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.

  • Woman who tried to murder her aunty is hospitalised after hit-and-run incident | Thaiger

    Woman who tried to murder her aunty is hospitalised after hit-and-run incident

    A woman hospitalised after a hit-and-run incident was fleeing the scene of an alleged murder attempt, her victim claims. Netizens said was karma. The woman was hit by a car in the northern province of Nan only moments after she tried to kill her aunty to escape paying back a 1 million-baht debt. A witness startled the potential murderer while…

  • Experience luxury living in Laguna Phuket | Thaiger

    Experience luxury living in Laguna Phuket

    Laguna Phuket is a stunning area located on the west coast of Phuket, Thailand. It is an ideal destination for property buyers looking for a luxurious, tropical lifestyle. The area is renowned for its stunning beaches and lush, tropical rainforest. With a range of amenities and activities, Laguna Phuket provides an idyllic setting for those looking to purchase a property,…

  • Daughter jailed for 20 years after stealing 250 million baht from her mother | Thaiger

    Daughter jailed for 20 years after stealing 250 million baht from her mother

    Where there is family there is love, so the slogan says, but this may not be the case for one Bangkok family after a daughter fleeced her sick mother of over 250 million baht. Yesterday, Phra Khanong Criminal Court sentenced Mawadee Sriwirat to 20 years in prison for falsifying documents to steal more than 250 million baht from her mother,…

  • Rising winds, falling temperatures – the coolest new year in Thailand | Thaiger

    Rising winds, falling temperatures – the coolest new year in Thailand

    A strong cold front from China is presently occupying both northern Thailand and the south. This means that the new year holiday temperatures in the north and northeast regions are expected to fall by 2 – 4 degrees Celsius, and by 1 – 3 degrees in the rest of the country. Temperatures in the south will remain as they are.…

  • Russian driver kills motorcycle rider in Phuket | Thaiger

    Russian driver kills motorcycle rider in Phuket

    A Russian man crashed his rented black SUV into a motorcycle and killed a Thai motorcycle rider on road in Phuket on Wednesday. Officers from Chalong Police Station and the Phuket Ruam Jai Rescue Team were notified about the incident at the Chalong Intersection on Patak Road in the Chalong sub-district of Phuket at about 9.20pm, Wednesday, December 28. The…

  • Aeroflot to launch direct flights from Bangkok to Irkutsk | Thaiger

    Aeroflot to launch direct flights from Bangkok to Irkutsk

    Russian flag carrier Aeroflot is launching direct flights from Irkutsk in Russia to Bangkok, Thailand, starting January 18, 2023. A Boeing 737-800 will service the route which will run twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with a flight time of 6 hours and 25 minutes. Irkutsk, known as “Paris of Siberia,” is Russia’s 25th-largest city by population. It is the…

  • 110,000 traffic tickets issued to speeding drivers ahead of road safety campaign | Thaiger

    110,000 traffic tickets issued to speeding drivers ahead of road safety campaign

    The Highway Police Division revealed that 110,000 speeding tickets were issued ahead of Thailand’s seven-day road safety campaign. The Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Damronsak Kittiprapas, launched the road safety campaign named Seven-day Dangerous (7 วัน อันตราย) today, December 29. The campaign aims to reduce the number of road accidents during the traditional holiday season when many Thais will…

  • A forgetful husband tests marriage after accidently abandoning his wife on a road trip after taking a quick leak | Thaiger

    A forgetful husband tests marriage after accidently abandoning his wife on a road trip after taking a quick leak

    For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us do part, and in an emergency toilet break situation, every marriage is tested to some degree. And, an absent-minded husband truly tested the strength of his marriage on a road trip last week. He pulled over by the roadside to quickly take a leak before climbing back into…

  • Road safety campaign spells disaster for Chiang Mai rescue services | Thaiger

    Road safety campaign spells disaster for Chiang Mai rescue services

    A rescue service in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, is receiving the same “false alarm” phone call over and over again thanks to a controversial road safety campaign. Thailand sees a surge in road accidents and road deaths every year between December 29 – January 4, gaining the nickname “Seven Days of Danger.” Road safety campaigns aim to remind motorists to take…

  • Thailand to offer free Covid-19 booster shots to foreign tourists | Thaiger

    Thailand to offer free Covid-19 booster shots to foreign tourists

    The Ministry of Tourism and Sports Ministry (MOTS) announced its plans to provide free Covid-19 booster shots for foreign tourists entering Thailand next year. The disclosure will be welcomed by many who fear another Covid wave after China announced it will open its borders and relax quarantine measures. The MOTS also briefed the press that the government will introduce the…

