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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Completion of Pattaya’s Walking Street postponed again
Pattaya City authorities are kicking the can down the road again. After Pattaya city officials announced last month that construction of the city’s famous Walking Street would finish in August, they now say it will be completed in September (presumably September 2022). The contractor, DD Infrastructure Company, informed Pattaya’s city council chairman that the postponing is due to the delay…
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Chinese man swindled out of a million baht climbs 20 metre tsunami tower in Pattaya
A Chinese man suffered a mental breakdown and climbed a 20 metre tsunami warning tower in Pattaya after being swindled out of a million baht. The 51 year old man, named Qin, climbed the warning tower, located on Jomtien Beach near Jomtien Night Market, because he was scared after being threatened by men with whom he’d conducted a business deal.…
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Democrat MP gives blessing for party-goers to get high
Democrat Party MP, Kanok Wongtrangarn believes the nation’s party zones should be allowed to throw “ganja parties” to draw in more tourists in a bid to boost the Thai economy. Kanok, who quit as deputy leader in April after the party failed to take stronger action over a sex-abuse case, says specific areas, like the Koh Pha Ngan Full Moon…
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Russian man allegedly murders trans woman in northeast Thailand
Yesterday, a mother in the northeastern province of Surin discovered the rotting body of her 31 year old daughter – a trans woman named Thiraphong – wrapped inside a blanket in a storage room behind their family home. The mother suspects her daughter’s Russian boyfriend, who disappeared a few weeks ago, murdered her daughter. Police say they estimate that the…
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Luxury house in US belongs to my son, says Bangkok governor
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt yesterday insisted he has nothing to hide after it became public knowledge his family owns a luxury house in the US worth 72 million baht. The 56 year old city chief says the 4-bedroomed house on South Jackson Street, Seattle, Washington, belongs to his son, Sanpiti Sittipunt. Chadchart added the property, with 2 floors covering 302…
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Former Bangkok police inspector gets 20 years for murdering girlfriend in 2020
A former inspector from Bangkok’s Wang Thoglang Police station has been sentenced yesterday to 20 years in jail for murdering his girlfriend in 2020. The man, 31 year old Songklod ‘Boy’ Boonsong, shot and killed his girlfriend, 30 year old Pimchadaporn ‘Nim’ Puyamsai at a townhouse in Bangkok’s Bang Kapi. Boy shot Nim in the head. Boy claims he accidently…
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Thailand’s lower house passes Marriage Equality Bill (first reading)
Yesterday, Thailand’s Parliament passed the Marriage Equality Bill in the first reading with 210 votes in favour, 180 votes in opposition and 4 abstentions. The bill – previously rejected by Cabinet in March – was pushed by Thailand’s Move Forward Party. A parliamentary committee has been set up to scrutinise the bill over the next 15 days before it is…
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New draft law will allow ex-cons to expunge criminal records
A new draft law will allow people who have been convicted of a crime and served their sentence to wipe the slate clean and start again. In the past ex-cons have found it difficult to find gainful employment after serving their sentence and as a consequence have gone on to reoffend. But if this new bill is passed it will…
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LGBTQ+ protesters in Thailand want marriage equality, not ‘civil partnerships’
Members of Thailand’s LGBTQ+ community gathered outside parliament today to submit a letter calling for the Cabinet to pass the Marriage Equality Bill. The bill would make Thailand’s marriage laws applicable to any couple, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. The Marriage Equality bill was previously rejected by the Cabinet, who said it was redundant because they were instead…
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Thai Public Health recommend a Covid booster every 4 months
The Ministry of Public Health recommended that vaccinated residents should get a booster every 4 months. The Director-General of the Disease Control Department, Opas Kankawinpong, today recommended that Thai people should get at least 3 Covid-19 vaccinations and then keep topping up. Opas says everyone has antibodies but they decrease every 3 to 4 months, no matter what vaccine people…
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Labour Minister confirms 300 jobs axed by Shopee Thailand
The Labour Minister, Suchart Chomklin, confirmed yesterday’s report on the Shopee redundancies was accurate. He says 300 jobs are being axed, but insisted the Labour Ministry would help ensure sacked workers are looked after in accordance to employment legislation. The Singaporean company Sea announced during a town hall meeting yesterday of the planned layoff for one of its core businesses,…
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Officials in eastern Thailand scramble to save tree from tourists
Officials in eastern Thailand are scrambling to save a lone tree on a tiny islet off Trat province from tourist destruction. The islet is only a few metres wide, with nothing on it except the tree and its roots. The director of maintenance at Koh Mak Tambon Administrative Organisation, Lertrob Saithongpu, said the wee little islet can only handle 5…
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Phuket vice governor announces 5 year goal to cut road deaths in half
Phuket’s Vice Governor Anupap announced a 5 year goal for reducing Phuket’s road deaths at a meeting yesterday. Anupap said the goal for 2027 is to have only 12 deaths per 100,000 people. This would mean 41 road deaths a year in Phuket. Last year, Phuket saw 70 road deaths. To meet the 2027 goal, Phuket would have to cut…
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Robot dogs spotted “playing” at Chiang Mai University
As if Thailand didn’t have enough dogs roaming the streets already, Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Engineering has manufactured a pack of robot dogs which have been spotted “playing” on a field at the university’s campus in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. An unsettling video of the robot dogs posted on Facebook has netizens divided on whether the dogs – which…
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Sri Lanka to start 4 day work week so people can grow food amidst crisis
Amidst Sri Lanka’s unrest, the country’s government announced yesterday that it will start a 4 day work week for public sector workers for the next 3 months. The Department of Government Information said the day off could be a day for people to grow food, since Sri Lanka is expecting a food shortage. The department said… “It seems appropriate to…
