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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.

  • Japanese government wants to offer additional 80,000 yen to new parents | Thaiger

    Japanese government wants to offer additional 80,000 yen to new parents

    Japan’s government is wanting to boost the amount given to new parents by 80,000 yen (US$585) to motivate citizens to have more babies. As the country’s birthrate has been declining for some time, the government has tried to find ways to boost family planning. According to the Japan Times, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare currently offer a Childbirth…

  • Smuggled wildlife goods pouring out of India | Thaiger

    Smuggled wildlife goods pouring out of India

    The porous borders between Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand, plus a growing private aviation market make fighting wildlife smuggling close to impossible, according to ThePrint. The emergence of cryptocurrencies has also led to an increase in all kinds of illegal trade. Some of the most smuggled wildlife goods out of India passing through Thailand are red sanders, ambergris,…

  • Drunk driver tries to smash through police checkpoint in Pattaya | Thaiger

    Drunk driver tries to smash through police checkpoint in Pattaya

    A drunk driver tried to smash his way through a police checkpoint in Pattaya yesterday. His attempt failed and police arrested the inebriated man. The Pattaya City Police set up the checkpoint after midnight today on North Pattaya Road in Naklua to catch drunk drivers. The operation proved to be successful as several drivers were charged with drunk driving. Pattaya…

  • Massage shop owners claim ignorance of underage sex | Thaiger

    Massage shop owners claim ignorance of underage sex

    In Nontha Buri, a couple has been arrested for running a massage shop that was a front for underage sex trafficking. Police have been investigating online advertising that hinted that very young and possibly underage girls were available for services beyond traditional massage. After gathering evidence, police raided and found seven girls between the ages of 15 and 17 years…

  • Financially embarrassed elderly Thai man found hanged one day after birthday | Thaiger

    Financially embarrassed elderly Thai man found hanged one day after birthday

    Just one day after his 69th birthday, an elderly Thai man allegedly took his own life after reportedly being in a bad financial situation. The man, Nopparat, was discovered by his neighbour hanging on the second-floor balcony outside a rented room above shops in Thalang, Phuket. Police say he was found with package tape around his neck tied to an…

  • Who is Khru Yun, ‘angel of child protection,’ accused of abuse? | Thaiger

    Who is Khru Yun, ‘angel of child protection,’ accused of abuse?

    For the last four decades, Montri “Khru Yun” Sintawichai has been known as the “angel of child protection” – but that changed recently. Now, he is facing charges of child abuse, child labour and even human trafficking. Montri denies all the allegations made against him. He said… “I’m hurt, but I’m not going to give up social work.” Thaipbsworld tells…

  • Sex toys seized as police arrest 6 Thais on a Pattaya porn set | Thaiger

    Sex toys seized as police arrest 6 Thais on a Pattaya porn set

    Police raided a live pornographic studio set up at a condominium in Pattaya yesterday, arrested six people and confiscated recording equipment and sex toys. Police found five men and a woman either participating, filming or livestreaming obscene sexual acts to a Chinese audience in rental room 801, Building D at the Acacia Beach Continental condo in South Pattaya, reported The Daily…

  • Biggest joke – Big Joke fired as puppet master Chuvit pulls strings | Thaiger

    Biggest joke – Big Joke fired as puppet master Chuvit pulls strings

    National police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas has relieved Pol Gen Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn of command of the “Tuhao” investigation and taken control of the investigation into the crime syndicates run by Chaiyanat Kornchayanant. Big Joke has been fired apparently to appease “supergrass” Chuvit Kamolvisit, who appears now to be the de facto leader of the investigation. Damrongsak said…

  • Patong deckchair touts must double capacity to survive | Thaiger

    Patong deckchair touts must double capacity to survive

    Patong’s deckchair touts – the legal ones – want local authorities to double the number of chairs and umbrellas, claiming that the existing quantity is insufficient to meet demand on Phuket’s Patong Beach. Only 10% of Patong Beach has been allocated to about 60 small-time operators, as part of a new attempt to limit their operations along the entire beach.…

  • Two of four robbers still missing after gold shop shooting | Thaiger

    Two of four robbers still missing after gold shop shooting

    Two out of four suspects remain at large after an attempted gold shop robbery that ended in a hail of bullets. Four people tried to break into a gold shop in the Muang district of the northern province of Tak on Thursday. But they did not expect to be faced with a shop owner who is a champion marksman. He…

