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.

  • Sponsored

    What do you need before moving from the US to Thailand?

    The Thaiger key takeaways The most common medical emergencies for expats in Thailand include motorcycle accidents, tropical diseases, and food or water-borne illnesses. Air pollution and heat-related conditions like heatstroke also pose serious seasonal health risks, especially in northern and...

  • British man who loves Thailand banned for 5 years for overstaying | Thaiger

    British man who loves Thailand banned for 5 years for overstaying

    A British man was arrested for overstaying his welcome in the Isaan province of Sisaket yesterday. He admitted to immigration officers that overstaying in the country was wrong but he loved Thailand so much that he did not want to leave. The Sisaket Provincial Immigration Police were doing their rounds and checking on foreigners in the area when their database…

  • Thai rapper ‘Milli’ makes BBC 100 Women 2022 list | Thaiger

    Thai rapper ‘Milli’ makes BBC 100 Women 2022 list

    Thailand’s very own rapper “Milli” is the only Thai national to make it on the BBC 100 Women 2022 list, which features 100 “inspiring and influential women from around the world.” Bangkok-born Danupha “Milli” Khanatheerakul rose to fame after appearing on the popular Thai TV show The Rapper 2 in 2019. Milli’s 2020 single “Pak Korn” (Calm Down) was a…

  • Restaurants in Thailand that received 2 MICHELIN Star (MICHELIN Guide Thailand 2023) | Thaiger

    Restaurants in Thailand that received 2 MICHELIN Star (MICHELIN Guide Thailand 2023)

    Michelin Guide Thailand 2023 just came out on 24 November 2022! While there are some new entries on the Bib Gourmand and the one-star restaurant list, the 6 restaurants that received 2 Michelin stars are all retainees. Michelin Guide is known for its stringent standards when it comes to awarding stars, so you can expect not only amazing food but…

  • Man arrested for spycam porn, 39 videos feature Thai stars | Thaiger

    Man arrested for spycam porn, 39 videos feature Thai stars

    A Thai man was arrested today for creating and distributing more than 500 spycam upskirt pictures and videos. Police reported that 39 of the videos featured well-known Thai stars. The cyber police were alerted to violations of the pornography laws when they spotted a porn advertisement on a website named VK Doo Dee Dee Community that invited netizens to watch…

  • Shopee stops all bank payments after hackers steal from customer in Thailand | Thaiger

    Shopee stops all bank payments after hackers steal from customer in Thailand

    E-commerce platform Shopee announced a permanent end to purchases made by bank payment starting today onwards. The decision comes after a customer in Thailand was hacked via Shopee and lost tens of thousands of baht from a bank account linked to the app. The hackers allegedly used the Shopee app to get into bank accounts and transfer money without even…

  • Cat killer feels no guilt over sadistic act | Thaiger

    Cat killer feels no guilt over sadistic act

    A sadistic Thai man faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 100,000 baht for the barbaric killing of a neighbour’s cat in Lak Si district in Bangkok. But rather than be embarrassed by his cruelty, cat killer Tian Arunjit declared no guilt to reporters. The 68 year old said he was proud his behaviour…

  • Thailand PM wants to groom successor in two years | Thaiger

    Thailand PM wants to groom successor in two years

    Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is not throwing in the political towel just yet, he wants another couple of years at the helm before grooming a successor. PM Prayut seized power in a 2014 military coup, was reelected in a disputed election in 2019, and bizarrely had to stand down in August this year after the Constitutional Court of Thailand…

  • VIDEO: Taxi meter rises suspiciously quickly in Bangkok, Thailand | Thaiger

    VIDEO: Taxi meter rises suspiciously quickly in Bangkok, Thailand

    A passenger of a taxi in Bangkok, Thailand, filmed the meter rising suspiciously quickly and posted it on Twitter, asking netizens, “Is this normal?” Facebook page “Do you want to be famous? I’ll make you famous return part 5.3” – comrades of citizen journalism in Thailand  – publicised the video on Sunday. The passenger said they got in the taxi at…

  • Plumber murders and robs Thai woman in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Plumber murders and robs Thai woman in Bangkok

    A plumber was arrested in Nonthaburi after he allegedly murdered and robbed a female customer at her house in Bangkok. The murderer said he noticed the woman had a lot of money in her bank account when she paid for his service and got greedy. Officers from Khok Khram Police Station in Bangkok reported details of the murder case on…

  • Father dies trying to save son from teenage gang | Thaiger

    Father dies trying to save son from teenage gang

    Father’s Day for one Thai family turned into a tragedy this year after a father died trying to save his son from an attack by a teenage gang in the Klong Luang district of Pathum Thani province. Officers from Klong Luang Police Station and a rescue team rushed to the Liap Klong Song Road in Pathum Thani at 3.30am yesterday,…

