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.

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    Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run

    Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...

  • Woman allegedly steals winning lottery ticket from friend

    Woman allegedly steals winning lottery ticket from friend

    The wife who ran off with her lover and 6 million baht lottery winnings belonging to her husband is not the only lottery ticket scandal in Thailand. A lottery winner in the central province of Chachoengsao filed a complaint against her friend saying she stole her 20,000 baht prize-winning lottery ticket. The lottery winner, 54 year old Paradee Chanwat, told…

  • Thailand’s Board of Investment unveils transformation plans

    Thailand’s Board of Investment unveils transformation plans

    Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) has come up with new ways to attract more investment into Thailand. The board’s target is an easy-to-swallow group of companies dubbed “smart and sustainable” according to Bangkok Post. The government’s effort to create a “new” economy in Thailand is focused, like almost every other Asian nation, on buzzwords. The board’s chosen buzzwords are “innovation”…

  • Driving licence point deductions starting next year in Thailand

    Driving licence point deductions starting next year in Thailand

    Driving licence point deductions will start next year in Thailand to help curb traffic violations and dangerous driving. Starting January 9, 2023, the Royal Thai Police and Land Transport Department will enforce the demerit point system. Each driving license holder will be given 12 points to start with but will be deducted for each violation they are caught committing. The…

  • Big Joke seizes Tuhao’s private jet in Hua Hin

    Big Joke seizes Tuhao’s private jet in Hua Hin

    A private jet is the latest addition to the Thai police’s shiny collection of assets seized from Tuhao the notorious Chinese gangster. Thai police – led by Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn – seized Tuhao’s private jet at Bo Fai Airport in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan province, western Thailand, yesterday. Police found that the “HS-HAO” plane was owned by Modern…

  • South Korea increases quota of Thai workers next year

    South Korea increases quota of Thai workers next year

    South Korea is increasing its quota of Thai workers next year from 2,500 to 15,000, but there’s a catch. Thais interested in filling the positions must learn Korean and pass a language test. Prime Minister Office spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisiri reported today that the Thai Labour Minister, Suchart Chomklon, discussed the quota of Thai workers in South Korea with the Korean…

  • Teen girl’s ID card request denied as she doesn’t look like her mother

    Teen girl’s ID card request denied as she doesn’t look like her mother

    Officials in the Nong Hong district office of the Isaan province of Buriram rejected a 14 year old girl’s request for a Thai ID card because they said she does not look like her mother. The teenager’s disillusioned mother asked why it was a lot easier for foreigners running entertainment venues to claim their ID cards than people from Thailand.…

  • Body of missing woman found tied to water pump in western Thailand

    Body of missing woman found tied to water pump in western Thailand

    Police launched a murder investigation after finding the body of a missing woman tied to a water pump inside a lake in Prachuap Khiri Khan province in western Thailand. Last night, police found the body of a woman estimated to be around 30 years old submerged in a lake in Moo 4, Ang Thong subdistrict, Thap Sakae district. Her body…

  • Chinese gangs in Thailand take another hit as “Tony” falls

    Chinese gangs in Thailand take another hit as “Tony” falls

    Chinese gangs in Thailand are in more trouble as police arrested another suspected gang boss in Bangkok Wednesday. Teams of police raided 34 locations in eight provinces, at the behest of deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn. Big Joke, as Surachate is playfully known, said that in Samut Prakan, a company was identified as owning a private aircraft…

  • Thai-Italian Business Summit highlights the importance of a shared vision

    Thai-Italian Business Summit highlights the importance of a shared vision

    The Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce (TICC) held the “Thai-Italian Business Summit” on November 29 at the Four Seasons Chao Phraya Hotel. The event was attended by over 200 attendees who were welcomed by TICC President Federico Cardini, who highlighted the importance of cooperation in promoting Italy in Thailand. The opening address was followed by the speech of HE Paolo Dionisi,…

  • Percentage of HIV infections rising among young Thais

    Percentage of HIV infections rising among young Thais

    In a worrying new trend, the percentage of AIDS infections has been rising among young Thais. According to the director of the Disease Control Department’s Division of AIDS, nearly two-thirds of new HIV infections are in young people. The director, Dr Cheewanan Lertpiriyasuwat, said this was much higher than the global average of around 30%. One HIV/AIDS prevention organisation, M…