  • Demon drink – new kid on the block kills neighbour with stick | Thaiger

    Demon drink – new kid on the block kills neighbour with stick

    Yet another Thai man killed a “friend” “by accident” over a “misunderstanding,” this time involving alcohol, for a change. A Buriram man who did not like being asked to pay for his booze has admitted hitting a drinking buddy over the head with a nailed stick but says he did not expect the blow to kill him. Nang Rong police…

  • Boat catches fire while anchored at Phuket marina | Thaiger

    Boat catches fire while anchored at Phuket marina

    Earlier this morning, a tour boat moored at a pier in Phuket caught fire causing damages but no injuries or deaths. The incident took place at about 7.30am in the Muang district. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew reported that no one was on board the ship at the time of the fire, so there were no injuries or fatalities, but the…

  • Not holding water – Phuket authorities blameless for floods | Thaiger

    Not holding water – Phuket authorities blameless for floods

    Phuket authorities, blameless for this year’s floods, have decided that the sale of government land was behind the recent inundations and landslides on the island. During a disaster mitigation forum at Phuket Rajabhat University, authorities were able to demonstrate their innocence again and again. The new owners of former government land built an unauthorised dam, completely contrary to the purpose…

  • Cambodian assault victim – ex-wife of Australian boss denies involvement | Thaiger

    Cambodian assault victim – ex-wife of Australian boss denies involvement

    The ex-wife of an Australian man whose Cambodian employee was assaulted by two Polish men last month has been forced to deny any involvement in the shocking crime. Katanyuta Oche, 49 years old, of Nakhon Ratchasima, told reporters that she heard in media reports that she was accused of involvement in the case in Pattaya. Katanyuta denied knowing the Polish…

  • Dead passenger on Bangkok-bound flight had Covid | Thaiger

    Dead passenger on Bangkok-bound flight had Covid

    Passengers on a flight to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport discovered that the only thing more unpleasant than an unruly passenger is a dead one. A 71 year old Thai man died mid-flight as an aircraft travelled from Saudi Arabia to Bangkok’s main airport. Testing showed the man was infected with Covid-19 at the time of his death. Little information has been released…

  • Fine Dining with a Phuket View | Amari Phuket | Thaiger

    Fine Dining with a Phuket View | Amari Phuket

    https://youtu.be/qAP2-loBVpE Join Natty Warisa and Jay for a 5 Star Fine DIning Foodie Journey, as they take you to some of their favorite dining spots in Phuket, Thailand. In this episode, they will be highlighting the must have Phuketian foods at Rim Talay Restaurant, Amari Phuket’s beach side restaurant where you can watch the island slowly awaken with color over…

  • Pattaya Walking Street cannabis sellers need, but cannot get, licenses | Thaiger

    Pattaya Walking Street cannabis sellers need, but cannot get, licenses

    In the battle to regulate cannabis after its decriminalisation, street stalls in Pattaya may be the next to fall. Police are warning market and street vendors that they cannot sell cannabis products without a license. The catch is, licenses can only be obtained for businesses with a legal address, which pop-up stalls do not have. Last night, The Pattaya News…

  • An Azur Air flight circles Phuket for hours, then aborts | Thaiger

    An Azur Air flight circles Phuket for hours, then aborts

    An Azur Air flight intended for Russia never made and no one is saying why. The flight took off toward Novosibirsk after a five-hour delay but never made it past the Andaman Sea. It circled for hours and ended up back in Phuket leaving about 200 passengers stranded. Azur Air flight ZF3750 was supposed to depart at 3.50pm yesterday toward…

  • Lost baby elephant recovering from multiple injuries | Thaiger

    Lost baby elephant recovering from multiple injuries

    After being stranded alone in the jungle, a baby elephant is recovering from multiple injuries in the central province of Suphan Buri. The Bueng Chawak Wildlife Management Centre took in an elephant that is less than two months old. Her name is Nong Thanwa and she was found alone in the jungle and injured. The complex transportation to the centre…

  • UPDATE: Polish men identified after assaulting Cambodian woman | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Polish men identified after assaulting Cambodian woman

    Police in Pattaya have now issued arrest warrants for two Polish men that have been identified in a brutal attack on a young Cambodian woman. She was violently attacked and tortured in Chon Buri province in eastern Thailand. The young woman says she was tricked by Polish men who said they wanted to pay her to draw something. She says…

  • Canadian hitman in Phuket killing moves closer to extradition | Thaiger

    Canadian hitman in Phuket killing moves closer to extradition

    The Canadian hitman accused of killing a Vancouver gangster in Phuket is one step closer to extradition after a ruling from an Alberta judge. Matthew Dupre was committed to extradition Friday, to be surrendered to Thailand to be tried for his involvement in the death of Jimi Singh Sandhu. Dupre was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan…

