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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    9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand

    Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...

  • ‘Buy insurance’ urges English tourist who crashed moped through window in Thailand | Thaiger

    ‘Buy insurance’ urges English tourist who crashed moped through window in Thailand

    A young Englishwoman urges tourists to take out travel insurance after crashing a moped through a glass window in Koh Pha Ngan in southern Thailand. Emma Lewis, a 24 year old student from Basingstoke in Hampshire, was en route to go snorkelling on the island paradise when she lost control and crashed into a house window. The glass shattered around her…

  • Indian man attacked by 3 fellow nationals in Thailand over business dispute | Thaiger

    Indian man attacked by 3 fellow nationals in Thailand over business dispute

    An Indian man filed a complaint with the Thai police after he was attacked by three fellow Indian nationals in the central province of Prachin Buri after a business dispute. The 33 year old Indian man named Rantusa filed a complaint at Kabin Buri Police Station that he was attacked by three other Indian men in front of the laundry…

  • One year old rescued from 15-metre-deep hole in Thailand | Thaiger

    One year old rescued from 15-metre-deep hole in Thailand

    UPDATE At 10.40am, the one year old girl trapped in a 15-metre-deep hole in Tak province in northern Thailand was successfully rescued. The young child was immediately rushed to the hospital for a medical examination after being stuck in the muddy, narrow hole all night. ORIGINAL STORY Rescuers have been working for over 16 hours to attempt to rescue a one…

  • Body of German tourist who jumped from Koh Pha Ngan ferry found near Koh Tao | Thaiger

    Body of German tourist who jumped from Koh Pha Ngan ferry found near Koh Tao

    A body found floating in the sea near Koh Tao is believed to be the missing German tourist who jumped off a ferry shortly after it departed from Koh Pha Ngan in southern Thailand one week ago. At 4pm yesterday, the Kusol Sattha Rescue Foundation was informed that a tourist boat came across the body of a male tourist floating…

  • Rescuers race to save 1 year old trapped in 15-metre-deep hole in Thailand | Thaiger

    Rescuers race to save 1 year old trapped in 15-metre-deep hole in Thailand

    Rescuers have been working for over 16 hours to attempt to rescue a one year old girl trapped in a narrow, 15-metre-deep hole in Tak province in northern Thailand. At 9.30am, rescuers made a breakthrough and managed to reach the toddler. They are now in the process of bringing her up out of the hole. Yesterday, a Burmese couple left…

  • Ready-to-move-in condos in Thailand attracting Chinese buyers | Thaiger

    Ready-to-move-in condos in Thailand attracting Chinese buyers

    The Covid-19 pandemic has driven many Chinese nationals to speed up their relocation to Thailand, with the majority looking to buy ready-to-move-in condos. Kashif Ansari, the CEO of Juwai IQI Group, a real estate marketing firm in China, reckons that Chinese buyers are in a rush to make their move to Thailand right away, instead of waiting for two years.…

  • Foreigners, particularly Russians, accused of working illegally in Phuket | Thaiger

    Foreigners, particularly Russians, accused of working illegally in Phuket

    The Phuket Information Centre (ศูนย์ข้อมูลภูเก็ต) Facebook page accused foreigners, particularly Russians, of operating illegal businesses and working illegally in Phuket. Phuket Information Centre Facebook page shared with its followers last Sunday, February 5, that… “A lot of foreigners stay and work in Phuket, both legally and illegally. Recently, a group of foreigners started a car rental business. They offered both…

  • ‘Tame’ whale shark swims with tourists for 5 hours in eastern Thailand | Thaiger

    ‘Tame’ whale shark swims with tourists for 5 hours in eastern Thailand

    A “tame” whale shark swam with tourists for five hours off the coast of Rayong province in eastern Thailand yesterday. Diving instructor Kru Off, from the Toy Boat Tour group, revealed that he took tourists out to Hin Pleng, a popular dive site about 13 nautical miles off the coast. As the tourists were swimming and looking at the coral,…

  • Man accused of faking wife’s death for 10 million baht | Thaiger

    Man accused of faking wife’s death for 10 million baht

    A man has been arrested for fraud after allegedly faking the death of his wife to claim 10 million baht from life insurance companies. The man denied the charge and blamed his wife and brother-in-law instead. He did insist on paying back the insurance companies that were scammed. The Central Investigations Bureau (CIB) was notified about the fraud and after…

  • Thai customs end intrusive frisking of designer-brand wearers at airports | Thaiger

    Thai customs end intrusive frisking of designer-brand wearers at airports

    The Thai Customs Department has officially put an end to the embarrassing and intrusive practice of frisking travellers passing through border control with designer-brand items at airports. The department said the searches were a burden for travellers. According to the deputy director of the Customs Department, Phanthong Loykunlanan, the department has abolished frisking tourists to make travel more convenient. However,…

