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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Sponsored 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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Grandparents kidnap 3 year old boy from his parents
A married couple filed a complaint with the police after their son’s grandparents kidnapped him. The 3 year old boy’s mother, Kuntika, wants to take her son home after witnessing a dramatic change in his behaviour. The parents noticed the boy is displaying unruly, attention-seeking behaviour, and self-harming, and has lost his appetite since moving in with his grandparents. Pakasit,…
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Govt to introduce 300 baht tourist fee in June
The government announced plans to introduce its long-mooted 300 baht tourist fee for foreign visitors in June. The tourism fee was originally planned to be imposed on foreign travellers at the beginning of last year but the idea was put on hold after the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant and details of how the government planned to collect the…
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Thais pay respect to albino buffalo sculpture toppled by drunken Englishman
The atmosphere is sombre outside Samyan Mitrtown in Bangkok where buffalo enthusiasts and art lovers laid bouquets of flowers to pay their respects to the toppled albino buffalo sculpture which was ruined by a drunk English tourist who attempted to mount it on the weekend. “Kwai: Calm” (buffalo: calm) the fibreglass albino buffalo remains in a sorry state on its…
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Discover the legends of Thailand’s spooky ghosts
Ghosts have been a part of folklore and mythology for centuries, and Southeast Asia is no exception. In Thailand, a variety of supernatural beings are believed to exist, from mischievous pranksters to vengeful spirits. Among them are Phi Kong Khao, Krasue, Phi Pop, Phi Ta Khon, and Phi Nang Mai. Each one is unique in appearance and behaviour, with its…
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Thailand to track cannabis users in government database
Thai nationals will soon be required to show their ID cards when purchasing cannabis flowers. The ID and sales information will be entered into a government database, according to the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM). Registered vendors will be required to insert the buyers’ ID into a “device” linked with the government system and input information regarding…
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Bentley driver cleared of being drunk at the wheel in three-car smash
The blood alcohol test of the Bentley driver, who caused a three-car collision last Sunday, reveals he was not drunk at the time of the pile-up. But, the investigating officer from Expressway Police Station 1 has been criticised for not making the driver take a breathalyser test immediately after the incident. Suthat Siwapiromrat crashed his grey Bentley sedan into a…
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Pattaya dwellers not happy with homeless living in abandoned building
Pattaya dwellers aren’t too thrilled about homeless people living in an abandoned building in the city. On Monday, local media reported that a group of homeless people were camping at an abandoned building on South Pattaya Road in the Nongprue sub-district of Bang Lamung district. The building was home to a former convenience store that lost business during the Covid-19…
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Woman injured by falling traffic sign on a Pattaya road
A backhoe digger accidentally pulled down some electric wires and a traffic sign, knocking a woman off her motorcycle while she was riding past the spot, on Jomtien Beach Road in Pattaya. The incident happened yesterday, January 10, in front of Soi Jomtien 12 on Jomtien Beach Road in the Bang Lamung district of Pattaya. A 46 year old woman…
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Cabinet announces change to holiday calendar
The government yesterday announced a change to the Thai holiday calendar. Government spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul revealed the Cabinet has declared Friday, May 5, a special holiday, making it a four-day holiday for Coronation Day. The Cabinet agreed to change the date because this year’s Coronation Day falls on a Thursday, reported Bangkok Post. “The long holiday for Coronation Day will…
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Ghosts in Thailand: some eerie sites to explore
Thailand is known for its beautiful beaches, delicious food, and rich culture, but it also has a dark side. Thai culture has long believed in ghosts, some good, some bad. A large percentage of people in modern life are still afraid of ghosts in Thailand and as such, the country has some infamously haunted and eerie places. Here are a…
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Thai police seize 30 kilograms of heroin bound for Hong Kong hidden in puppy pads
Thai authorities seized a sizeable 30 kilograms of heroin yesterday in Samut Prakan province, just north of Bangkok, believed to be headed to Hong Kong. Police arrested a Hong Konger and a Thai national during the raid. Officers from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) raided a house in the Kanchanaphisek 39 area of Samut Prakan to find…
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Curriculum options available at international schools in Thailand
International schools in Thailand offer a wide range of educational curriculums, each designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in their future studies or career paths. These curriculums include the International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), and American, British, and French curriculums. Each curriculum has its own strengths and focuses, such as the development…
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Daily direct flights between Phuket and Shanghai to takeoff next week
Daily flights between Phuket in southern Thailand and Shanghai in China will takeoff next Wednesday, January 18, operated by Shanghai’s Juneyao Airlines. The inaugural flight will be the first direct service between Phuket and mainland China in almost three years. China reopened its borders yesterday, and given that China was once Thailand’s top tourism market, Thailand braced itself for an…
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2 Thai women attacked by foreign mafia in Koh Samui
A Thai woman sought help from the Thai media after she and her mother were attacked by some foreigners who claimed to be part of a mafia gang at a bar in Koh Samui on New Year’s Eve. The woman turned to the media because the police ignored her case. The local Facebook page Samui Fresh News posted a video…
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Over 500 drivers in Thailand have traffic points deducted on first day of new system
Thailand’s new driving penalty point system proved to be a challenge for over 500 drivers on the first day of its implementation. The new system came into effect yesterday, and 540 drivers in the country had points deducted. According to the spokesperson of the Royal Thai Police Major General, Archayon Kraithong, the top three offences that got points deducted were:…
