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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  • Russian, Chinese investors drive Phuket property market

    Russian, Chinese investors drive Phuket property market

    The Phuket property market is on fire now, with the help of Chinese and Russian investors. Chinese buyers are reportedly increasing their investments, buying up villas, shophouses, and even orchards, to cater to Chinese tourists. Russian property investors are also contributing to the surge in demand for villas and homes in Phuket. While Russians are interested in buying pool villas,…

  • 11 Thai nationals rescued from brothels in India

    11 Thai nationals rescued from brothels in India

    In a sting operation on Sunday, police raided two prostitution rings disguised as spas in Chandigarh, India, and rescued 18 women, 11 of whom were Thai nationals, reports the IndianExpress. Four men were arrested. After locals complained of brothels operating in the area, police sent decoy customers to enquire about ‘services’ at two locations: Golden Leaf Spa and Pyramid Spa.…

  • Managing blacktip reef sharks in Maya Bay, Thailand

    Managing blacktip reef sharks in Maya Bay, Thailand

    The National Parks Department of Thailand aims to enhance the management of the country’s popular tourist conservation areas following the return of blacktip reef sharks to Maya Bay. Maya Bay was closed for four years, from 2018 to 2022, to facilitate the recovery of the island’s wildlife. The bay’s popularity surged after the release of the 2000 movie The Beach,…

  • Tourists in Thailand urged to download ‘Tourist Police i lert u’ app

    Tourists in Thailand urged to download ‘Tourist Police i lert u’ app

    Foreign tourists in Thailand are advised to download the app “Tourist Police i lert u” which they can use to quickly and conveniently contact the police in case of an emergency, according to government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek. Not to be confused with the Thai version of the app, “police i lert u,” the tourist version of the app is available…

  • Thai Airways accused of favouring foreign passengers over Thais

    Thai Airways accused of favouring foreign passengers over Thais

    A Thai passenger who recently flew from Paris to Bangkok in Thai Airways business class accused the airline of favouring foreign passengers over Thais after a flight attendant provided services exclusively to a foreign passenger. The attendant told the Thai man that the foreigner was a Gold Status member. Thai consultant doctor Watcharaphol Alexandre Kamnerdsiri, who works in Brussels, Belgium,…

  • Police arrest Mongolian thieves preying on tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport

    Police arrest Mongolian thieves preying on tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport

    Police arrested Mongolian thieves repeatedly preying on and stealing from tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. Yesterday at 3pm, the Director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, Kittipong Kittikachorn, held a joint press conference with Suvarnabhumi Airport Police to announce the arrests of three members of a Mongolian gang operating at Thailand’s largest airport. Under arrest warrants from Samut Prakan Provincial Court,…

  • Thailand set to be the location of White Lotus season III

    Thailand set to be the location of White Lotus season III

    The location for the next series of the award-winning HBO drama White Lotus is Thailand, according to Variety magazine. Series creator, writer, and director Mike White was seen in Thailand at a Four Seasons location late last year setting media tongues wagging that the Land of Smiles would be the destination for series three of the gripping drama. Series one…

  • Countdown to ADB’s SEADS 2023: Imagining a Net Zero ASEAN

    Countdown to ADB’s SEADS 2023: Imagining a Net Zero ASEAN

    The Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) is back! With the theme, “Imagining a Net-Zero ASEAN,” SEADS 2023 promises to be a dynamic gathering for anyone interested in sustainability and climate action. The event is scheduled to take place on 30 March at The Westin Resort Nusa Dua in Bali, Indonesia. It will convene thought leaders and climate action advocates from…

  • Indian man overstays visa in Thailand by 2,048 days

    Indian man overstays visa in Thailand by 2,048 days

    Immigration police arrested an Indian national in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, found to have overstayed his visa by 2,048 days (more than five and a half years). Police believe he is part of a call centre gang, reports KhaoSod. The police stopped 38 year old Jatinder Singh – who resides in the Na Jomtien area of Sattahip district –…

  • TAT and Tinder team up to launch Single Journey tours for single travellers

    TAT and Tinder team up to launch Single Journey tours for single travellers

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Tinder dating app have teamed up to launch “Single Journey Season 2” tours for single travellers who want to find a travel partner and make their trip more meaningful. The first season of Single Journey was launched in December 2020. It offered three different trips for 100 single travellers who won free…

  • Aussie man and Thai wife say politicians’ letter saved them from death penalty in Thailand

    Aussie man and Thai wife say politicians’ letter saved them from death penalty in Thailand

    A free Aussie man and his Thai wife who spent four years in prison in Thailand for a crime they did not commit say that a 15-page letter from politicians in Australia is the reason they were spared the death penalty after being convicted of trafficking half a tonne of crystal meth in 2018. Luke Cook, his wife Kanyarat Wechapitak and…

  • Motorists in Thailand warned to pay outstanding fines this week or else!

