Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
-
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...
-
British man accused of setting fire to hotel in Chiang Mai
A British man last night was accused of starting a fire at The Y Smart Hotel in Chiang Mai after having a heated argument with a receptionist. Fortunately, six Thai and foreign guests were rescued from the building unharmed. The fire broke out at 12.10am at The Y Smart Hotel on Kaeo Nawarat Soi 5 Road in the Wat Kate…
-
American man tragically drowns at Krabi island cave
Another drowning has struck one of Thailand‘s vacation paradises. An American man tragically drowned in a cave near the island of Koh Phi Phi Leh in Thailand’s Krabi province. The 51 year old tourist drowned in front of the Viking Cave in a coral diving area on Tuesday, The Phuket Express reported last night. A tour guide, whose identity was withheld,…
-
Thai net idol and air force student found dead in Bangkok condo
The bodies of a Thai net idol known as “Gigi” and a Thai air force student were found inside a condo room in Bangkok, Thailand, this afternoon. Both were shot in the head, according to the police. Lt. Gen. Thiti Saeng said that a friend of the deceased called officers from Makkasan Police Station to Gie’s condo room at the…
-
Opposition builds to the magic of Khaosan 420 on World Cannabis Day
In celebration of World Cannabis Day on April 20, an event called Khaosan 420 is scheduled to take place on Khao San Road and Ram Buttri Road in Bangkok. The event intends to bring together cannabis users to smoke ganja together. However, Thai netizens and the Bhum Jai Thai Party have expressed their opposition to the event and are urging…
-
Thavisin’s strategy: Replace conscription for economic growth
Conscription should be replaced with voluntary enlistment to provide economic benefits, according to Srettha Thavisin, prime ministerial candidate for the Pheu Thai Party. Thavisin expressed his disappointment with a particular politician’s staunch support for maintaining conscription in the name of national defence and patriotism. He asserted that compulsory military service is harmful to the economy, as it diverts skilled professionals…
-
Teen thieves arrested after brutal petrol station robbery in Pathum Thani
Police arrested two teenage thieves after they stabbed a petrol station attendant and stole 3,840 baht from him in the central province of Pathum Thani on Friday. The incident occurred at a PT Petrol Station on Khlong Jet Thanyaburi-Wang Noi Road in the Khlong Luang district of Nonthaburi on Friday, April 14 at 1.18am. Security camera footage showed the two…
-
Prayut: Conscripted soldiers can benefit from opportunities
Caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who also holds the position of defence minister, has emphasised his commitment to offering army conscripts chances for educational, occupational, and character development, in order to become contributing members of society. Sharing his thoughts with the press following a Cabinet gathering yesterday, PM Prayut expressed satisfaction upon discovering that certain areas of the military had…
-
Pheu Thai Party candidate rejects collaboration with coup leaders
Paetongtarn “Ung Ing” Shinawatra, a Pheu Thai Party prime ministerial candidate, stated that the party has no intention of collaborating with those involved in the two previous coups. Paetongtarn, the youngest daughter of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, outlined the party’s election campaign strategy along with other key members during a press conference. When questioned about her dip in…
-
Frenchman accused of lese majeste in Thailand
A pro-royalist group in Bangkok, Thailand, filed a lese majeste case against a well-known French critic of the Thai monarchy yesterday, reports SiamRath. The Centre for People Protecting the Thai Monarchy alleges that Yan Marchal posted a 41-second-long clip on social media of him and some Thais singing a song containing lyrics that the group says are defamatory of the…
-
Thai EC members travel to Africa for May 14 election prep
The Election Commission (EC) stated that it was essential for all of its members to travel overseas during the Songkran holiday period in order to organise advance voting for the May 14 election, particularly in the three African countries where a significant number of Thai residents now live. Following his return from visits to South Africa, Kenya, and Morocco, EC…
-
Woman survives kidnapping near her house in Bangkok
A Thai woman survived a kidnapping near her house in the Tao Poon neighbourhood of Bangkok on Sunday. Police officers managed to arrest the suspect, although his motive was not reported. The victim took to social media to warn people of the unexpected incident, sharing a video on TikTok. The suspect is seen in the video pulling her hand and…
-
Python hiding in toilet bites Thai man’s buttocks
A man from Nonthaburi in central Thailand was taking a Number 2 in his bathroom yesterday when he felt a sudden agonising pain in his tushy. He leapt up to see a python slithering back down the toilet bowl. The snake bit his buttocks. The victim, 62 year old Witoon Sonapoon, said he was so shocked that he ran out…
-
Thai govt postpones tourism tax due to airlines’ complaints
The Thai government has announced the postponement of the planned 300-baht (US$9) tourism tax from June to September due to complaints from airlines. The fee was proposed to help the Thai tourism sector recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, with a 150 baht sum for overland visitors and a 300-baht fee for airline passengers. However, airlines raised concerns about the implementation…
-
Where to get the finest cannabis in Phuket
Seeking a taste of the vibrant cannabis culture in Phuket? Following the decriminalization of weed in Thailand, cannabis dispensaries have popped up all over the nation, and Phuket is no exception. While you could just waltz into any old cannabis store and buy weed in Phuket, not all of them offer high-quality products. But don’t worry because we’ve got the…
-
Thai woman arrested for forging New Zealand ambassador’s credit card 14 years ago
After 14 years on the run, a woman was arrested in Sing Buri province in central Thailand yesterday for her alleged role in the forging of the New Zealand ambassador to Thailand’s credit card in 2008, with damages exceeding 10 million baht. Police arrested 44 year old Ketkanya Khantawee at a house in Moo 10, Don Phot subdistrict, Mueang district,…
-
Thailand’s beloved giant panda at Chiang Mai Zoo dies at 21 years old
