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 How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Thailand’s Koh Kradan voted best beach on earth
Thailand’s unspoiled Koh Kradan island off the coast of Trang province was ranked the best of the ‘Top 100 Beaches on Earth 2023‘ by the UK website World Beach Guide. Four other Thai beaches made the top 100 including Railay Beach in Krabi province (9), Freedom Beach in Phuket (18), Laem Beach on Koh Yao Yai island in Phang Nga…
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Big Oil Majors production cuts, what this means to airfares
The recent move by the Big Oil Majors to cut production by over one million barrels a day as a “precautionary” measure to stabilize the oil market will have a domino effect on airfares, according to industry experts. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) yesterday announced plans to lower oil production by 1.16 million barrels per day, starting…
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Assets seized and suspects arrested after large-scale online gambling chain uncovered
Last Friday, 63 locations were raided by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) to investigate relevant evidence suggesting they were connected to “Inspector Sua.” Ordered by CIB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, the raids took place in Chon Buri, Nonthaburi, Bangkok, Pathum Thani, and Chanthaburi. 6 suspects were arrested for their alleged links to Pentor Group, a prominent online gambling…
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Crooked trail of corruption uncovered after cops arrest bent revenue director for soliciting bribes
Royal Thai Police (RTP) yesterday uncovered a crooked trail of corruption worth 7 million baht following the arrest of an alleged bent government revenue director. RTP officers arrested, Pramual Saengkaewsri, a director in the Ratchathewi district of Bangkok on Wednesday in a hotel carpark as part of a police sting. The 57 year old was apprehended for soliciting bribes amounting to 3 million baht from a…
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Power struggle: JSCCIB takes on govt to lower electricity prices
Tensions are running high in Thailand as the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) has declared war on the government in a bid to bring down the nation’s soaring electricity prices. The committee, comprised of representatives from major business groups, is asking Prime Minister Prayut Chan o cha to reconsider the electricity bill calculation and reduce the…
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Rogue cop with gambling addiction jailed for 50 years for gun theft
A rogue cop with a gambling addiction was sentenced to 270 years in prison for theft and illegal possession of 160 firearms. He will only serve 50 years as allowed under Thai law. Senior sergeant major Chaowarit Phumkajorn, from Pak Kret Police Station in Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, was arrested in October in the Isaan province of Nong Khai after reportedly selling…
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Thailand’s billionaire trio makes Forbes’ 2023 list of world’s richest
Forbes yesterday released its annual list of the world’s billionaires, and Thailand has its hands in the till with 28 billionaires, three of whom are ranked in the top 150. The list includes Dhanin Chearavanont, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, and Sarath Ratanavadi, whose net worths range from US$12.3 billion to US$14.9 billion. Despite this achievement, the year 2023 proved challenging for the…
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Surviving a sinister husband and a Thai cliff fall: A Chinese woman’s incredible resilience
A Chinese woman is finally on her feet and on the road to recovery after the trauma of being pushed off a cliff in Thailand in 2019 by a sinister ex-con husband only interested in her wealth. Wang Nan spent the past four years of her life trying to survive her life-threatening ordeal and rebuilding and rehabilitating her life after…
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10-wheelers banned on six roads to reduce Songkran traffic and accidents
In an effort to alleviate traffic congestion and prevent accidents, the use of large vehicles with ten or more wheels has been prohibited on six roads during the Songkran holidays. The national police chief, Damrongsak Kittiprapas, announced his role as head of the traffic police after it was published in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday, reported The Nation. The restricted…
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Agoda reveals top 5 cheapest tourist destinations in Thailand
Khon Kaen – the capital of Isaan – is the cheapest tourist destination in Thailand, offering the most competitive room rates, according to online travel giant Agoda. The average going room rate in Khon Kaen on Agoda’s platform is 1,030 Thai baht (US$30). Joining Khon Kaen in the top five most affordable tourist destinations in Thailand – based on average room…