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Police on the prowl for scam gang after Thai teen commits suicide
Police are on the prowl for a scamming gang after a teenage boy committed suicide in Thailand’s central Nonthaburi province. The boy, 15 year old Arthit, hung himself in a wooded area in the Pakkret district on Sunday. Arthit left a note apologising to his mother for stealing up to 15,000 baht from her purse. Investigators later found that criminals…
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Immigration police arrest two Chinese fraudsters illegally living in Thailand
In two separate but similar cases, Immigration Police arrested two Chinese fraudsters posing as businessmen and illegally living in Thailand. Collectively, the pair scammed victims of over 2 billion baht. Case 1 Police arrested a 44 year old Chinese national named Changguan (pseudonym) who allegedly scammed hundreds of victims of over 1.4 billion baht by persuading them to invest in…
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Soapy king makes PM Prayut’s inauguration slippy
Former soapy king turned amateur super-sleuth Chuwit Kamolvisit tried to gatecrash Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s inauguration into United Thai Nation (UTN) Party yesterday. PM Prayut officially joined the UTN Party yesterday where he gave an impassioned speech on how he values the democratisation process, seemingly forgetting that he toppled the democratic process when seizing power in a 2014 army coup.…
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Chinese tourists trickling in after reopening
With a back and forth over Covid-19 restrictions, as China opens its doors for its citizens to travel outbound again, the wave of the coveted Chinese tourist demographic has been nothing more than a trickle. The first arrivals in three years on a direct flight from China to Thailand landed in Bangkok on January 8, with 200 enthusiastic travellers. After Covid…
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Two 10 year old schoolchildren killed after reckless sedan crashes into school bus
Two 10 year old schoolchildren were killed and another 19 were injured after a reckless sedan driver crashed into a school bus. The smash caused a collision between a school bus and a minibus on a road in the northern province of Phichit. The incident happened on the Phichit-Saklek Road in the Mueang district of Phichit at 5.30pm yesterday, January…
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What makes Amari Phuket a private tropical paradise?
Sponsored Phuket’s crystal clear waters, stunning beaches, and vibrant nightlife make it an unrivalled travel destination in Thailand. What’s more, the island is renowned for its stunning resorts, boasting luxurious amenities and spectacular views of the Andaman Sea. Amari Phuket, one of Phuket’s luxurious 5-star beach resorts, sets itself apart as a private paradise. But what differentiates it? Private yet…
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Thailand’s second-hand car sales industry predicted to rise modestly
The Association of Used Car (AUC) predicts the second-hand car market in Thailand will increase by 15% this year despite the ongoing shortage of semiconductors needed for the production of new vehicles. The worldwide shortage of semiconductors is exacerbated by a political game of cat and mouse between China and Taiwan. Taiwan is largely known as the semiconductor capital of…
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Tourism Authority of Thailand plans first roadshow in China after pandemic
Now that China has lifted travel restrictions for its citizens, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is once again tapping into the Chinese tourism market. TAT is planning a roadshow in China during the third week of February. This will be the first roadshow after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to TAT’s Regional Director of East Asia Chuwit Sirivejkul. The roadshow…
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Thai island holds first Full Moon party of the year, draws 20,000 tourists
Thailand’s island of Koh Pha Ngan welcomed its first Full Moon party of the year on Friday night, drawing 20,000 tourists, according to Surat Thani’s vice governor. The party experienced a bit of rain, but after the rain cleared, tourists were able to have a blast dancing on the beach. Vice Governor Choosak Rooying told The Phuket Express that so…
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Charred corpse discovered in sugarcane field in Thailand
A sugarcane harvester found a charred human corpse in the middle of a sugarcane field in Suphan Buri province in central Thailand yesterday. Officers at U Thong Police Station were informed that a dead body was found at a sugarcane plantation in Chorakhe Samphan district and rushed to the scene to investigate with rescue workers. Officers found the body of…
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2 Russian men report money missing from safe in Pattaya hotel
Two Russian men filed complaints with the police after nearly 140,000 baht disappeared from safety boxes in a hotel in Pattaya. Investigating officers reported there is no traces of the thief because the hotel’s CCTV cameras were all broken. The two Russian men, Natalina Chernova and Oleg Gipke, filed a complaint at Mueng Pattaya Police Station on Saturday, January 7…
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Elephant brutally kills mahout in southern Thailand
An elephant went into a violent frenzy and killed its mahout (elephant trainer) in Phang Nga province in southern Thailand yesterday. Officials believe that Jojo the elephant turned on its owner because it was fed up with work. Jojo both trampled on his owner and stabbed him with his tusks numerous times, said rescue workers. Officers from Kapong Police Station…
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Fans boo Thai royal anthem at Blackpink concert
K-pop band Blackpink kicked off their world tour in Bangkok on Saturday to a chorus of boos. Thai media reported video clips released on social media shows fans booing as the Thai royal anthem played on stage as the words “Please pay your respects to His Majesty the King” appeared on the screen before the band took to the stage. Prachatai English…
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Foreign tourists rescued from sinking long-tail boat in southern Thailand (video)
A Thai tour guide’s long-tail boat carrying two foreign tourists sank in the waters of Krabi province in southern Thailand, on Saturday. Luckily, nearby boats and national park officials were able to rescue them just in time. The ship’s 43 year old captain, Prasit Sansamut, took two foreign tourists – their nationalities unspecified – out on a long-tail boat to…
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6 victims injured after Bentley crashes into two cars
A millionaire driver crashed his luxury Bentley car into an SUV and a fire rescue pickup on the Chalerm Maha Nakhon Expressway in Bangkok in the early hours of Sunday, which left six victims injured. The driver fled from the scene and refused to take an alcohol test. A 53 year old businessman, Suthat Siwapiromrat, crashed his grey Bentley sedan…
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