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Domestic violence victim allegedly confesses to conspiracy to murder
A victim of domestic violence allegedly confessed to a conspiracy to murder charge on her arrest yesterday. The woman, Charoensri Thongkham, allegedly admitted to hiring a hitman to kill her husband because she couldn’t take any more of his violent abuse and long string of affairs. The 41 year old woman told police she had lived with her husband for…
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Get your own car without buying or leasing with Carzuno
Sponsored Are you tired of squeezing your way in and out of public transport during rush hours? Do you waste a lot of time transiting between different modes of transportation? We can all agree that having your own car comes with unparalleled convenience, flexibility and freedom. However, there is a catch. Purchasing a vehicle can be a tedious process with…
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Full Moon Party in Koh Pha Ngan sees double the tourists
The third Full Moon Party of the year on Koh Pha Ngan has drawn double the number of tourists to South Thailand’s Koh Pha Ngan since the first party back in April. Last night, about 20,000 visitors arrived on the shores of Haad Rin. The tourists passed through 5 checkpoints to be screened for weapons and drugs before they could…
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Thai tourist robbed of more than 65,000 baht in assets in Pattaya
A 24 year old woman was robbed while on a vacation with her family on Koh Larn Island in Pattaya. Nantapak Saelim’s shoulder bag containing over 65,000 baht in cash and jewellery was stolen from outside of her Airbnb holiday home on Friday night while she was inside the accommodation with her husband and 2 daughters. The Thai woman admitted…
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Policeman shot dead on duty in central Thailand
A group of teenagers on motorbikes fatally shot a policeman on duty in Pathum Thani province, central Thailand, in the early hours of yesterday morning. One 18 year old man admits to firing a gun in the direction of the policeman, but isn’t sure if it was the shot that killed him. Commander-in-chief Anan Orsuwan went to Soi Erawan 12…
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Injuries as police clash with anti-government protestors
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt yesterday expressed concern over the resurgence of protests in the city after police and anti-government protestors clashed over the weekend and again last night. The 56 year old Chadchart says he is increasingly worried about the confrontations and has assigned a deputy governor to work out how the city’s authorities can help in case people are seriously…
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“It’s a hiatus, not a breakup.” Superband BTS announce extended break.
Pop kings BTS, the South Korean band that broke through music’s bamboo ceiling, is having a break after 9 years. The septet have had outstanding global success and amassed, not only the most numerous, but also the most engaged fandom in music history – the BTS ’ARMY’. This year BTS won three of the top awards at the American Music…
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Brother of pregnant Thai woman murdered in Taiwan demands justice
The brother of a Thai woman murdered in Taiwan is calling on police to catch the killer. Thirty-eight year old Yingyot Sae Li said the man who murdered his sister and her husband had been very close to his family, and grew up in the same village as them. His sister, Potjanee, had been 5 pregnant with twins when the…
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Malaysian cockfighter sneaks across border and gets shot in southern Thailand
A Malaysian man who illegally crossed over the border into Thailand for a cockfighting match got shot in Sungai Golok, Narathiwat province, last Saturday night. His chicken won the fight, but his luck soon changed when a group of Thai nationals shot him in the hand on his way home. Scared of getting into trouble with the authorities, the injured man…
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Bangkok delivery driver denies stealing rare albino raccoon
A delivery driver was hired to transport a rare albino raccoon worth 50,000 baht across Bangkok yesterday, but the raccoon never arrived at its destination. The Lineman driver says the raccoon escaped, but he doesn’t know when or how. Thanaporn Silapaphan was hired to transport the white-furred, red-eyed raccoon from Bang Khen district in Bangkok to Bang Bua Thong district…
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Men brutally attack group of women at restaurant in China
Several men attacked a group of women at a restaurant in northern China last week after one of the women rejected a man’s advances. Security footage shows a man in a restaurant in the city of Tangshan approach a woman dining with 2 of her friends. The man puts his hand on the woman’s back, and she pushes him away.…
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Laos to ban public from holding foreign currencies
The Central Bank of Laos plans to ban residents from holding foreign currencies to address problems such as inflation, and the depreciation of the Kip. The Laotian Times yesterday reported that the Governor of the Central Bank of Laos, Sonexay Sitphaxay, promised to solve foreign exchange problems during a press conference on May 27. The governor acknowledged public concern regarding…
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Government to temporarily waive TM6 immigration forms
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha briefed media yesterday after the cabinet’s weekly meeting and revealed the government has agreed to temporarily scrap the Tor Mor 6 immigration form. The TM6 form is the arrival/departure card foreigners fill in providing passport details, name and address, etc., on their entry and exit from Thailand. Deputy Government Spokesperson Traisuree Traisoranakul says scrapping the TM6 would…
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AirAsia targets Indian travellers as China remains grounded
Low-cost Malaysian airline AirAsia is turning to India for international travellers after China cut itself off from the rest of the world. AirAsia, which mostly targets the Southeast Asian market, is experiencing a surge in business from Indian travellers visiting Indonesia and Malaysia. This comes after China, historically one of Thailand’s prime tourism markets, cut itself off from travel with…
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BMTA promises to solve public bus shortage
Bangkok Mass Transit Authority promises to solve the public bus shortage after people in the city made complaints on social media. The BMTA director responded to the criticism and called for patience. He says they are working to improve bus routes and increase bus staff and added commuters will see an improvement in a month. รถเมล์ไทยแฟนคลับ Rotmaethai, which means public…
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