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Bangkok official arrested for demanding bribes from real estate company
The revenue department director in the Ratchathewi district of Bangkok was apprehended for soliciting bribes amounting to 3 million baht from a real estate firm in exchange for a tax exemption worth more than 40 million baht. The director, identified as Pramuan, was arrested yesterday at a hotel located in the Ratchathewi area after he arranged a meeting with the…
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Thai man holds 9 year old son hostage on overpass and threatens to jump
A stressed Thai man held his nine year old son hostage and threatened to jump off an overpass over the Phetchkasem Road in Nakhon Pathom province in central Thailand yesterday, reports MGROnline. Radio Centre 191 received a report that a stressed man holding his nine year old son hostage might jump off an overpass in front of Ban Nong Hin…
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Thai woman finds rat claw in chilli paste (video)
A Thai woman was eating jaew bla ra (chilli paste with pickled fish) that she bought from a market in Prachin Buri province in central Thailand yesterday when she noticed a mysterious foot – with fingernails – floating in the sauce. She didn’t know what it was until netizens informed her that it looked like a rat claw. In a…
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Tragic suicide at Noi Bai Airport: Thai man jumps off third floor amid abnormal behaviour signs
A Thai man yesterday committed suicide after he jumped off the third floor of Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam. The man was reportedly showing abnormal behaviour signs before the incident. Noi Bai Airport spokesperson reported that at 1.25pm yesterday the Thai man, aged about 40 to 45 years old, climbed over the railing near the escalator in the T2…
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Forest fire kills another firefighting volunteer in northern Thailand
A firefighting volunteer was tragically caught in the flames while extinguishing a forest fire in Nan province in northern Thailand yesterday, where a thick layer of smog continues to blanket the region. The body of 62 year old Sriwan Mirayot was found in the forests surrounding Doi Sa-ngud mountain in the Bor Suak subdistrict in Mueang Nan district. His fellow…
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Murder of Chinese student in Thailand was reportedly over rejection
The murder of a 22 year old Chinese student in Thailand was motivated by rejection, media reported yesterday. New information has come to light in the case of Jin Can, a Chinese student who was reported kidnapped for ransom, and her body was later found in a banana plantation in the Bang Yai district in the central Nonthaburi province. According…
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‘He survived the Boxing Day tsunami’: Family grieves for Australian resort owner killed on his birthday in Krabi
UPDATE The Australian man who was tragically stabbed to death at the resort he owned in Krabi, southern Thailand, on his 57th birthday has been identified as Peter Heppell from Perth. The fatal attack happened on Sunday at Heppell’s resort in Khao Thong district, Melina’s Monkey House and Whale Bar, which he named after his daughter Melina who was swept away…
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Australian resort owner stabbed to death in Krabi, Thailand
An Australian man was stabbed to death at his resort in Krabi province, southern Thailand, on Sunday. The Thai husband of one of the victim’s former employees has confessed to the crime, police say. On Saturday evening, officers at Ao Nang Police Station were informed by staff at Krabi Hospital that a foreigner was stabbed to death at a resort…
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30 police officers rescue family of five after 18-hour hostage crisis in Bangkok
Thirty police officers arrested a man who had taken a family of five hostages for 18 hours inside a house in Samut Prakarn province near Bangkok. The suspect refused to disclose his motives to the authorities. A team of officers from the Samut Prakarn Provincial Police Office, and the Bang Plee Police Station, arrived at the scene and cordoned off…
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Maldivian tourist caught smuggling 25 live birds out of Thailand
Officials at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok caught a tourist attempting to smuggle 25 exotic live birds out of Thailand on a flight to the Maldives yesterday morning, reports KhaoSod. Customs officials made quite the discovery when they inspected luggage destined to board flight PG711 to Malé in the Maldives at 9.20am, reported Prasert Sornsathapornkul, the Director of the Division for the…
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Thai man wins lottery with numbers given by ChatGPT:
A Thai man has caused quite a stir in the gambling community after he announced that he scooped a 2,000 baht prize from the Thai Government Lottery Office on April 1 by using a set of numbers generated by the AI chatbot, ChatGPT. The lucky winner, Patthawikorn Boonin shared his success story on Facebook, claiming that he won the 2,000…
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Thai auto industry shows resilience in 2023 Bangkok International Motor Show
The 2023 Bangkok International Motor Show came to an end on Sunday, and the numbers show that the Thai automotive industry is making a strong comeback. Car and motorcycle bookings increased by more than 35% year-on-year to 45,983 units, a figure attributed to an improving economy and the growing popularity of electric vehicles (EVs). Jaturon Komolmit, Vice-Chairman of Grand Prix…
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Family desperate for young Brit in intensive care in Thailand to return home
The young British man who sustained life-threatening injuries in a motorbike crash in Thailand in February is still in intensive care in Bangkok and his family cannot afford to pay for his return home. The 24 year old ice hockey player from Blackburn, Josh Richardson, was in Thailand for less than 24 hours when he got into a motorbike collision…
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Paint-spraying hooligan strikes again: Women in Bangkok demand justice
Several Thai women took to social media after becoming victims of a drunken spray paint hooligan in the Bang Na neighbourhood of Bangkok. The hooligan reportedly sprayed red paint on their pants in an unprovoked attack as they walked by. One female victim took to Twitter on March 30 to post pictures of her pants with red paint and issued…
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TAT launches ‘Amazing Thailand NFTs Season 2’
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) unveiled the second season of its groundbreaking project, ‘Amazing Thailand NFTs Season 2.’ This innovative venture invites Thai tourists and foreign expats to collect Non-Fungible Token (NFT) virtual art items at 20 iconic tourist attractions across the country until April 30, with privileges and special discounts available until July 31. Embracing Smart Tourism with…
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Governor Chadchart aims for no more than 6 deaths in Bangkok this Songkran
Governor of Bangkok Chadchart Sittipunt said that he hopes no more than six people will die during Songkran festivities in the capital of Thailand from April 13-15. Yesterday, Governor Chadchart chaired a meeting with Bangkok Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee to discuss measures to prevent alcohol-fuelled accidents, injuries, and deaths in Bangkok this Thai New Year. The committee will implement measures…
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Speeding concerns rise in Pattaya following motorcycle accident on Beach Road
Concerns about speeding vehicles on Beach Road in Pattaya have been raised once again following an accident involving a motorcyclist over the weekend. The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning when the motorcyclist collided with a parked taxi, resulting in severe injuries. The injured motorcyclist, identified as Tatchaphonsit Jirasatirakul, was promptly transported to a nearby hospital for…
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Three men who killed Chinese student in Thailand arrested in Wuhan
UPDATE Police in Wuhan, China, yesterday arrested the three men suspected of murdering a Chinese university student and dumping her body in a ditch in Nonthaburi, Thailand, on Thursday. Deputy national police chief Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn has sent Thai immigration officers to Wuhan to assist in the Chinese police’s investigation. The young Chinese men are believed to have kidnapped…
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Thailand’s lottery office stops paying out prizes with cash
Thailand‘s lucky lottery winners can no longer claim their prize in cash from the Government Lottery Office (GLO), effective immediately, according to an announcement by government deputy spokesperson Traisuree Traisorankul this weekend. If the winner’s prize exceeds 2 million baht, the GLO will transfer the money only to a Government Savings Bank account or an account with the Bank of Agriculture and…
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Bangkok Police rescue 2 underage girls from prostitution ring
Bangkok Police swooped on a karaoke bar in the capital’s Don Mueang district and rescued two underage teenage girls forced into prostitution. The mamasan, who is said to have been orchestrating the operation, has been charged with multiple offences, including human trafficking. Acting on a tip from informants who believed that the establishment was involved in human trafficking, officers descended…
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