  • Thai police can’t find alleged ‘macau888’ kingpin’s rare Lamborghini | Thaiger

    Thai police can’t find alleged ‘macau888’ kingpin’s rare Lamborghini

    UPDATE Police searched three locations in Thailand but the super rare Lamborghini they planned to seize from alleged macau888 gambling kingpin Benz Daemon today is nowhere to be found. Police did however seize other luxury cars belonging to various suspects in the case including Benz Daemon, who is believed to be in hiding in Hong Kong. Netizens are criticising the…

  • Pattaya restaurant blamed for taking over public beach | Thaiger

    Pattaya restaurant blamed for taking over public beach

    A restaurant manager confessed to using public spaces at Na Jomtien Beach in Pattaya without permission to provide seating for their customers. Facebook page, PattayaWatchdog, posted a picture of nearly 30 tables on the beach, complete with decorative lamps to create an ideal romantic dinner setting. The caption said… “This is Na Jomtien Beach under the care of the Na…

  • AI chatbot steers British woman out of troubled marriage and into arms of lover | Thaiger

    AI chatbot steers British woman out of troubled marriage and into arms of lover

    Artificial intelligence is omnipresent: it is in healthcare, enables problem-solving and, in one case, helped one unhappily married British woman to decide to divorce her husband. In maybe a world first, a woman sought the advice of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot to navigate the treacherous waters of a failing marriage and a steamy affair. Sarah, a 37 year old tech worker…

  • Thai police to seize rare Lamborghini from alleged ‘macau888’ gambling network kingpin | Thaiger

    Thai police to seize rare Lamborghini from alleged ‘macau888’ gambling network kingpin

    Thailand’s cyber police say they will seize a super rare Lamborghini owned by the alleged owner of the illegal online gambling network ‘macau888‘ today. The Lamborghini Mad Bull Liberty Walk Aventador V2 is one of only 50 in the world with an estimated value of 37 – 44 million baht. It is the only one in Thailand. The ‘Liberty Walk’…

  • GLO under fire after refusing to pay jackpot winner 12 million baht  | Thaiger

    GLO under fire after refusing to pay jackpot winner 12 million baht 

    An out-of-work, heartbroken Thai Lottery jackpot winner who won 12 million baht couldn’t claim her prize from the Government Lottery Office (GLO) because she bought her tickets from an online lottery platform that the government shut down for overcharging customers. Phanthawat “North” Narkwisut, the CEO of Kong Salak Plus, was ordered to close his platform by the Department of Special…

  • Marketing in Thailand as a Foreigner: Volume #5 The Best Practices, really? | Thaiger

    Marketing in Thailand as a Foreigner: Volume #5 The Best Practices, really?

    Foreign marketers sometimes need to be bold enough to wear socks and sandals in a tropical country like Thailand to stand out. If you wonder why: READ HERE. Volume#5: The Best Practices, really? Anyone working for brands big enough is always approached with ‘THE PLATFORMS’. They will let you know all the best practices in the world that could rocket…

  • Canadian man’s luxury Pattaya villa gutted by fire | Thaiger

    Canadian man’s luxury Pattaya villa gutted by fire

    A fire gutted a Canadian man’s 20 million baht luxury villa in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, yesterday. Officers at Nong Prue Police Station were notified of a raging fire at a pool villa in Phu Thara village in Pattaya’s Bang Lamung district yesterday afternoon. Nong Prue Municipality firefighters deployed three fire engines and quickly got the flames under control. The fire…

  • Thailand’s taxi troubles: Tourists slam overpriced rides and shoddy service | Thaiger

    Thailand’s taxi troubles: Tourists slam overpriced rides and shoddy service

    Thailand‘s taxi services have received a poor rating in a recent survey conducted by the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), with foreign tourists slamming the country’s taxis for overpriced fares and shoddy service. The survey, which was conducted on 200 foreign tourists during the final quarter of 2022, showed a rating of just 3.5 out of 5 for taxi services…

  • “Transfer to an inactive post’ – punishment or paradise? | Thaiger

    “Transfer to an inactive post’ – punishment or paradise?

    Bangkok’s recent spate of police “embarrassments” (cops caught committing crimes) has led to a spate of “transfer to an inactive post” (paid vacation) notices. If most of us commit a crime, we can expect the cops to show up and – very basically – throw us in jail. But rich people rarely go to jail, and cops, even less so.…

  • Speedboat engulfed in flames sinks off Koh Samui, Thailand | Thaiger

    Speedboat engulfed in flames sinks off Koh Samui, Thailand

    A speedboat engulfed in flames sank off Thailand’s island of Koh Samui last night. According to the Thailand Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (Thai-MECC), the boat caught fire near the Bang Rak boat pier in tambon Bo Phut of Koh Samui district, at around midnight. The emergency response team arrived at the scene and found the two-engine speedboat, named the Silver…

  • Is kaeng som the worst dish in Thailand? | Thaiger

    Is kaeng som the worst dish in Thailand?