  • Russians take Thailand by storm | Thaiger

    Russians take Thailand by storm

    Since September, Russian tourist arrivals in Thailand have increased sevenfold. A number of favourable factors make Thailand the perfect place to escape the icy grip of winter in Russia this year. Thailand, especially Pattaya and Phuket, has always been a popular holiday destination for Russians, with 1.48 million of them arriving in Thailand in 2019. Pre-pandemic, Russia was once Thailand’s…

  • Police track down suspect in murder of woman dumped in garbage bin | Thaiger

    Police track down suspect in murder of woman dumped in garbage bin

    Police believe the person responsible for the death of the woman dumped in a garbage bin in the Khao Sok National Park at the border of Phang Nga and Surat Thani is her boyfriend. Police reported they found evidence in the boyfriend’s home related to the murder of the woman, Suphattra Yodkaew, and is now on the run. Police identified…

  • Scottish man fights for his life in Thai hospital | Thaiger

    Scottish man fights for his life in Thai hospital

    A Scottish man is fighting for his life in a Thai hospital after a virus triggered a respiratory disease and rendered him unconscious while on holiday. Robert Kessell flew to Thailand on November 24 for a three-week holiday but was struck by illness on Thursday, December 8. The 66 year old, from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire, was rushed to Pattaya…

  • Thai police rescue pregnant woman walking 600 kilometres from Isaan to Bangkok | Thaiger

    Thai police rescue pregnant woman walking 600 kilometres from Isaan to Bangkok

    With just 50 baht to her name, a pregnant woman attempted to walk from Ubon Ratchathani in northeast Thailand to Bangkok yesterday in search of a new start. She decided to undertake the arduous journey after she was betrayed by her Thai boyfriend of five years. Yesterday, officers from Warin Chamrap Police Station stopped to help a woman of Tai…

  • American man dies after jumping from 3rd floor of Phuket Airport | Thaiger

    American man dies after jumping from 3rd floor of Phuket Airport

    An American man died yesterday after he reportedly jumped off the 3rd floor of the Phuket Airport passenger terminal. The 35 year old American, who was later identified as Jason, jumped from the 3rd floor smoking area of Phuket Airport at about 3pm yesterday. The airport rescue team and medical workers rushed to the scene to provide first aid and…

  • Pattaya Police fine Norwegian tourist 5,000 baht for public lewdness | Thaiger

    Pattaya Police fine Norwegian tourist 5,000 baht for public lewdness

    Police tracked down, arrested, and fined the foreign tourist who made headlines on Monday for fornicating with a Thai woman against a power pole on the mean streets of Pattaya in eastern Thailand. Yesterday, the Superintendent of Pattaya City Police Station Pol Col Kulchat Kulchai detained a 49 year old Norwegian man under suspicion of public lewdness. The scandalous Scandinavian…

  • VIDEO: air rage incident on Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata | Thaiger

    VIDEO: air rage incident on Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata

    Footage of an air rage incident emerged yesterday of two Indian passengers swapping punches on a flight from Bangkok to Kolkata in India. A passenger recorded footage of the fracas and uploaded it to social media where it quickly went viral. It captures two men swapping insults, then punches after boarding a Thai Smile Airways flight that was set to…

  • Thailand should impose restrictions on Chinese tourists, says Pheu Thai MP | Thaiger

    Thailand should impose restrictions on Chinese tourists, says Pheu Thai MP

    News that China is opening its borders to foreigners and relaxing Covid-19 restrictions was widely welcomed by Thailand yesterday as it looks to further boost its tourist economy. Today, MPs are warning that Thailand should tread lightly and impose restrictions on potential Covid-carrying Chinese tourists otherwise the kingdom could face another potential catastrophic pandemic. Former Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisang,…

  • Chinese tourists may bring growing pains to the Thai travel industry | Thaiger

    Chinese tourists may bring growing pains to the Thai travel industry

    While people in the tourism and entertainment sector are celebrating China’s announcement to reopen and allow outgoing travel, others have raised fears about the potential problems that could come with an influx of Chinese tourists. Some fear an overwhelming surge of Chinese tourists flooding Thailand’s hotspots. Others worry that the healthcare systems in Thailand could be overburdened by the influx…

  • Anarchic passenger causes chaos on bus trip from Phuket to Bangkok | Thaiger

    Anarchic passenger causes chaos on bus trip from Phuket to Bangkok

    An anarchic passenger caused chaos for other travellers on a journey from Phuket to Bangkok today. The nuisance man annoyed his fellow passengers, illegally smoked, insulted staff members, and smashed a window with a fire extinguisher before leaping from the bus into busy oncoming traffic on Rama II Road in Bangkok. The driver of a Phuket-Bangkok coach bus, 51 year…

  • Coach bus driver praised after giving free rides from central Thailand to Isaan | Thaiger