  • The Ultimate Thrill & Chill, Day & Night Place in Phuket | Blue Tree Phuket | Thaiger

    The Ultimate Thrill & Chill, Day & Night Place in Phuket | Blue Tree Phuket

    Join Natty Warisa and Jay in the ultimate thrill and chill, day and night venue in Phuket, the Blue Tree Phuket. Originally known for its fun filled activities, which include cliff jumping, ziplining, wakeboarding, paddle boarding and is home to Thailand’s longest slider, the iconic Super Fly,Blue Tree Phuket has now evolved to becoming one of the best entertainment hubs…

  • Dancing to the rhythm of her own beat ft. Sophie Indracusin | Thaiger Podcast EP.15 | Thaiger

    Dancing to the rhythm of her own beat ft. Sophie Indracusin | Thaiger Podcast EP.15

    https://youtu.be/TrScnrYXytc Sophie Indracusin, a Thai-French actress, singer, and one of the most sought-after dancers and choreographers in Thailand. She’s been shining bright in the limelight since the age of 14 and has worked with various television shows and dramas for Channel 7 as main role characters. And at just 24, Sophie founded her own dancing company, Rhythmique Dance Camp, where…

  • VIDEO: Thieves mess with the wrong gold shop owner in northern Thailand | Thaiger

    VIDEO: Thieves mess with the wrong gold shop owner in northern Thailand

    Four thieves attempted to rob a gold shop at gunpoint yesterday in the Mueang district of Tak province in northern Thailand. Turns out the gold shop owner is a shooting competition champion. At 12.55pm, a gang of thieves shot through Yaowarat gold shop’s glass shopfront and let themselves in. As one of the robbers tried to cut through the steel…

  • Transport officials expect tens of thousands of bus travellers in Thailand during three-day weekend. | Thaiger

    Transport officials expect tens of thousands of bus travellers in Thailand during three-day weekend.

    Transport officials expect tens of thousands of domestic bus travellers in Thailand during the three-day weekend from December 10-12. The managing director of the state-run Transport Co Ltd., Sanyalak Panwattanalikhit, said the company has about 3,000 trips to facilitate during these days. Sanyalak said that over 227,386 people travelled during the last long weekend from December 2-5, for Thai Father’s Day.…

  • Chinese tourist found dead in Phuket | Thaiger

    Chinese tourist found dead in Phuket

    A Chinese tourist has been found dead in Phuket yesterday. The 46 year old woman was found hanging from a durian tree in the Sakhu district, The Phuket News reported. A local woman, 60 year old Churaiwan Lengyi, told police she found the Chinese woman’s body when she went out to check if her laundry had dried. She alerted a…

  • Officials say no to floating lanterns and fireworks on Patong Beach | Thaiger

    Officials say no to floating lanterns and fireworks on Patong Beach

    Officials aren’t liking floating lanterns and fireworks on Patong Beach. On Wednesday night, officials were alerted that vendors were welling these items on the beach, according to Kathu District Chief Siwat Rawangkul. A team led by Siwat then inspected the beach to crack down on people selling and using the items. The team then found stashes of lanterns and fireworks…

  • Teen protestor claims police harassment | Thaiger

    Teen protestor claims police harassment

    A child protestor aged only 13 is claiming he was followed and harassed by police after a protest at Sanam Luang – Democracy Monument – on Fathers’ Day earlier this week. “Oia” (pseudonym) said that on Monday he tried to stage a protest calling for the repeal of the royal defamation law during an event commemorating the birthday of the…

  • Eight celebrities to join Japanese tycoon in space venture around the moon | Thaiger

    Eight celebrities to join Japanese tycoon in space venture around the moon

    Eight celebrities have been chosen to join eccentric Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa next year on an ambitious plan to fly around the moon. Maezawa announced on Twitter today that he will be accompanied by an unorthodox crew of DJ and producer Steve Aoki of the United States, US YouTuber Tim Dodd, Czech artist Yemi AD, Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam, British…

  • In northeast Thailand, a pretty camping site is being offered for free | Thaiger

    In northeast Thailand, a pretty camping site is being offered for free

    In Thailand’s northeast Nakhon Ratchasima province, the Department of Rural Roads is letting tourists stay at a pretty camping site for free. The site is located between markers Km18 and Km19 on Rural Road 3052 of Wang Nam Khiao district. It overlooks the Baan San Kamphaeng Reservoir. There is a lane along the reservoir where people can walk, jog, and…