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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Is expat health insurance in Thailand actually worth it?
The Thaiger key takeaways Foreigners aren’t covered by public healthcare, making private hospital costs a major concern. Insurance offers financial protection and access to better medical care. Whether it’s worth it depends on your stay length, health, lifestyle, and budget....
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Opportunist thief arrested for stealing Louis Vuitton bag at Bangkok mall
An opportunist, light-fingered thief was arrested yesterday after she stole a Louis Vuitton handbag from a sexy model while she was trying on clothes at the Terminal 21 shopping mall in Bangkok. The clothes store owner, in Terminal 21 of the Asoke area of Bangkok, filed a complaint at Lumphini Police Station that a customer’s Louis Vuitton handbag was stolen…
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Two young Thai activists in serious condition after staging hunger strike over lèse-majesté law
Two Thai activists are reportedly in serious condition after staging a hunger strike over Thailand’s lèse-majesté law. The young women activists, 21 year old Tantawan Tuatulanon “Tawan,” and 23 year old Orawan Phupong “Bam,” were accused of insulting the monarchy after holding up a poster in a mall that allegedly defamed the monarchy. The poster’s writing asked whether people thought the…
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Summer season starts in Thailand at the end of February
The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) is predicting a scorching high of 43 degrees Celsius in Thailand this summer and that the new season will kick in before the end of February. The TMD reported yesterday that the summer season in Thailand would be delayed by one or two weeks this year. The weather will get warmer by the end of…
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Thailand is most searched destination for Chinese Airbnb guests
Thailand is the most searched destination for Chinese Airbnb guests. According to Airbnb’s data, the Land of Smiles was the most searched spot for Chinese travellers within 24 hours of the government’s announcement on December 26, 2022, to lift inbound quarantine requirements. The entire list of the top 10 search destinations for Chinese tourists includes: Thailand US UK Japan Australia Canada…
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Pattaya police officer denies fining vape-carrying Chinese tourists
The identity of the senior police sergeant major from Mueang Pattaya Police Station, who illegally fined Chinese tourists for carrying vapes, has been revealed. The suspect officer, referred to as “K” in previous reports, is Police Sergeant Major Nopphakit Pornwatthanakit. Nopphakit denies all allegations. Thai media also reported that Nopphakit has been praised in the past for his good deeds…
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Here’s what you do if the police stop you in Thailand | GMT
In today’s episode, Taxi scam concerns visitors, School in Thailand under fire for transporting 100 boy scouts in articulated lorry, ‘Not possible anyone else was involved’ in Leo Rex’s death in Thailand, says friend, Krabi hotel accused of favouring foreigners over Thais, and Police stopped you? Here’s how to handle it.
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School in Thailand under fire for transporting 100 boy scouts in articulated lorry
A school in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand, is facing backlash after more than 100 boy scouts were crammed into an articulated lorry to go on a school trip. Netizens grew concerned after a clip of an 18-wheel articulated lorry carrying a truckload of children wearing boy scout uniforms circulated on social media. Yesterday, the director of Wat Lam…
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Krabi hotel accused of favouring foreigners over Thais
Thai tourists condemned a hotel in Krabi for discriminatory service standards after the hotel provided better treatment to foreign guests and neglected domestic tourists. They claimed that the hotel prioritised foreign guests with higher purchasing power over them for financial gain. A Thai man posted three videos on his TikTok account, @thetharm, to share his bad experience at a hotel…
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Political activists seek justice after Pinky allowed to remove EM tag
Political activists in Thailand are seeking permission to get their electronic monitoring (EM) tags removed after the Thai Court granted permission for a female actress, Savika “Pinky” Chaiyadaj, to have her tag removed. Thai activists demand the removal of their EM tags, claiming they have committed no harm, caused no loss, and have not committed fraud or murder. According to…
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Former RTN officer seeks justice after being jailed for 8 years on fake child rapist charge
A former Royal Thai Navy (RTN) officer is seeking justice after he was wrongly branded a child rapist by his ex-girlfriend and her daughter and jailed for eight years on the trumped-up charge. The daughter recently revealed the truth because she alleges she is being abused by her mother. She wants her mother to face the music because of her…
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‘Not possible anyone else was involved’ in Leo Rex’s death in Thailand, says friend
UPDATE The friend who discovered the body of American fitness YouTuber ‘Leo Rex‘ aka ‘Leo and Longevity’ at his home in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, on Monday says it’s “not possible” anyone else was involved in his death. Charles Anthony Hughes – aka ‘Tony Huge’ – released a video statement about the death of 34 year old Laith Abdullah Algaz… “Yes,…
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Hampshire family launches urgent appeal to bring father home after Thailand bike crash
A grief-stricken family from Hampshire is trying to get the body of their father back home after learning he died in a motorcycle accident in Thailand. Anthony Murphy lay dead in a hospital morgue for five days before he officials discovered his real name. At the time he was registered as John Doe, a name used when the true name…
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Police stopped you? Here’s how to handle it
So the Royal Thai Police (RTP) have stopped you and you are worried they might ask for some cash “off the books” to let you go. What do you do in this delicate situation? If you find yourself in a situation where you are stopped by the RTP, it is important to remain calm and follow a few basic guidelines…
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Body of Burmese man swept out to sea found in Koh Samui
UPDATE The body of the Burmese man who was swept out to sea in Koh Samui on Monday has been found, according to a Thai media outlet. The outlet, One News 31, said today in an Instagram post that the man’s body was found at a beach in front of a hotel. The post reads… “The body of the Myanmar…
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Man with mental illness rescued after being stuck under a fence for 3 hours