    Coach bus driver praised after giving free rides from central Thailand to Isaan

    Thai netizens hailed a bus driver for offering free rides to anyone wishing to spend the festive season with their families in the Isaan province of Sa Kaeo. The free trip was from Samut Prakarn province in central Thailand which was nearly 200 kilometres long. The Facebook page Spotlight Bangpoo (สปอร์ตไลท์บางปู) announced the free rides from Samut Prakarn to Sa Kaeo…

  • Thai woman hides 400 yaba pills in vagina to cover for drug-dealing husband | Thaiger

    Thai woman hides 400 yaba pills in vagina to cover for drug-dealing husband

    A Thai woman hid 402 pills of yaba (methamphetamine) inside her vagina in an attempt to cover for her drug-dealing husband during a raid at his house in Khon Kaen province in northeast Thailand on Monday. As the sun rose on Monday, officers from Ban Had Police Station raided the home of a suspected drug trafficker. Police were met by…

  • Thai shooting champion accused of murder | Thaiger

    Thai shooting champion accused of murder

    A Thai shooting champion was arrested yesterday in connection with a murder case six years ago in the southern province of Surat Thani. The marksman denied all allegations, claiming that he is a professional and wouldn’t have missed the target like those already charged. A kratom seller hired three gunmen to murder another kratom seller, 54 year old Thawatchai Wichianchai,…

  • Top 5 foreign nationalities buying condos in Thailand in 2022 | Thaiger

    Top 5 foreign nationalities buying condos in Thailand in 2022

    Chinese nationals bought the most condos out of any foreign nationality in Thailand this year despite the difficulties posed by Beijing’s strict Covid-19 restrictions, which are finally easing up after three years. In Thailand, foreigners are permitted to own 49% of the units in any condominium building. The remaining 51% must have Thai ownership. Although fewer Chinese bought condos in…

  • HTMS Sukhothai update: Thai navy confirms 22 dead, 7 missing | Thaiger

    HTMS Sukhothai update: Thai navy confirms 22 dead, 7 missing

    At 8.20am today, the body of a Thai navy sailor from the sunken HTMS Sukhothai was found on the coast of Koh Samet island, Chumphon province, southern Thailand. In a press release, spokesperson for the Royal Thai Navy Admiral Pokrong Monthatphalin said that 76 out of 105 crew members survived after the ship went down off the coast of Prachuap…

  • Survey reveals which Thai provinces drink the most alcohol | Thaiger

    Survey reveals which Thai provinces drink the most alcohol

    On Monday, a doctor gave an interesting lecture about provincial alcohol consumption in Thailand at a conference held by the Centre of Addiction Studies in Bangkok. Dr Athip Tan-Aree, M.D., from Srithanya Hospital in Nonthaburi province, revealed the results of a nationwide survey that asked 84,000 Thai respondents questions about their alcohol drinking habits. The survey found that 28% of…

  • Police arrest man high on drugs in Koh Chang after high-speed chase | Thaiger

    Police arrest man high on drugs in Koh Chang after high-speed chase

    In a scene reminiscent of a Quentin Tarantino movie, Thai police embarked on a high-speed car chase with a man high on drugs driving dangerously. The scene culminated in a man’s arrest after a two-hour standoff where shots were fired and police were threatened by a knife in Koh Chang in Trat, eastern Thailand. Koh Chang Police Station and Tourist…

  • Destitute man walks 1,000 kilometres over 11 days with 2 daughters to find job | Thaiger

    Destitute man walks 1,000 kilometres over 11 days with 2 daughters to find job

    The heart-wrenching story of a destitute man who walked 1,000 kilometres over 11 days to find work to feed his two starving children has a happy ending. The jobless man, Norraphat, and his two daughters, aged 10 and 12 years old, began their long arduous journey from a relative’s house in the Tung Wa district of Satun on December 11.…

  • Royal Thai Police ordered to find Red Bull Heir and deliver justice | Thaiger

    Royal Thai Police ordered to find Red Bull Heir and deliver justice

    The Thai prime minister wrapped up the government’s last Cabinet meeting of 2022 by demanding the Royal Thai Police (RTP) find Red Bull Heir Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya and prosecute him. The 37 year old fled Thailand over ten years ago after a hit-and-run incident killed a police officer, Wichian Klanprasert, in Bangkok, on September 3, 2012. Boss, then 27, was…

  • CNN selects Bangkok and ICONSIAM’s firework shows as one of world’s 10 ‘Great Places for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve’ | Thaiger

    CNN selects Bangkok and ICONSIAM’s firework shows as one of world’s 10 ‘Great Places for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve’

    CNN has selected Bangkok as one of the world’s 10 ‘Greats Places for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve and listed ICONSIAM’s magnificent fireworks display at the “Amazing Thailand Countdown” as an ‘amazing fireworks show’ and place at which to ring in the New Year. The recognition reinforces ICONSIAM as Thailand’s premier ‘Global Countdown Destination’ after many years of standing out…