Famous female giant panda Lin Hui passed away at Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand this morning at the age of 21 years old. The beloved panda brought joy to the Thai nation for over two decades. The panda’s cause of death is awaiting confirmation from Chiang Mai Zoo. Reports say that Lin Hui fell ill and displayed “abnormal symptoms”…
-
PM Prayut vows to unearth new sources of alternative energy, lower summer bills
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has announced that the government is intensifying its efforts to discover new sources of alternative energy in response to complaints about rising electricity bills during the summer months. His statement comes in reaction to social media outrage and calls for the government to take further steps to reduce people’s energy expenses. He said… “It is crucial…
-
Thailand’s DDPM reveals total traffic accident results of ‘Seven Deadly Days’
Thai officials have now revealed the results of traffic accidents from April 11 to 17. This period is known as the “Seven Deadly Days” of the Songkran Festival. Data from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) revealed that there were 2,203 road accidents, 2,208 injuries, and 264 deaths during this period. On April 17, the last day of…
-
Security guard finds dead body of a motorcyclist at MEA Office Entrance in Bangkok
A security guard on Monday found the dead body of a motorcyclist at the entrance of the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) office in Bangkok’s Bang Na neighbourhood. It is suspected that the body had been there for three days during the Songkran Festival. On Monday, April 17, the first working day after the Songkran Holiday, a security guard detected an…
-
Thai man drags girlfriend 1 kilometre down road in motorcycle attack
A Thai man attacked his girlfriend at a restaurant before dragging her 1 kilometre down a road while riding a motorcycle in the central province of Pitsanuloak. The victim’s mother, 56 year old Kingkarn, spoke to KhaoSod about the incident yesterday. Kingkarn revealed that the attack took place on Friday, April 14 while her daughter, 33 year old Nanthiya “Hong” Atchayutpokin,…
-
Thai man saves girlfriend from ex’s acid attack, suffers severe injury
A Thai man suffered a severe injury after he bravely protected his girlfriend from an acid attack carried out by her ex-boyfriend. The incident happened at the victim’s house in the Si Maha Pho district in the central province of Prachin Buri at midnight, on April 17. The female victim, Roongrat Towong, recounted that she heard a knock on her…
-
Castaway farang rescued from Thailand’s waters (video)
In a TikTok clip that looks like a sequel to the movie Castaway, a group of Thai tourists on a fishing trip found a foreigner floating on a makeshift wooden raft in the middle of the sea off the coast of Koh Kood in Trat province, southern Thailand, yesterday. The woman who filmed the clip chartered a boat to go…
-
Kidnapper claims he abducted Chinese man to help Thai nation
UPDATE One of six suspects accused of kidnapping a Chinese man for a ransom of nearly 4 million baht in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday says his motive behind the crime was “to help the nation” since the victim is a wanted Chinese criminal. He said the victim’s ex-girlfriend had nothing to do with the kidnapping. At 12.30pm today, police detained…
-
Man murders ex-girlfriend, friend plays dead to survive in Pattaya
A man murdered his ex-girlfriend in front of Mantra Pura Resort in Pattaya in the early hours of this morning. The victim’s friend pretended to be dead to save her own life. Officers from Mueang Pattaya Police Station and a rescue team were informed of the shooting incident and rushed to the resort at 4.30am. Upon reaching the site, officers…
-
Kanchanaburi Songkran Festival tragedy: 1 dead, 1 injured in shooting
Police arrested two gunmen following a shooting at a Songkran Festival celebration in the central province of Kanchanaburi on April 17. The incident resulted in the death of an 18 year old man and injury to a 17 year old man. The shooting broke out while many people were splashing water on the road near the War Cemetery in Kanchanaburi…
-
Daring heist as Thai man steals four necklaces from gold shop
Local police reported that a man, posing as a customer, entered a gold shop located in a department store in the Bang Sao Thong district. The man showed interest in multiple necklaces before stealing four of them in a daring heist. The stolen necklaces have an estimated value of around 230,000 baht. Security camera footage revealed a man aged between…
-
Security guard stomps on American tourist’s head in Phuket (video)
An American tourist is seeking justice after being stomped on by a security guard at a pub in Phuket, southern Thailand, at 4am on April 9. The injured tourist decided to take the case to Thai media after the police failed to take action more than a week after he reported the crime. Police deny delaying the investigation and say…
-
Chartpattanakla Party reveals bold economic development plan for northeast Thailand
The Chartpattanakla Party recently unveiled an economic development policy aimed at boosting the economy and fostering growth in Nakhon Ratchasima and the northeastern region of Thailand. Tewan Liptapanlop, the party’s secretary-general and an MP candidate for Nakhon Ratchasima’s Constituency 1, stated that the policy, dubbed “Korat-nomics,” would assist in transforming the region into a new economic corridor. Liptapanlop emphasised that…
-
PPRP pledges to boost economy with soft power promotion in upcoming General Election
The Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) has pledged to enhance the promotion of soft power as a key driver of the economy if the party is victorious in the upcoming General Election. Charnkrit Dejwithak, a spokesperson for the party’s election strategy committee, highlighted the significance of a soft power development policy through the example of the Songkran Festival, which draws numerous…
-
Kenyan woman arrested for smuggling cocaine into Thailand
The Airport Interdiction Task Force (AITF) apprehended a Kenyan woman at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sunday for smuggling cocaine into Thailand. The Secretary of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Wichai Chaimongkon, disclosed details of the drug bust in a press conference yesterday. The AITF officers discovered 1,250 grammes of cocaine hidden in the luggage of the 45 year…
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.