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 What is the 5 year visa for the digital nomad in Thailand?
The Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) is a great option for digital nomads, remote workers, and freelancers who want to stay in Thailand for a long time. This multiple-entry visa is valid for five years, allowing stays of up to 180...
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New MRT Yellow Line monorail train starts trial run today
The new MRT Yellow Line monorail train in Bangkok and Samut Prakarn province starts its trial run without passengers today and is expected to be fully operational by June next year. The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) announced yesterday that the new MRT Yellow Line would be on trial today from 10am to 5.30pm. The trial is running…
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Manager of famous Thai rapper ‘Illslick’ given 2 years in prison over sex scandal
Yesterday, the court sentenced ‘Lily,’ the manager of famous Thai rapper ‘Illslick’, to two years in prison with no parole for ‘luring’ an 18 year old to have sex with the rapper in Khon Kaen in northeast Thailand in February last year. Khon Kaen Provincial Court found Lily [surname withheld] guilty of “satisfying the lust of others by luring, supplying, leading…
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Where to order cannabis/weed in Thailand
Press Release On the PlookGanja website, which is controlled by the FDA, the number of individuals who have registered to produce cannabis in Thailand has now reached 1,090,000 registered growers. Since the 9th of June, more than 330 cannabis dispensaries and cafés have opened throughout the country of Thailand. You may obtain cannabis either by placing an order for it…
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Thai motorcycle taxi rider rips off Malaysian tourist
A Thai motorcycle taxi rider in the southern province of Songkla said he ripped off a Malaysian tourist because his washing machine was broken. The rider claims it is the first time he overcharged a customer after demanding 500 baht from the stranded tourist for a trip that is only two kilometres. A member of the Hat Yai Municipality Council…
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Unhappy days! More Haagen-Dazs destroyed in cancer scare
Almost 28,000 Haagen-Dazs ice creams worth 12 million baht were destroyed in Samut Prakan Monday, even though the samples had not been found to contain a chemical linked to cancer. According to today’s Bangkok Post, the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deputy secretary-general, Weerachai Nolwachai, said on Tuesday that a number of countries in Europe had recalled Haagen-Dazs ice cream…
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Funeral for victims of daycare centre massacre in pictures
Three temples held royally-sponsored funeral and cremation ceremonies today for the victims of the massacre at a daycare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu province in northeast Thailand on Thursday. Toys, bicycles, flowers, fruit, and incense were laid out in front of wreaths adorned with pictures and names of the victims, who were mostly young children. Locals from over 6000 households…
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Woman arrested for operating illegal dental clinic from her car
A woman was arrested yesterday for operating an illegal dental clinic out of her car in a parking lot outside of a shopping mall in Bangkok. Officers from the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD) were notified about the illegal dental clinic and its adverts on Thai social media. The fake clinic, named the Fashionable Brace Shop, by sister Ploy from…
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Political activist finds refuge in noodles shop after being shunned by family
A noodles shop in Bangkok has provided a safe refuge for a political activist ostracised by her family who disagrees with her views. Talented artist Thorpad Autta-a-nan uploaded a drawing to her Instagram account that some zealous monarchists may consider offensive. The drawing certainly offended her family and as a result, the 27 year old artist was shunned by her…
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Drug-addled cabbie faces jail for driving under the influence
A drug-addled cabbie faces time in jail for dangerous driving while allegedly under the influence of narcotics in the Kathu district of Phuket. A motorcycle rider brought to light the drug-taking cab driver’s antics after becoming a victim of his erratic behaviour on the road. The taxi driver scolded the motorcycle rider after the latter complained. He said… “Don’t butt…
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Loan shark shoots debtor 8 times in the head in southern Thailand
A loan shark chose revenge over repayments on Sunday when he shot a debtor eight times in the head outside a tea shop in Songkhla province in southern Thailand. At 8pm, officers at Khuan Meed Police Station received a call that someone had been shot dead in the Chana district. Police found the body of 42 year old Chusit [surname…
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Baby elephant found hungry and lost in eastern Thailand
A baby elephant has been found hungry and lost at a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Thailand on Sunday. Officials found the poor little elephant lost from its mother in the early hours of the morning at the Khao Soi Dao wildlife sanctuary in Chanthaburi province. From an examination, the elephant was found to be about one week old, Matichon reported.…
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Israeli girl in stable condition after jellyfish causes cardiac arrest
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday reported that the six year old Israeli girl who suffered a cardiac arrest after being stung by a dangerous jellyfish is in serious but stable condition. The Israeli child’s heart stopped after she was stung by a poisonous box jellyfish on a beach in Ko Pha Ngan on Sunday. She received first aid on…
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BMTA replaces mushroom seat on Bangkok public bus
UPDATE The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) today apologised to the city’s passengers after a story of mushrooms growing out of a public bus seat went viral on Thai social media. The picture of the mushroom-growing seat, posted by political activist Jatuporn “New” Saenueng, drew complaints from Thai netizens. The BMTA responded to the criticism on its official Facebook page…
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Janitor finds young man’s corpse on fire behind school in NE Thailand
Police have launched a murder investigation after the body of a 23 year old man was found at a school last night in Buriram province in northeast Thailand. His body was badly burned and the smell of oil pervaded the crime scene. At 8.30pm yesterday, a janitor started his shift at Ban Salangthon school when he noticed a “burning stench.”…
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TAT going green to smash a Guinness World Record
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is calling on all diving enthusiasts to help smash an official Guinness World Record. The TAT wants tourists and residents to get involved in their Go Green Active drive, a conservation diving event at Phuket’s famous Patong Beach between November 18 and November 20. The TAT wants to set a new Guinness World Records…
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PM Prayut declares war on drugs to prevent mass shootings in Thailand
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha declared a war on drugs and a clampdown on gun control laws after a massacre at a daycare centre in northeast Thailand sparked urgent calls for change on Thursday. A former police sergeant facing trial for drug charges murdered 37 people – including 24 children under six years old – at a daycare centre in…
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Hot to trot at the Pattaya Bikini Beach Race?
