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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Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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UPDATE: Woman who allegedly abused a soldier is a police officer
UPDATE The employer who allegedly abused a female soldier and claimed to be a senator’s wife is actually a police officer. According to one media source, the woman is the mistress of a senator, not his wife. The Spokesperson of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, Teerapong Pattamasing Na Ayutthaya, confirmed yesterday that the victim was a real soldier. Teerapong said…
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Police shoot and kill major drug trafficker in Kanchanaburi
Police have shot and killed a major drug trafficker in the western province of Kanchanaburi, Thai media reported yesterday. The trafficker, a 30 year old man known as ‘Mot Daodam’ had been a major distributor of narcotics in Kanchanaburi, as well as Ratchaburi. Ratchaburi police found out about Mot Daodam through small-time dealers they had arrested. A team of Ratchaburi…
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RTN’s ocean conservation activity accused of spoiling ecosystem
A Royal Thai Navy marine conservation activity day has set social media on fire. Thai netizens heavily criticised RTN’s activity day, which charged people money to take part, saying it did not improve the environment or create environmental awareness, but it destroyed the ecosystem. The RTN and the Royal Thai Marine Corps came under fire after their conservation activity day…
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Angry tourists demand refunds from tour operators in Thailand
Dozens of angry tourists are demanding refunds from Thai tour companies after they were denied entry into South Korea. The Thai Tourism Department acknowledged they had received complaints from 67 Thai travellers between August 5 and August 17 saying they had not been compensated by Thai tour companies to the tune of 1.4 million baht. The department’s deputy director-general, Jaturon…
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PM’s office is one of Thailand’s top advertising spenders
Thai netizens are curious as to why the Office of the Thai PM has spent so much money on advertisements after a recent poll by Nielsen ranked it in 13th place for the most money spent on advertising in Thailand. New York City-based Nielsen is a US information, data, and market measurement firm with clients in over 100 countries around…
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Health dept’s reply to rising food costs: ‘let them eat curry & rice’
The Health Department’s “Let them eat curry and rice” response to Thailand’s cost of living crisis is not quite Marie Antoinette’s ‘Let them eat cake’ quip to the starving peasants of France in the 17th century, but it’s not far off. The Thai Health Department urged people to buckle their belts and accept the fact that consumer products are more…
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Sri Lanka’s exiled president to head home after Thailand stay
Sri Lanka’s exiled president is planning to finally head home next week after staying in Thailand. The ousted leader, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has been on quite a journey ever since 100,000 angry protesters forced him to flee Sri Lanka on July 14. He first travelled to the Maldives and then to Singapore, where he was granted a temporary residence but without…
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Two Indians stopped for taking restricted goods to Bangkok
Delhi Air Customs arrested two people at Indira Gandhi International Airport yesterday for carrying restricted goods. The couple, Indian nationals, were on their way to Bangkok when they were stopped and had their luggage checked. Customs officers found cash in two currencies, US$19,200 and 15,700 euros, in bangle boxes. Delhi Customs reported the pair had been detained and were helping…
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Thailand movie legend Sombat Metanee has died, aged 85
A close friend of one of Thailand’s best-known actors, Sombat Metanee, revealed he died peacefully in his sleep today. The 85 year old, who made more than 2,000 films and television shows, was hailed by Thai fans as a heroic actor. At one time, Sombat held a Guinness World Record for most film appearances at 617 times. The media reported…
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2 men on a motorcycle rob a gas station in Chon Buri
Police are on the lookout for two opportunist thieves who robbed a gas station in Chon Buri yesterday. The two men arrived at the PTT gas station. No. 114/22, Village No. 2, Nong Samsak Sub-district, in the Ban Bueng subdistrict on a motorbike wearing full-face helmets and robbed about 6,000 baht in cash before fleeing the scene. Pol. Lt. Col. Ekachai Pakwat,…
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PM Prayut suggests studying Buddhism to cope with rising electricity bills in Thailand
Thailand’s electricity authorities approved record high electricity prices on Monday to offset the rising prices of imported gas. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s suggestion of studying Buddhism to cope with expensive bills is a slap in the face to Thailand’s poorest people, who will disproportionately suffer the most due to the price hike. “Go and study the Dharma. Study the Four…
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Indian man arrested for smuggling 17 live animals out of Thailand
An Indian man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Tuesday for trying to smuggle 17 prohibited animals from Thailand to India. The Director of Thailand’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Praset Sornsathapornkun, reported to the media that the 21 year old Indian man, Abilash Annadury, was arrested by the officers of the…
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Thai govt open to cannabis recreation, not pot-smoking tourists
Thailand’s Public Health Minister made contradictory statements yesterday regarding the recreational use of cannabis. In one statement Anutin Charnvirakul said he was open to the further liberalisation of the drug and in another, he said pot-smoking tourists are not welcome in Thailand. “We don’t welcome those kinds of tourists,” said The 55 year old Bhumjaithai Party leader at a “Meet…
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School’s In, Face-To-Face Learning Shifts to the Home
Press Release BANGKOK, THAILAND: Education throughout Thailand during the last few years of the Covid-19-inspired ‘Zoom Boom’ has largely taken place in a virtual classroom. But for many, remote learning has not been an effective substitute for face-to-face lessons. Growing frustration by online students and teachers who feel unable to connect in the fragmented and often disrupted cyberspace has created…
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Thai neitzens angry at SUV driver using a siren just to use toilet
Thai netizens made it known there were outraged by the owner of a black SUV car that traveled at high speed and used a siren – just to use a toilet. Dashcam footage of the SUV was posted on the Facebook page Let Me Know If You Want to Be Famous Return Part 3. The video was posted on August…