  • TAT launches luxury travel package to Thailand for rich South Korean tourists

    TAT launches luxury travel package to Thailand for rich South Korean tourists

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) launched a travel package called ‘Amazing New Chapters: Discover Luxperience in Thailand’ aimed at high-end South Korean travellers. The deal combines business class tickets to Bangkok on Asiana Airlines and a stay at the five-star Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, which costs around 12,000 baht per night. The TAT hopes to make Thailand a desirable…

  • Unexploded MK-82 bomb found in Songkhla forest

    Unexploded MK-82 bomb found in Songkhla forest

    Rangers found an unexploded MK-82 bomb in the forest of Ton Nga Chang Wildlife Sanctuary in the southern province of Songkhla. The authorities believe the bomb was left over from the Communist insurgency in Thailand over 40 years ago. The Communist insurgency in Thailand was a guerilla war lasting from 1965 until 1983, fought mainly between the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) and…

  • Planning a small conference? Try Thailand’s super-luxury villas

    Planning a small conference? Try Thailand’s super-luxury villas

    If you are planning an international get-together, or a training conference for local staff, why waste your time and money on a decaying Bangkok hotel meeting room with ugly furniture, toxic air conditioning and a buffet prepared by the kitchen intern? Try a super-luxury villa. Thailand is home to some of the most spectacular meeting spots in the world. And…

  • 50 crypto mines raided for stealing Thai electricity

    50 crypto mines raided for stealing Thai electricity

    The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) raided about 50 crypto mines in Bangkok and Nonthaburi province yesterday for stealing electricity amounting to 325 million baht per year. The cybercrime department of the DSI, under the codename Electrical Shock, investigated 40 buildings in Bangkok, and Nonthaburi that they suspected of illegally using electricity without an electric digital multimeter. Officers raided one…

  • Man armed with a pen gun arrested at seminar visited by PM Prayut

    Man armed with a pen gun arrested at seminar visited by PM Prayut

    The Thai Air Force bomb squad quickly dealt with a potential threat to the life of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha when an abusive man with a pen gun turned up at a seminar the PM was addressing. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOC) arrested the armed man yesterday at the seminar in the northern province of Chiang Rai. PM Prayut joined…

  • ‘Pinky’ the alleged Forex 3D scammer released on bail after 3 months behind bars

    ‘Pinky’ the alleged Forex 3D scammer released on bail after 3 months behind bars

    UPDATE Savika “Pinky” Chaiyadej was released on bail for 5 million baht yesterday after being detained for over three months inside Central Women’s Correctional Institution in Bangkok. Thailand’s Criminal Court granted bail to Pinky on the condition that she does not leave the country, must inform the court within seven days if she changes her address, and must report to…

  • Tuhao’s Chinese gang buys 50 homes in Bangkok luxury village with cash

    Tuhao’s Chinese gang buys 50 homes in Bangkok luxury village with cash

    Tuhao the alleged Chinese drug tycoon and his gang of “businessmen” bought 50 houses in a luxury village in Bangkok – with cash, police say. The gangs’ constant partying drove all 16 remaining Thai households out of the village. Bangkok South Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant to search an entire village in Bangkok’s Soi Laselle area after finding evidence…

  • Intoxicated Pattaya woman left uninjured after overturning car

    Intoxicated Pattaya woman left uninjured after overturning car

    An intoxicated Pattaya woman escaped injury after overturning her car in the early hours of this morning. The woman, Nantakan Surinthorn, remarkably walked away from the vehicle with little more than a few minor scrapes and bruises after she crashed her car into a parked truck, before overturning it. The 26 year old bar owner admitted to Pattaya police that…

  • Police put brakes on car rental thief in Bangkok

    Police put brakes on car rental thief in Bangkok

    A car rental thief was arrested in Bangkok today after twocking more than 100 motors from car rental shops throughout several provinces of southern Thailand. Members of the Haad Yai Airport Car Rental Business Association in the southern province of Songkhla, and car rental shops in Pattalung, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Krabi, Phuket, Yala, and Narathiwat filed complaints with police that…

  • Driver furious with Bangkok shopping mall after foreigner accidently causes damage to her car

    Driver furious with Bangkok shopping mall after foreigner accidently causes damage to her car

    A foreign man accidentally damaged a car after he tripped on the pavement in front of a Bangkok shopping mall, pulling a large, heavy advertising board onto the vehicle. The car owner thanked the foreign man for paying for the damage to the car but she condemned the shopping mall because she believed they should cough up. Premvadee Bunchatherawate shared…

  • Parents seek justice after 4 year old child dies after mysterious fall at school

