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...
-
Day 1 of 2018 Top of the Gulf Regatta
PHOTOS: Guy Nowell The blue skies and tropical conditions for which the Top of the Gulf Regatta is known failed to show up on Day 1 as a downpour which started the evening before never let up all day, making it a grey and wet start to the regatta. That, however, didn’t dampen spirits as the Race Officer kept the…
-
Chinese man arrested with 57 fake ATM cards in BKK
FILE PHOTO A Chinese man has been arrested for allegedly stealing ATM card identities to make fake ones and steal from bank accounts. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal, the deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau (and earning a reputation as an International Crime Terminator), said the 27 year old Chinese man, named as Xen Dazui, was arrested while he was…
-
Who’s keeping Thailand’s beaches clean?
PHOTO: Daily News Every week there are volunteers heading to the beaches of Phuket to pick up rubbish, mostly washed ashore and landing on the beaches. Some of it has washed out Phuket’s drains and just making its way back to shore. Other rubbish comes from passing boats and fishing fleets. One group, Clean The Beach Bootcamp, organised bi-weekly by…
-
Romance gang busted by tourist police
Tourist Police and 191 Special Branch Police have busted an alleged Nigerian romance scam gang and arrested a Negerian man for fraud charges during the ongoing investigation. Thai PBS are reporting that Light Chinezurum was presented to the media yesterday (April 27) after being caught by tourist police for luring several women into an online relationship and convincing them to transfer…
-
Police interview Magic Skin ‘spokespersons’ and ‘influencers’
Four Thai actresses have testified “as witnesses” to police about their role in product review advertisements for the Magic Skin cosmetic and food-supplement brand at the centre of allegations of fraudulent and misleading product labelling and marketing, according to national police deputy chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta. Pitchanart “May” Sakhakorn, Napapa “Patt” Tantrakul, Orapan “Aoffy Maxim” Dansiriwattanakun, and Nonthaporn “Ying…
-
Boat propeller strike suspected death of baby dolphin – Samut Prakan
A rotting carcass of a baby dolphin was found on the seashore near a temple in Samut Prakan’s Muang district, south east of Bangkok, this morning (Friday). Monks living at the Asokaram Temple in Tambon Taiban noticed a stench coming from the direction of the erosion prevention dam at the seaside behind the temple. Laymen sent by the monks to…
-
Heavy penalties on the way for drivers blocking ambulances
Motorists failing to get out of the way for ambulances may face harsher punishments for “endangerment to others” as netizens join with the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the police to get tough on offenders. The fine for blocking an ambulance could be raised from the current 500 to 10,000 baht or as high as 20,000 baht if the NLA…
-
Woman’s throat slit by hanging cable in Khon Kaen
Police are investigating how a fibre optic cable detached from overhead attachments and ended up killing a woman motorcyclist. 40 year old Maneenetr Charoenngao was killed when she ran into the dangling cabling, almost decapitating her and slashing her throat. Muang Khon Kaen deputy inspector Pol Capt Singha Hong-on said it was a small, sharp, fibre-optic cable insulated with hard…
-
Korean summit kicks off tomorrow
The Korea Herald is reporting that a momentous meeting is about to take place, tomorrow in fact, between the leaders of two (technically) warring nations – North Korea and South Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet at the Military Demarcation Line in Panmunjeom at 9:30am Friday, Moon’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok…
-
93 more rounded up in nationwide immigration stings
PHOTO: All smiles as Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal poses with some of the foreigners rounded up in the latest sting. Tourist police searched 118 locations around the country yesterday (Wednesday) and arrested another 93 foreigners for entering and living in Thailand illegally. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, held a press conference at the Monthian…
-
Two villagers shot dead in Yala
In the most recent violence in Thailand’s deep south, a former village head and his friend have been gunned down in Yala province last evening (Wednesday), according to Police. The two were shot by an unknown number of suspected insurgents using M16 rifles on the main road in Ban Kuber Kuaroh village, Tambon Jakwa, in Raman district at around…
-
37 billion baht motorway planned – Had Yai to Malaysian border
PHOTO: Had Yai commercial district The Thai government plans to build a 62km motorway in the southern province of Songkhla, from Had Yai to the Malaysian border in a bid to boost bilateral trade and cross-border tourism Estimates put the trade value in the region at around 500 billion baht per year according to the Transport Minister Arkham Termpitayapaisit. The…
-
Gambling crackdown ahead of World Cup
With the 2018 World Cup in Russia fast approaching, the Royal Thai Police are launching a special centre tasked with cracking down on online football gambling. It will operate from May 1 according to the deputy national police chief Chalermkiat Srivorakhan during a video-conference linking the RTP head office in Bangkok to regional police offices. The multi-unit centre’s proactive approach…
-
Kanman and Hmong leader injured in Chiang Rai ambush
The pickup truck of a well-known kamnan and Hmong leader in Chiang Rai was cut down in a hail of gunfire last evening (Tuesday), killing his wife and daughter and injuring him and his son. Police said the attack happened at 5pm on Ban Rom Fah Thong-Ban Pha Tung Road in Ban Rom Fah Thong village, Tambon Por of Wiangkaen…
-
15 year old succumbs to rabies infection in Nong Kai
A 15 year old from Nong Kai has become Thailand’s eighth victim to die from rabies. Nong Kai is on the Lao border in Thailand’s far north east. She was scratched by her newly adopted puppy on the neck five months ago and died on April 20 at the Nong Khai hospital. According to her family the teenager had raised…
-
Same sex marriage laws likely to be passed in the lifetime of current government