    Motorists in Thailand warned to pay outstanding fines this week or else!

    Motorists in Thailand have been warned that they will not receive their annual vehicle registration tax sticker if they have outstanding traffic fines by this weekend. The government today announced that motorists have until Saturday, April 1 to settle any unpaid traffic fines otherwise they will not receive their annual vehicle registration tax sticker to display on their windshields. Furthermore,…

  • Government addresses public complaints

    Government addresses public complaints

    Here’s a story for the comments section. Got a complaint? The government is listening… probably. The Cabinet recently addressed the complaints submitted by the public and feedback submitted to state agencies and enterprises during the first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year. And while it often feels like complaints to higher authorities fall on deaf ears, the government claim that…

  • Brawl erupts between foreign staff and foreign tourists at Phuket restaurant (video)

    Brawl erupts between foreign staff and foreign tourists at Phuket restaurant (video)

    A violent brawl erupted between three foreign staff members at a restaurant in the Patong area of Phuket, southern Thailand, and five drunk foreign tourists in the early hours of this morning. Partygoers notified Patong Police Station that a group of foreign tourists and a group of foreign restaurant staff were attacking each other with chairs at Atlas Restaurant on…

  • People in Thailand spend too much time on their backsides, a new report reveals

    People in Thailand spend too much time on their backsides, a new report reveals

    People in Thailand spend too much time sitting on their backsides, a new study reveals. The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) revealed that 76% of Thai people spend seven hours or more sitting down, underlining the need for the nation’s population to get off their arses and engage in more physical activity to improve their health and wellbeing. MOPH director-general…

  • Police thwart attempt to pull 176 million from bank account

    Police thwart attempt to pull 176 million from bank account

    A Cambodian national has been arrested by police in Bangkok for using a fake passport to obtain a new bank passbook. The passbook is believed to be for a bank account with 176 million baht in savings, which is thought to belong to a call centre gang. The police were alerted to the situation on March 24 when it was…

  • Pervy man caught on CCTV sniffing woman’s underwear and licking her shoes

    Pervy man caught on CCTV sniffing woman’s underwear and licking her shoes

    A Thai woman in the southern province of Songkhla filed a complaint with the police after a CCTV camera captured footage of a perverted man climbing over a wall into her house, sniffing her underwear and licking her shoes before leaving. The 28 year old victim, Raenu, posted videos of the incident on a Facebook group named HATYAIZ to warn residents…

  • Election results reporting to be aided by media alliance

    Election results reporting to be aided by media alliance

    Thai media outlets have teamed up to form an alliance that will provide live reporting of unofficial election results during the country’s upcoming General Election. This move was prompted by the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to use a non-real-time official reporting format, which sparked concerns about transparency and fairness. Rather than piecemeal independent reporting from various polling stations, The Association…

  • Thai man sets ‘high’ score for fastest joint roller at Phuket’s Cannabis Cup

    Thai man sets ‘high’ score for fastest joint roller at Phuket’s Cannabis Cup

    As cannabis remains one of the nation’s hottest political issues in Thailand prior to the election in May, one Thai man won 5,000 baht for rolling a perfect one-gramme joint in just 43 seconds at the first-ever Cannabis Cup in Phuket on Saturday, reports Reuters. Hailed the fastest joint roller in all of Phuket, 30 year old Phuketian Ativat Janmuangthai won…

  • Online pranksters warned they could face time in jail ahead of April Fool’s Day

    Online pranksters warned they could face time in jail ahead of April Fool’s Day

    The Royal Thai Police issued a warning to online pranksters ahead of April Fool’s Day that their tomfoolery could land them in jail and a heavy fine. The Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) urged the nation’s natural jokers to be careful that their shenanigans on April Fool’s Day, also known as “Wan Dek Foo” in Thailand, do not break the…