    Parents seek justice after 4 year old child dies after mysterious fall at school

    The parents of a four year old kindergarten student are seeking justice following the death of their child who died in a mysterious accident at a private school in Bangkok. The teacher said the child fell in the classroom but the mother believes her child might have been abused by the teacher. Well-known Thai lawyer Ronnarong Kaewphet posted on Facebook yesterday,…

  • Violent criminals in Thailand to be tagged for 10 years after release to protect women

    Violent criminals in Thailand to be tagged for 10 years after release to protect women

    Soon, criminals put away for violent crimes against women in Thailand will have to wear an electric monitoring (EM) ankle bracelet for up to 10 years after their release. The new law – Measures for the Prevention of Repeat Offenses in Sexual or Violent Crimes Act – aims to reduce the chance of reoffending, prevent violence against women and make…

  • Chiang Mai farmers ordered not to move pigs to prevent African Swine Fever spread

    Chiang Mai farmers ordered not to move pigs to prevent African Swine Fever spread

    Livestock officials ordered farmers in a district of Chiang Mai to not move their pigs off farms. This measure in the Doi Saket district is meant to prevent the possible spread of African Swine Fever (ASF). The order comes after a pig in the district died on November 21. Livestock officials visited the farm to test another pig that was…

  • Truck overturns carrying 2,560 crates of beer in central Thailand

    Truck overturns carrying 2,560 crates of beer in central Thailand

    A beer delivery truck overturned on the Rangsit – Pathum Thani Road in central Thailand last night, strewing 30 tonnes of booze across the busy road. A forklift was needed to clear up the mounds of bottles and broken glass. Around 61,440 small bottles of a leopard-themed beer, which shall not be named due to Thailand’s archaic and strictly enforced…

  • Qatar officials insist camel beauty contestants are cosmetic surgery free

    Qatar officials insist camel beauty contestants are cosmetic surgery free

    The FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar is not the only prestigious competition taking place in the Arab state. Camels from several Gulf states are strutting their stuff on the catwalk at the Qatar Camel Mzayen Club beauty contest in Ash-Shahaniyah. But tournament officials in Ash-Shahaniyah, Qatar, are on the alert over alleged cheating after a similar competition in Saudi Arabia last…

  • Stock market share trades to be taxed in Thailand after being exempt for past 30 years

    Stock market share trades to be taxed in Thailand after being exempt for past 30 years

    After being exempt for the past 30 years, the Thai cabinet has decided to make stock market share trades taxable. According to Thai PBS World, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith says that now all stocks that are traded on the market, whether at a profit or loss, will be subject to a financial transaction tax of .1%. He furthered that the…

  • CBD nutraceuticals market emerging in Thailand and globally

    CBD nutraceuticals market emerging in Thailand and globally

    Press Release Thailand’s legalization of cannabis makes it the region’s leader and a pioneer for cannabis liberalization. According to the latest figures from Prohibition Partners’ recently released Asian Cannabis Report: 2nd Edition, medical and non-medical cannabis sales in Asia could skyrocket to more than 10 times their current size by 2026 to an estimated $140 million. Thailand is well-poised to strengthen its cannabis…

  • Police seize 400 million baht in assets from shady group of Chinese businessmen

    Police seize 400 million baht in assets from shady group of Chinese businessmen

    Bangkok police reportedly seized 400 million baht in assets from a group of Chinese businessmen who are allegedly involved in shady dealings. Thai police say they impounded three luxury homes, a penthouse and 10 luxury cars yesterday. According to Thai PBS World, the assets were seized in Soi La Salle in Bangkok’s Bang Na area, after police discovered they were…

  • Angry Thai man condemns foreigner for not wearing a mask on BTS

    Angry Thai man condemns foreigner for not wearing a mask on BTS

    An angry Thai man, claiming to be a police officer, gave a foreign man a mouthful of abuse for not wearing a mask on the BTS Skytrain in Bangkok. The irate man blamed the unflustered foreigner for bringing Covid-19 into the country. The angry exchange was recorded and uploaded to the Twitter account @kinnifers. The video was recorded by a…

  • Thai man commits suicide due to mass govt corruption

    Thai man commits suicide due to mass govt corruption

    A young engineer tormented by government corruption committed suicide in the Isaan province of Nong Bua Lamphu. The 27 year old man, who worked as an engineer for a local government office in Nong Bua Lamphu left a suicide note saying that he could not take any more corruption in the organization. The body of the engineer, Phanumate Wasasoha, was…