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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Digital nomading in Chiang Mai? What US$1,000 a month really gets you
Chiang Mai has become a popular destination for digital nomads due to its low living costs, rich culture, and active remote work community. The city offers affordable housing, tasty food, reliable internet, and many co-working spaces, making it a great...
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Hacker threatens to publish data of 55 million Thai citizens
A hacker, who goes by the pseudonym of 9Near, threatened to publicly release the personal data of 55 million Thai citizens unless the government contacts the cyberpunk by April 5. 9Near announced on the dark website BreachForums that he had stolen the personal data of 55 million Thai citizens from a government department and was going to sell them. The…
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3 foreign men arrested in Thai police crackdown on child prostitution in Phuket
Following the crackdown on child prostitution at Velvet bar in the Patong neighbourhood of Phuket two weeks ago, the Royal Thai Police (RTP) discovered six more foreign men also bought sexual services at the bar and through its network. Out of the six, three foreign men were arrested while three are on the run. The Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) and…
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British expat dies from allergic reaction to bee sting in Phuket
A 69 year old British man died from a severe allergic reaction to a single bee sting yesterday in Phuket, southern Thailand, reports KhaoSod. Volunteers from Rawai Rescue Unit rushed to a house in Soi Kit Prasarn 1 in Rawai district after they were informed that a foreigner was in critical condition after being stung by a bee. Upon arrival,…
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Thai police officers face lengthy prison spell after large-scale corruption
Some of Thailand’s most notorious police officers face time in prison due to charges of large–scale corruption. Eight police allegedly took advantage of their positions of power to assist PCC Development and Construction in winning a bid to build 163 five–storey flats worth 3.7 billion baht. The accused included Pol. Lt. Gen. Theerayut Kittiwat, Pol. Maj. Gen. Satja Khachahiran, Pol.…
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Studio Ghibli co-founder accused of spending company funds on Thai girlfriend
Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki is caught up in a scandal after being accused of spending the Japanese animation studio’s money on his Thai girlfriend “Kanyada,” who he has been seeing since 2013. The current president of the company, Koji Hoshino, said he is retiring from the company at the end of June due to Suzuki’s misappropriation of company funds…
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Police raids uncover gambling network tied to Thai actress’ husband
A luxury home belonging to the husband of Thai actress Yardthip Rajpal was among 17 locations raided by the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) police and police commandos in Bangkok and surrounding provinces today. The raids were part of a crackdown on suspected online gambling networks. Phuket hotelier and businessman Mek Rama, who owns the targeted home in Soi Yothin…
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Australian arrested over Phuket restaurant brawl
UPDATE Police arrested an Australian man for his involvement in the brawl that broke out between foreign staff and foreign customers at Atlas Restaurant in the Patong area of Phuket in southern Thailand early on Monday morning, reports the Phuket Express. Police arrested 34 year old “Karen” of Australian nationality who admitted to starting the fight by throwing a bottle at the…
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Woman exposes mother’s alleged abuse toward a bedridden patient
A woman who exposed her mother’s alleged abusive actions toward a bedridden patient on social media suffered repercussions. The patient may have got help from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, or M-Society, but she was evicted by her mother despite being seven months pregnant. Pinyaphat revealed the story of her mother and her bedridden cousin on Tuesday,…
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Shake Shack opens for business in Thailand
World-famous New York burger joint Shake Shack opened its flagship Thailand store at CentralWorld in Bangkok at 10.30am today. The first 500 customers at the store this morning were given handcrafted bamboo Shake Shack fans woven by a community enterprise in Ayutthaya, ready for the summer season. The restaurant’s menu offers American classics like burgers, hot dogs, chicken, fries and also…
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Flip flop thief suspected to be former offender with a foot fetish
A security camera at a rental house in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok captured footage of a man with a foot fetish stealing six pairs of flip flops on Monday. The thief was reported to be a former offender who was arrested three years ago. Wiroj Suvanrnkrue, a 52 year old resident of the Bang Bua Thong district in Nonthaburi, asked…
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Hong Kong Airlines to launch direct flights to Phuket
Low-cost carrier Hong Kong Airlines will launch a direct flight to Phuket in southern Thailand, starting June 16, 2023. An Airbus A320 will service the direct Hong Kong – Phuket route four times per week to meet rising demand as tourists return to Thailand in full force. The outbound flight will depart from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) at 8.20pm…
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MP and former officer among 18 suspects accused of cheating in police exam
Officers from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) made a major breakthrough in the police entrance exam cheating case by arresting 17 out of 18 suspects. A Member of Parliament (MP) from Palang Pracharath Party, a future MP candidate from Move Forward Party, and a former police senior sergeant major who is now on the run, were among the 18 suspects. Yesterday,…
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Body of loan shark found in Thailand river, 7 baht of gold jewellery missing
The body of a Thai woman missing for three days was recovered from a river in Chumphon province in southern Thailand yesterday. The gold jewellery she usually wears, worth 220,000 baht, was missing. The deceased – 32 year old Chadathip – ran a loan business and never returned from an appointment she made to chase money from a debtor on…
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Painting stolen by Nazi Party to be returned to Jewish decendants
A painting from the 19th century that was once owned by Hermann Goering, a high-ranking member of the Nazi Party, is going to be returned to the descendants of its original Jewish owner. The Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University in Britain agreed to return a painting by French artist Gustave Courbet to the descendants of its original Jewish owner, who…
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Thai police officer arrested for using car stolen from Malaysia