  • Sukhumvit bar owner threatens tourists with gun

    Sukhumvit bar owner threatens tourists with gun

    While there’s no surefire way to choose which bar is good and which one is bad in the lively nightlife area of Sukhumvit in Bangkok, maybe one where the owner flaunts his gun on social media all the time isn’t the best choice. A foreign tourist in Bangkok has reported being threatened with a shotgun by the owner of a…

  • Police accused of raping and blackmailing woman

    Police accused of raping and blackmailing woman

    A 21 year old woman accused a Khlong Ha Police Station sergeant major of getting her drunk before raping her. The woman also alleged that the police officer recorded the rape to blackmail her into having sex with him again. The co-founder of the non-profit organisation Saimai Survive, Acharn Opasthanakorn, accompanied the victim, Bee, to file a complaint against the…

  • Thailand weather forecast: Hot and stormy

    Thailand weather forecast: Hot and stormy

    Much of Thailand can expect hot weather and summer storms in the next 24 hours, with temperatures hitting highs of 39 degrees Celsius in Bangkok, according to the Meteorological Department. Northern Thailand is expected to be hot and hazy today. In Chiang Mai, the air quality index (AQI) was measured at a ‘very unhealthy’ 220 this morning, 33.9x higher than…

  • Man throws 10 year old boy into Chon Buri reservoir, victim drowns

    Man throws 10 year old boy into Chon Buri reservoir, victim drowns

    A man has been accused of throwing a 10 year old boy into a reservoir in Chon Buri causing him to drown. The suspect’s grandmother, however, does not believe the accusation, adding that her grandson suffers from mental health problems and would not hurt a fly. The incident happened at Huay Shark Nork Reservoir on the Tung Klom-Tarn Man Road…

  • Not all trips to a police station in Thailand end in tragedy, with some there’s a happy ending

    Not all trips to a police station in Thailand end in tragedy, with some there’s a happy ending

    Heard the joke about the police officer in Thailand offering massages, soothing herbal sweets and a cold drink instead of a cuff around the ear and a night in the slammer? No? Well, that’s because it’s not a joke. A visit to a police station in Thailand is usually a daunting exercise for most whether you’ve committed a crime, filed…

  • Elderly Frenchman missing in Thailand forest

    Elderly Frenchman missing in Thailand forest

    A search party has been mobilised to locate a 70 year old Frenchman lost in the forest around Khao Eto Mountain in Prachin Buri province in central Thailand since yesterday afternoon, reports DailyNews. The Frenchman, 70 year old Sierra Gamache, set off early yesterday morning and climbed to the highest point on the Mount Eto trail. At 12 noon, Gamache…

  • Thai vendor banks 10,000 baht on a traditional Thai pattern pancake

    Thai vendor banks 10,000 baht on a traditional Thai pattern pancake

    A skilled pancake vendor at Srinagarindra Train Night Market in Bangkok who created a magnificent piece of art from a pancake managed to bank 10,000 baht. Shop owner and pancake artist extraordinaire, Wiwat “Singto” Janecharoen, posted a video of a pancake with a traditional Thai pattern on the shop’s TikTok account, nirinartyummy. In the caption he wrote… “More detailed than…

  • Tourist spots dead body near Pattaya park

    Tourist spots dead body near Pattaya park

    A tourist spotted a dead body near a Pattaya park yesterday. Rescuers were alerted of the discovery of the decaying body at around 6pm. The body was found near a park on Soi Chaiyaphruek 4 in the Bang Lamung district. The dead man was not carrying any identification documents. He was wearing a blue shirt, shorts, and sandals. Officers said the…

  • Phuket scumbag allegedly rapes teenage girl he contacted online

    Phuket scumbag allegedly rapes teenage girl he contacted online

    A Phuket scumbag allegedly raped a teenage girl he contacted online. The victim’s parents told Thalang Police that the suspect, 24 year old Sumet, raped their 17 year old daughter, The Phuket Express reported yesterday. The parents said that Sumet contacted their daughter on Facebook and flirted with her. Sumet then came to their house when he knew that they…

  • Outrage as energy bills rise for households, drop for industry

    Outrage as energy bills rise for households, drop for industry

    The government has come under fire for its latest revision of electricity pricing, with accusations that it will reduce energy bills for various industries but raise those of households. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has decided to increase power bills for households from 4.72 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit) to 4.77 baht. Industry will also be charged 4.77 baht, but that’s…