A man with a mental health problem was rescued after he got stuck under a fence for three hours in front of a police station in the central province of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. The rescue team rushed to the incident spot in front of Ayutthaya Police Station after being notified that a man of about 20 years old was…
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Pattaya police chief transferred for fining vape carrying Chinese tourists
A senior police sergeant major from Mueng Pattaya Police Station has been transferred to Chon Buri Police Headquarters after admitting he illegally fined Chinese tourists 30,000 baht for carrying vapes. A Professional Tourist Guide Association of Thailand committee member, Paisarn Suethanuwong, revealed the wrongdoing of a Mueng Pattaya Police Station chief on a Channel 3 news show yesterday. Paisarn said…
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American man dies after crashing Ducati into trailer truck
Tragedy struck in the southern province of Phang Nga yesterday when an American man died after crashing his Ducati motorcycle into a trailer truck at 5.30pm on Phetchakasem Road. Officers from Mueng Phan Nga Police Station investigated the scene of the accident and found the body of the foreign man on the road at the back of the trailer truck.…
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Thailand tourist fee: 300 baht via air, 150 baht via land/sea
Thailand plans to charge foreign arrivals arriving by air a tourist fee of 300 baht (US$9.11) and a fee of 150 baht (US$4.56) for tourists entering the kingdom via land/sea by mid-2023. The 300 baht tourist fee for air arrivals has been in the pipeline for a long time and is set to be enforced in June after facing several Covid-19-related…
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Activists pressure opposition to do away with royal defamation law
Thai activists are pressuring the opposition Pheu Thai Party to do away with the royal defamation law if elected to office this year. The requests come at a time when three demonstrators are seriously ill after going on a hunger strike over the royal defamation law. Two of the activists are currently in the hospital and listed in serious condition. Pheu…
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Prayut tells everyone to calm down over Thai-Cambodian Muay Thai drama
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is telling everyone to calm down regarding the row that was sparked last week between Thailand and Cambodia over the origin of Muay Thai. Cambodia, the host country of the 2023 SEA Games, changed the name of the kickboxing competition from Muay Thai to Kun Khmer and stated that the origin of Muay Thai is Cambodian.…
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Crazy Russian bites off British woman’s finger in Ko Pha Ngan bean bag row
A leisurely stroll on a Thai beach with two friends and a dog bizarrely evolved into a scene from a horror movie after a crazy Russian woman went berserk, chomped on a British woman’s finger and spat it out. The British woman was walking her dog with a German friend on a beach on Ko Pha Ngan Island when they…
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Grab Thailand reveals foreign tourist trends
Grab Thailand saw a 45% increase in foreign users between Q2 and Q3 in 2022, suggesting a positive outlook for the recovery of the tourism industry. The top five countries foreign Grab users came from are… Indonesia Malaysia Singapore United States Vietnam To meet the needs of foreign users, the ride-hailing super-app focussed on perfecting three key aspects of service:…
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Large waves wash away Burmese man in Koh Samui
A recent tragedy in Koh Samui is a reminder of how dangerous large waves can be in Thailand. Large waves washed away a Burmese man in Koh Samui on Monday. Witnesses said the man was a migrant worker travelling with two other male friends, and the three appeared to be drunk. The three men walked to a viewpoint near the sea.…
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Dusit Thani College lifts its service and tourism job fair to ASEAN level
Press Release It had been an annual practice for Dusit Thani College, a specialized educational institute in hotel management, tourism, and culinary arts under Dusit International, to organize Hospitality Career Day to give opportunities in hospitality industry to the college’s students before expanding the event into a national level last year. The fair, newly named Hospitality Talent Fair, attracted those…
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Chinese tourists wrongly fined 60,000 baht for carrying vapes, says law expert
A group of Thai tour guides revealed that a group of Chinese tourists were fined 60,000 baht for carrying vapes in Pattaya. The police also gave a 50% discount and let the tourists pay only 30,000 baht. According to Thai law, Thai police cannot arrest or fine foreigners with vapes. They have to report the issue to the court. The…
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Bangkok public bus condemned by Singaporean tourist
A Singaporean tourist condemned Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) public buses after the driver of a bus in the capital closed its door and drove off as she was about to climb onboard. A Singaporean woman posted a video on her TikTok account, njwah, complaining about the service of a public bus in Bangkok. She wrote captions in Thai and…
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Koh Samui booms as over 200,000 tourists visit the popular island in January
The picturesque island of Koh Samui in Surat Thani province, Thailand, has seen a remarkable turnaround to its economy in the first month of 2023 with over 200,000 tourists visiting in January alone. After a year of uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the arrival of over 200,000 tourists has been a welcome sight for the island’s local economy. The…
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Rolling Loud Thailand 2023 is coming to Songkran Festival in Pattaya
Musical heavyweights Cardi B, Chris Brown, and Travis Scott will join more than 80 other international artists at the Rolling Loud Thailand 2023 jamboree in Pattaya during Songkran Festival from Thursday, April 13 to Saturday, April 15. Pattaya is to welcome some of the world’s leading artists for the three-day music festival on the beach at Legend Siam Theme Park…
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Three foreign tourists rescued from Thai jungle
National park officials rescued three foreign tourists who got lost in the jungle in Koh Pha Ngan, Surat Thani province, southern Thailand, yesterday. All three are reportedly safe. At 5.30pm, the Chief of Than Sadet National Park, Tikamporn Phenchom, received a call that three foreign tourists were lost in the jungle on the Khao Ra mountain and needed help. Chief…
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Government of Thailand give green light for Eastern Aviation City takeoff
Construction on the Eastern Aviation City is ready for takeoff this year after the Government of Thailand gave the green light for work to start on the 290 billion baht (US$8.8bn) project. No official date has been confirmed but work is scheduled to start before June. The original project was officially signed in June 2020. An agreement was made between…
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