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New poll says people from Thailand more relaxed about Covid-19
A survey conducted by the Department of Health Service Support revealed that Thai people are not as vigilant as they once were about Covid-19 safety measures. The survey revealed that Thai people were about 4.3% more likely to engage in higher-risk activities than previously while there is an 11.06% decline in mask-wearing awareness. These results came from comparing the data…
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Body of one teacher found in double suicide pact in SE Thailand
The body of one of the two teachers who jumped off a bridge in Muang district in a double suicide pact has been recovered. A member of the public Anon Boonsert revealed that he saw two women sitting inside a Honda car parked on the Bang Phra Bridge, connecting Wang Krachae subdistrict and Nong Khan Song subdistrict, in Trat Province,…
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Son who tried to starve mother to death dies of TB in NE Thailand
A Thai man who tried to starve his mother to death in the hope of getting her inheritance was found dead yesterday in the family home in Isaan of Buriram province. It is believed he died of Tuberculosis. Officers from Satuek Police Station and a Wang Krut Rescue team were called to investigate a one-story house in the Nikom sub-district,…
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Hot gran bowled over by Shane Warne before he died in Thailand
The world’s self-proclaimed “hottest grandma” revealed she was secretly dating cricket legend Shane Warne before his death in Thailand earlier this year. Australia OnlyFans star Gina Stewart claimed she first met Warne in 2018 at the Gold Coast, Queensland. The 51 year old model revealed she has gone public about their relationship because she says she’s still finding it hard…
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Soi Dog Foundation pledges to neuter 1 million animals in 2 years
Now in 16 provinces, the Soi Dog Foundation has set a goal to vaccinate and neuter one million stray dogs and cats across Thailand within the next two years. The foundation has been working since 2003 to combat the problem of overpopulation of stray dogs all over the country. They launched a program that year called Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return…
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Instant noodles, a staple budget food, fighting to increase prices
There is perhaps no symbol more synonymous with living on a tight budget than dining cheap with a cup of ramen instant noodles. So it’s an extra kick for those struggling during this time of hyperinflation in Thailand and around the world that instant noodles manufacturers have requested expedited permission to raise prices on their products. The Internal Trade Department…
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Pattaya cops arrest spurned lover armed with gun after car chase
A high-speed car chase between police and a spurned lover armed with a gun ended when officers managed to arrest the man in a state of emotional duress in Pattaya. Police were called to the scene of a domestic dispute between Jane Ditphakdi and an unnamed woman, who rejected his advances, and another man trying to mediate the argument yesterday…
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A monk dies in yet another day of Buddhist shame in Thailand
A history of bad blood between two monks yesterday resulted in the death of one on yet another day of shame for the Buddhist faith. There has been an endless number of monastic scandals over the past year in Thailand involving Buddhist monks being caught engaging in inappropriate and criminal acts in violation of their monastic vows from fornication to…
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Electricity prices soar 18% to 4.72 baht per unit next month
Electricity prices are already at a record high rate of 4 baht per unit, topping an eight-year old record, and have now been approved to surge another 18%. When global oil prices rocketed up to US$110 per barrel in 2014, Thai energy prices hit 3.96 baht per unit. Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for all forms of…
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UPDATE: Foreigner faces prison for parrotfishing in Thailand
UPDATE: The foreign parrotfishes have been caught and detained by police in Phuket, southern Thailand, and faces legal action. Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Warawut Silpa-archa made the following statement this morning… “Yesterday, August 15, at 3.30pm, Roslan Benedia of Dutch nationality was detained and questioned at a police station in Phuket over a video he posted on…
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Dangerous social media trend encourages Thai teens to take Rohypnol
Parents in Thailand have been warned that a dangerous TikTok trend is encouraging teenagers to take Rohypnol, commonly known as “roofies” or “date rape drug.” Rohypnol is a strong drug that causes extreme drowsiness, and dizziness known for causing blackouts. Rohypnol is commonly associated with “date rape,” with many people worldwide – mostly women – reporting that they have been…
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Thailand records fifth case of monkeypox in Thai woman
A Thai woman who recently returned to Thailand from Dubai has tested positive for the monkeypox virus. The positive result was confirmed today by Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health. Airport staff noticed that the 25 year old woman looked unwell and had blisters on her body when she arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport on August 14, so they took her to…
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E. coli contamination found at popular waterfall in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand
A popular waterfall on Doi Suthep mountain in the northern province of Chiang Mai is brimming with E. coli bacteria from human feces, warns Dr Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, a Green Globe award-winning conservationist and professor of cardiology at Chiang Mai University. The doctor warns against drinking or washing your face in the waterfall… “While driving up Doi Suthep mountain, there is…
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4am alcohol curfew may increase revenue, but also crime, deaths
Supporters of the current proposal to allow nightlife entertainment venues to open and serve booze until 4am in some tourist provinces think it will allow money-spending customers to drink alcohol and party for a few extra hours. Meanwhile, opposition to the proposal worries that it will allow customers to drink alcohol and party for a few extra hours, with dire…
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Tenant fined 140,000 baht for keeping dog in Bangkok condominium
South Bangkok Criminal Court has ruled that a tenant who violated condominium rules by keeping a dog in the apartment must pay a 141,500 baht fine and interest of 5% per year until the sum is paid in full. The decision comes after the condo filed a lawsuit against the dog owner in December last year. On top of the…
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