After years of calls by sexual-diversity groups, a new law that would allow registered life partnership for same-sex couples is in the making. Supporters expect it to be promulgated within the lifetime of the present government. For proponents, the long-awaited legislation is viewed as the first i-mportant step towards legal same-sex marriage in Thailand in the future. Sexual diversity groups…
-
Nine tourists injured in Nakhon Pathom van accident
Seven South Korean and two Indonesian tourists were injured this morning (Tuesday) when their chartered van ran into the drainage ditch in the middle of a Muang Nakhon Pathom road and struck a tree. Police say the driver Thinnakorn Meekhao lost control in the southbound lane of Phetkasem Road in Tambon Bang Khaem near the Uni Land Golf Course intersection.…
-
Nakhon Phanom airport seeks 120 million baht for expansion
Nakhon Phanom International Airport is seeking 120 million baht from the government for the next fiscal year hoping to add two more runways and expand is departures building. Nakhon Phanom is in the Kingdom’s far north-east, right on the Laotian border. Prom Meeker, the airport director, says the airport needs 91 million baht to expand the departures building to accommodate 600…
-
Celebrities quizzed over endorsement and ads for dodgy cosmetic company
Over 50 presenters of commercials and videos for cosmetic products and food supplements of the Magic Skin Group are being summoned by police for interrogation. 56 actors and actresses were hired as presenters to promote and endorse products from the Magic Skin Group, adding that police would question them to find out whether they were aware or not that the…
-
More robberies from tourists in Ao Nang, Krabi
A robber, identified as a French tourist, 32 year old Martinez Joyce, was arrested in Ao Nang, Krabi, after stealing a purse containing 42,000 Baht cash inside. Police received a report from 30 year old Assaman Yeesam on April 18 that he forgot his Balenciaga bag with 42,000 Baht cash in a coffee shop in Ao Nang where he was…
-
Pattaya swingers party interrupted by authorities
Authorities raided a swingers party in Pattaya over the weekend. The party was held in a hotel in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. When officials raided the hotel late on Saturday night, they found many foreigners openly engaging in ‘swinging’ and group sex. There were 14 couples who came from many countries including the United States, Canada, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany,…
-
Two killed and five seriously injured in Songkhla road crash
Two have been killed and another five seriously injured after a pickup truck crashed into a motorcycle with a sidecar and turned over in Songkhla province yesterday (April 22). Quoting eyewitness accounts, Singha Nakhon district police said that the sidecar was carrying five people from the same family, including the driver, when it tried to make a U-turn to the…
-
Thais likely to pay more for health under new reforms
A part of of the country’s upcoming national healthcare reform, Thais will definitely have to pay more for any extra medical services or medicines they want. Dr Seree Tuchinda, who heads the national healthcare reform committee, says, “for example, if you want medicines that are not on the national drug list, you will be charged.” Seree said the reform will…
-
Nigerian arrested as police track down ‘romance scam’ gang
PHOTOS: The Nation Tourist police are hunting for conspirators in a “romance scam” gang after they arrested a 32 year old Nigerian who allegedly lured a Thai woman in Lampang province into wiring him nearly 100,000 baht. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakparn from the Tourist Police Bureau says that the suspect, Emery Henry Ogba, was a member of a gang believed…
-
National weather alert
The Thai Meteorological Department is warning people in all regions, including Bangkok, against summer thunderstorms during the period April 24-27. The TMD has issued warnings saying that in the period April 24-27, a high pressure system from China will extend to cover upper Thailand and meet with hot weather conditions over Thailand, causing summer thunderstorms. Outbreaks of thunderstorm, thunderbolts and…
-
Foreigners detained in Pattaya sex orgy raid
PHOTO: Siamchon News More raids in Pattaya after police and authorities raided a ‘sex party’ being held at a hotel allegedly managed by a 53 year old Chinese man. Local police, immigration officers and Tourist Police carried out the raid after reports that the 30 room hotel located in the Nong Prue area was being used to host sex and…
-
Thailand for the Trump/Kim Summit. Why not?
US President Donald Trump and North Korea premier and dear leader Kim Jong-un are going to have an historic summit. But they need somewhere to meet – somewhere neutral, somewhere safe, somewhere where there’s good food, somewhere both parties will agree to. Trump/Kim Issue #1 – Where to hold the meeting. Now Thailand’s Deputy PM Gen Prawit Wongsuwon has stepped up…
-
Reform committee might go for complete rewrite of National Police Bill
Thailand’s police are under the spotlight. Along with many other aspects of long-existing work cultures, the Thai police culture is now coming under scrutiny from both ends – the NCPO who want real change and opposition forces who see the Thai police as facilitators of much of the country’s corruption problems. The country’s law reform committee has been tackling the…
-
5 people dead following storms in 36 provinces
5 people are dead and 3,758 homes in 36 provinces have been damaged by storms over the past week. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department director-general Chayapol Thitisak reported on the damage yesterday. He reported that relief aid, including home repair assistance and distribution of relief bags has been provided by Army, local administrative officials and related agencies. 655 villages…
-
How many Thai durians can Alibaba sell in one minute?
Thai durian sold like hot cakes after Jack Ma showed the magic of e-commerce during his visit to Thailand by selling 80,000 golden pillow durians on his online platform T-mall within one minute. One minute! While Ma was in Thailand to make a mega-deal on investment on Thursday, Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong gifted the founder of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba…
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.