Officers arrested a senior police sergeant major for using a car stolen from Malaysia yesterday at the suspect’s condominium in Bangkok. Officers from the Vehicle Theft Suppression Centre of the Royal Thai Police (RTP) and Bang Khan Police Station arrested the 50 year old police senior sergeant, Aisoon, at his condominium in the Bang Khan district yesterday. The stolen car,…
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Thai woman loses 100,000 baht to online dating scammer
A 42 year old Thai woman warned others about the danger of online dating scams after she lost valuables worth 100,000 baht to a man she met on social media on Tuesday. The victim, Natthamon reached out to Channel 3 urging the media to spread her story to warn other people searching for a partner through online dating applications or…
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Pregnant woman allegedly abused by soldier husband
A pregnant woman sought help from a Thai influencer claiming that her soldier husband repeatedly abused and beat her. The Royal Thai Army (RTA) ignored the woman’s claims. The Thai influencer, Guntouch “Gun” Pongpaiboonwet, aka Gun Jom Palang, today accompanied the 30 year old pregnant woman, A, to the RTA Headquarters to seek justice. The victim visited the army headquarters…
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Swedish man sentenced to prison for running child porn network in Thailand
UPDATE A 23 year old Swedish man that controlled a network of underage girls in Thailand into sending pornographic pictures and videos of themselves from his parent’s home in Stockholm has been sentenced to four years and six months in prison, reports ScandAsia. The material was sold to thousands of people via social media. Most of the thousands of victims…
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Chinese man crushed to death by hydraulic press at factory in Thailand
A Chinese man died yesterday when his head was crushed by a rubber moulding hydraulic press machine he was repairing at a tire factory in Rayong province in eastern Thailand. At 7.56pm, a 35 year old Chinese mechanic was repairing the machine when something went wrong and the press came down and crushed his head. The mechanic was rushed to Pluak…
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Man arrested for raping 18 year old sister over 4 year period
A man was arrested yesterday after his 18 year old sister accused him of raping her. The victim reported that her brother had repeatedly raped her over the past four years and decided it had to stop so recorded the sexual assault before seeking help from a friend. The victim, A, sought help from Thai influencer, Guntouch “Gun” Pongpaiboonwet, aka…
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Bangkok’s Le Du the toast of Thailand after scooping ‘Best Restaurant in Asia’ award
Bangkok’s Le Du was the toast of Thailand last night after being crowned “The Best Restaurant in Asia 2023” at the exclusive culinary award ceremony, climbing three places to No.1 from No.4 last year. According to new rankings released by the 50 Best Organizations, Japan is the top destination in Asia for gastronomes this year, with 17 of the “best”…
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Foreigner deported from China for using cannabis in Thailand
A foreigner of unknown nationality was allegedly deported from Shanghai, China, for testing positive for cannabis upon returning from Thailand, where marijuana is legal, according to That’sMag. Getting high is normal in Thailand since cannabis was decriminalised almost a year ago. But China doesn’t share Thailand’s liberal stance on the psychoactive plant. According to the British Consulate-General Shanghai… “Police drug…
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Jealous Thai man slits wife’s throat with machete for ‘talking to another man on the phone’
A Thai man coldly murdered his wife with a machete in Krabi province in southern Thailand yesterday. He said he slit her throat out of rage because she was “topless and talking to another man on the phone.” Then he fled the scene. Police tracked down and arrested 50 year old Prachuap Nuanchan at a shrimp farm in Pak Trae…
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Perverted knicker thief arrested in central Thailand
Police arrested a perverted knicker thief yesterday following a complaint from local women in the northern province of Kamphaeng Phet, who spotted nearly 100 pairs of their missing underwear hanging on a clump of bamboo in the community. KhaoSod reported yesterday that local women who live near Khlong Klung Hospital filed a complaint about their missing underwear with the community…
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Man charged for spray-painting on Wat Phra Kaew wall
A Thai man was arrested yesterday after he protested against the lese majeste law by spraying the number 112 and an anarchy symbol on the wall of Wat Phra Kaew, also known as the Temple of Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. A 14 year old girl who operated the camera while livestreaming the man’s graffiti on social media was also detained.…
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Dutch woman arrested at Phuket Airport for illegally entering Thailand
A 28 year old Dutch woman was arrested at Phuket International Airport on the weekend for entering and staying in Thailand without permission or a visa. The unnamed woman was taken to Sakhu Police Station to face charges of entering and staying in Thailand illegally. It’s not clear how she managed to enter the kingdom. Under Phuket Immigration’s new yellow…
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Policeman proposes to his girlfriend during a traffic jam
A Thai police officer proposed to his girlfriend in the middle of a traffic jam and shared the video of the romantic moment on his TikTok account, receiving over 160,000 likes from users. The video went viral when a police instructor, Piyawat Chaiyawet, proposed to his girlfriend two days ago on the TikTok account piyawatpark. The road location and the…
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Thai man beheads his uncle
A Thai man murdered and beheaded his biological uncle yesterday in Songkhla province in southern Thailand. At 8am, officers at Rattaphum Police Station received a report of a murder behind a house in Khao Phra subdistrict. Police found the body of 56 year old Wasana [surname withheld] lying on his side. The deceased’s head was missing and nowhere to be…
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Thai aunty sends underground lottery numbers to police group chat by mistake, gets arrested for gambling
Police arrested a 69 year old aunty from Trat province, eastern Thailand, for gambling after she sent her desired underground lottery numbers to the wrong group chat on Line. She sent the picture to the police. On Friday, the Line group “Smart Safety Zone Mueang Trat Police Station” – which has 439 members – received a suspicious message from 69…
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Get soaked in fun, frolics and Thailand’s Songkran Festival
Filled full of festivals, fun and frolics, April is one of the most celebrated months of the year in Thailand with the traditional Thai New Year of Songkran one of the most culturally important celebrations in the kingdom. The Songkran festival is known worldwide and is celebrated to honour family values, pay respect to seniors, and participate in traditional ceremonies…
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