their honest responses unfiltered! Please be kind and appropriate.
-
Thai police collar slippery Singaporean scammer
Thai police finally caught up with a slippery Singaporean hacker in Bangkok yesterday and placed him, and his girlfriend, under arrest. Ong Jian Zhen allegedly scammed hundreds of social media accounts in Singapore and fled to the safe haven of Thailand last year to escape the wrath of his own country’s courts. Zhen was already on the Thai wanted list…
-
Marine Department on Phase 2 of widening Pattaya’s Jomtien beach
Thailand’s Marine Department is in its second phase of widening Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach. The department said the beach’s width is expected to increase to an average of 50 metres after the project is finished. The project aims to fight coastal erosion at the beach, as well as woo more tourists to Pattaya, Nation Thailand reported. Now that Covid-19 restrictions have…
-
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…
-
Makro expects big investment funds to move in
Thailand’s leading wholesale and hypermarket operator Siam Makro Plc, is waiting for big investment funds to move in as company stock heads for a one-year high. Shares are now mature enough to attract the attention of global fund managers. Makro wants to be the biggest operation of its kind in Asia. In many parts of Thailand, Makro cash and carry…
-
Woman kidnapped and left for dead in deep forest in Northern Thailand
National Park rangers rescued a 65 year old woman who was kidnapped by two unidentified men yesterday and left for dead in a deep forest in the northern province of Lampang. The leader of the Wian Kosai Nation Park, Prawit Jaikam, reported to the media that he received a message from a woman, in Baan Pang Ma O in the…
-
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…
-
Australian runs car over Thai man and kills him in Pattaya
An Australian woman claimed ignorance after she drove her car over a Thai man working at the entrance of a condominium in Pattaya yesterday. He died of his injuries almost instantly. A colleague found Prasit Karbphet at the entrance of Wongamat Residence Condominium at Soi Na Kluea 16 in the Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri. Prasit’s colleague, 32 year…
-
Thailand’s tour package prices bump up for Chinese visitors
Thailand’s tour package prices are being bumped up for Chinese visitors to the Land of Smiles. This news comes after China lifted travel restrictions on its citizens on January 8. There are now fewer flight connections between Thailand and China, and unprepared tour agents in China, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s regional director for marketing in East…
-
Toronto man stabbed to death by a group of eight teenage girls
Toronto police say they know the identity of a 59 year old man who was stabbed to death by eight teenage girls. The man, Ken Lee, was allegedly swarmed by a group of girls in mid-December. He was reportedly living in a homeless shelter and was attacked at around midnight in the city’s downtown. He later died in the hospital.…
-
Chinese tourists won’t trigger increase in Covid-19 cases
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) reckons the influx of Chinese tourists will not trigger an increase in Covid-19 cases in Thailand but added the department will evaluate the status of coronavirus infections in two weeks’ time. DDC Director-General Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong revealed yesterday that the average daily number of cases is 900, and the number of Covid patients in…
-
Tourist Police prepare to protect Chinese from Pattaya’s crimes
Now that China has lifted travel restrictions on its citizens, Pattaya Tourist Police are preparing to protect Chinese tourists from the city’s crimes. The chief of Tourist Police Station 4 said yesterday that the lift on Chinese travel restrictions might result in a crime rise in the area. Tourist Police will start patrolling high-risk spots such as Walking Street, South…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.