    Is an innocent soup, kaeng som, really the worst dish in Thailand? Thai foodies have, once again, taken the bait set for them by another bizarre “Best of” listicle generated by the unsupervised children working at Taste Atlas. This week’s deliberately insulting clickbait is a listicle called 100 Worst-Rated Dishes in the World, and the chosen dish of despair for…

  • Tourist Police and Good Samaritan rescue American lost on Phuket trail | Thaiger

    Tourist Police and Good Samaritan rescue American lost on Phuket trail

    Phuket Tourist Police, with the help of a Good Samaritan, rescued an American man lost on a trail near the Krating Cape in Karon. According to the Phuket Tourist Police, the man, who has not been identified, called the Tourist Police call centre for assistance at 1155. He reported that he was walking along the trail and was unable to…

  • Raging fire at Pattaya condo sends hundreds evacuating | Thaiger

    Raging fire at Pattaya condo sends hundreds evacuating

    A raging fire at a Pattaya condo sent hundreds evacuating in the early hours of this morning. Over 200 residents of the Amazon Residence Condominium were evacuated, and at least five people were injured. The condo is located on Soi Wat Boon Kanjanaram 5 in the Nong Prue sub-district of Bang Lamung. Four people suffered smoke inhalation, and one foreign…

  • Police on trail of “Four Brothers” gambling ring | Thaiger

    Police on trail of “Four Brothers” gambling ring

    Police raided properties across the country yesterday and arrested a prominent member of the “Four Brothers” gambling ring. Police were gathering evidence on the “four brothers” who have been accused by a TV actor of operating the gambling website macau888. Police led by Pol Maj Gen Wiwat Kamchamnan, deputy commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, raided eight premises with…

  • Reasons Why You Should Live in Kamala Phuket feat. Twin Palms Residences Montazure | Thaiger

    Reasons Why You Should Live in Kamala Phuket feat. Twin Palms Residences Montazure

    https://youtu.be/qmPuOmWzfsc Kamala Phuket is an amazing place to live! Located in Thailand, this vibrant city is known for its culture, beautiful beaches, and delicious food. With a range of activities, from relaxing on the beach to exploring the city’s vibrant nightlife, there’s something for everyone in Kamala Phuket. The city is also known for its affordable living costs and strong…

  • The top games to play in Thailand | Thaiger

    The top games to play in Thailand

    One of the countries that has the most amount of game-loving players in the world? It’s Thailand! There are approximately 32 million video gamers in Thailand – a figure that seems to grow every single year and accounts for (almost) half the population. And the most popular genre of these games are role playing games, otherwise known as RPGs. In…

  • Thai celebrities duped out of 20 million baht in online toy scam, 300 victims speak out | Thaiger

    Thai celebrities duped out of 20 million baht in online toy scam, 300 victims speak out

    Leading Thai celebrities were scammed out of over 20 million baht in a massive online toy scam, joining more than 300 other victims. Twenty representatives filed a complaint to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday. The group of 20 victims were led by 40 year old Phiphitpon Pookkanasood, a famous Thai singer from the band named Jetset’er. Phiphitpon revealed that…

  • Desperate father vanishes with son after falling for 100,000 baht job scam in Isaan | Thaiger

    Desperate father vanishes with son after falling for 100,000 baht job scam in Isaan

    A man in the Isaan province of Burriram disappeared with his three-year-old son after the family fell victim to a 100,000 baht overseas job scam. The man’s wife, 34 year old Wassana yesterday filed a complaint at None Suwan Police Station after her 35 year old husband Autthapon, and their three year old child, Arkon, vanished into thin air. Wassana…

  • Bangkok’s Jodd Fairs market is relocating | Thaiger

    Bangkok’s Jodd Fairs market is relocating

    Famous night market Jodd Fairs in the Rama 9 area of Bangkok will be relocating to Ratchada at the end of the year. The new night market is expected to open in January 2024. In November 2021, the famous Talat Rot Fai Ratchada (Train Night Market Ratchada) which permanently closed during the Covid-19 pandemic made a comeback under the rebranded…

  • New RTN frigate to cost 15 billion baht | Thaiger

    New RTN frigate to cost 15 billion baht

    The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) wants 15 billion baht (about US $460 million) over the next five years to buy a new frigate. The new RTN frigate is to be built in Thailand. A previous RTN frigate, HTMS Sukhothai, is under 50 metres of water off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan. The ship sank on December 18 last year.…