Are you hot to trot? Do you have a bikini bod to die for or just an average Joe or Jane who likes to keep fit and have a good time? Well, you’re in luck because the Pattaya International Bikini Beach Race 2022 ticks all of those boxes. Men and women of all shapes and sizes are welcome to take…
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Thais arrested for making 9,000 fake US$100 bills
Cyberpolice today reported that a Thai man and a Thai woman were arrested for making fake US$100 bills worth US$900,000 or 34 million baht. A United States Secret Service officer from the US Embassy in Bangkok ran a check over the bills and reported that they were very realistic. The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Torsak Sookwimon, reported…
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VIDEO: Police officer reprimanded for laughing during interview on daycare centre massacre
The Royal Thai Police have taken away a senior police officer’s spokesperson duties after he burst out laughing while giving an interview on the death toll of the daycare centre massacre in Nong Bua Lamphu province, northeast Thailand, on Thursday. On Thursday afternoon – just hours after the gun and knife rampage that claimed the lives of 37 people, including…
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ICONSIAM, G-U Creative join hands to stage huge Thai-Japan music festival
More than 100 Thai and Japanese pop music groups and talents will descend to the ICONSIAM for the greatest concert festival of the year. The Thai-Japan Iconic Music Fest 2022, is scheduled to take place at the River Park and Charoen Nakhon Hall on the M Floor of Bangkok’s world-class riverside shopping destination, from 21 to 23 October 2022. The…
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Thai man arrested for posing as police officer
A Thai man was arrested on Friday after he tried to fulfil his dream job – impersonating a police officer. The 30 year old man, Kamfon Kunlachart, in full police uniform, reported himself ready for work to the superintendent at a police station in the Din Daeng district of Bangkok at 9.30am on Friday, October 7. Kamfon met with the…
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Phuket ‘ready’ to open nightclubs until 4am
The Phuket Tourism Association is pushing for later closing times in nightclubs. Entertainment venues in Phuket, southern Thailand, are “ready” to open until 4am, according to the Chairman of the Phuket Tourism Association Thanet Tanipirayakit. The association hopes to extend the closing times of entertainment venues on Patong beach’s Bangla Road from 2am to 4am in a Phuket Sandbox-style pilot…
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Thai man robbed by cannabis dealer at knife-point in Pattaya
A Thai man filed a complaint with police after he was allegedly forced to strip naked as he was being robbed at knife-point by a cannabis dealer in Pattaya. The suspect was arrested but denied all allegations, saying they were friends and he would never rob a friend. Anukun Sichan filed the complaint at Mueng Pattaya Police Station yesterday at 8pm.…
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Alcohol sales ban in Thailand today to mark end of Buddhist Lent
Thailand celebrates an auspicious Buddhist holiday today known as ‘Awk Pansa‘ (exit Pansa) to mark the final day of Buddhist Lent. Being one of Thailand’s five major Buddhist holidays, alcohol sales are banned for 24 hours nationwide. Saffron-robed monks and white-robed maechis exit their temples today for the first time since July 14, upon completion of a period of focussed…
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Police let off CNN reporters with 5,000 baht fine over invasive massacre reporting
Deputy police chief ‘Big Joke‘ has done a 180 degree turn on CNN, letting off reporters with just a 5,000 baht fine (US$132) each for their invasive coverage of the daycare centre massacre in Nong Bua Lamphu province in northeast Thailand. On Saturday, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn insisted on prosecuting two members of CNN staff for breaking into the crime…
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Bangkok road sweeper dies in hit-and-run
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is to pay 1.6 million baht in compensation to the family of a road sweeper who died in a hit-and-run incident on Kanchanapisek Road in the capital yesterday. The driver is on the run and there was no CCTV camera footage at the scene. The 59 year old woman road sweeper, Somsi Yimchalam, was hit…
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How to donate to families of victims of daycare centre massacre in Thailand
The Thai government has opened a channel for the public to donate money to families impacted by the massacre of 37 people, mostly young children, at a daycare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu province, northeast Thailand, last Thursday. If you would like to donate to the injured or the families of those who lost their lives, you can transfer your…
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Andaman Sea coast set for UNESCO recognition
Three conservation areas on the Andaman Sea are to be nominated for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recognition by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa. As the islands prepare to welcome tourists on October 15, Varawut was inspecting a maintenance and waste collection project on Koh Miang of the Similan Islands in Phangnga province. Reports in…
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Timeline of the mass shooting in Thailand
Timeline of the mass shooting in Thailand Timeline of the shooting at a childcare center in Nong Bua Lam Phu yesterday, which left 38 dead (including the gunman, his wife, and child) and 10 injured. 12.50 PM A gunman opens fire on the center in Na Klang district of the Northeastern province of Nong Bua Lam Phu. He escapes in…
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Finnish CEO detained for alleged mistreatment of 1,100 Thai berry pickers
Finnish police have arrested and detained the CEO of berry company “Polarica” under suspicion of human trafficking. CEO Jukka Kristo allegedly “deceived” 1100 Thai berry pickers and housed them in “poor conditions.” This year, Kristo’s company flew around 1100 Thais to Finland to work as berry pickers – an industry that heavily relies on a foreign workforce. The CEO has…
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