  • Frenchman arrested for scamming Thai woman out of 2 million baht in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Frenchman arrested for scamming Thai woman out of 2 million baht in Bangkok

    A Frenchman was arrested in Bangkok yesterday after he swindled nearly 2 million baht from a Thai woman who invested in his fake import-export business. The victim reported she found many other Thai people had been tricked by the scoundrel. The victim told police that she met the 41 year old Frenchman, Jacouel Clemen, at a bar in the Sukhumvit…

  • CAAT warns Thai VietJet for cancelling three Phuket – Bangkok flights in one day | Thaiger

    CAAT warns Thai VietJet for cancelling three Phuket – Bangkok flights in one day

    UPDATE The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has warned Thai VietJet that the airline will be punished if it doesn’t start complying with aviation rules. The warning comes after Thai VietJet cancelled three services on its Bangkok – Phuket route on Thursday. A flight from Bangkok to Phuket was cancelled due to accumulated delays at Suvarnabhumi Airport, says Thai…

  • Whole new world of censorship pain on its way to Thailand | Thaiger

    Whole new world of censorship pain on its way to Thailand

    A whole new world of censorship pain is on its way to Thailand, with the latest act by the thought police becoming law on Christmas Day. Online platforms must abide by a new regulation to deal quickly with complaints about content deemed to violate the Computer Crimes Act. A new regulation issued by Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaiwut…

  • Arrogant Thai construction company rips off Myanmar migrant workers | Thaiger

    Arrogant Thai construction company rips off Myanmar migrant workers

    An arrogant Thai construction company has been ordered to cough up wages it refused to pay to its migrant workers earlier this year. The arrogance of the unnamed building firm is underlined by the fact that no representatives came to court to defend or justify its action. The Labour Court in Phuket told the construction company to settle three months’…

  • Thai govt’s chemical castration policy takes effect next month | Thaiger

    Thai govt’s chemical castration policy takes effect next month

    The Thai government is preparing to introduce its controversial chemical castration policy on repeat sex offenders next month. The Justice Ministry revealed it is preparing for the new law which is set to take effect on January 23. The policy is aimed at preventing people convicted of sexual and violent crimes from reoffending. The Senate passed the bill, allowing the…

  • RTP urges Thai drivers not to ignore e-tickets, they’re real, not fake | Thaiger

    RTP urges Thai drivers not to ignore e-tickets, they’re real, not fake

    A Royal Thai Police (RTP) spokesperson confirmed e-tickets for traffic violations have been in use since May this year and they are not fake despite claims to the contrary. Pol Maj Gen Achayon Kraithong announced on Facebook that the RTP e-tickets are real after a well-known neurologist and professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University warned motorists of a…

  • Father’s Day celebrated throughout Thailand today | Thaiger

    Father’s Day celebrated throughout Thailand today

    Today, the people of Thailand celebrate Father’s Day. It is a national public holiday for schools and many businesses are closed. The holiday is celebrated on this day to honour and commemorate the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, father to the current king and a leader whom many revere as a symbolic father to all the people of Thailand. The holiday…

  • Disruptive Phuket-bound passenger thrown off flight in Karachi | Thaiger

    Disruptive Phuket-bound passenger thrown off flight in Karachi

    A disruptive Phuket-bound passenger on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul was thrown off the aircraft yesterday and arrested after the flight diverted to Pakistan’s Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. After the passenger was taken into custody by local law enforcement, the flight continued to Phuket. Turkish Airlines flight TK-172 on an Airbus A330 diverted to Karachi three hours into the…

  • Thailand tourism predicted at 80% of pre-Covid in 2023 | Thaiger

    Thailand tourism predicted at 80% of pre-Covid in 2023

    Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn just predicted that next year, revenue from tourism will hit 80% of the level it was before the Covid-19 pandemic. He made the bold prediction at the 22nd World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit, being held in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. At that summit, the TAT was invited to take…

  • Red-Bull hit-and-run prosecutor dismissed | Thaiger

    Red-Bull hit-and-run prosecutor dismissed

    Red-Bull hit-and-run prosecutor Chainarong Saengthong-aram has been dismissed by the Public Prosecutors Commission. The former senior prosecutor at the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) was discharged after tampering with evidence in the case involving Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya. An initial report showed that Vorayuth was driving his Ferrari at 177 kilometres per hour when he hit and killed…

  • Thai baht soars to six-month high against US dollar | Thaiger

    Thai baht soars to six-month high against US dollar

    The Thai baht opened at 34.78 against the US dollar today, strengthening from yesterday’s close of 35 to a six-month high. The baht’s sudden rise is down to the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) hiking the policy rate by a quarter point earlier this week. The BOT remains committed to a gradual monetary tightening policy, raising the policy rate from 1%…

  • Stop giving monkeys cigarettes, beg locals in Lop Buri, Thailand | Thaiger

    Stop giving monkeys cigarettes, beg locals in Lop Buri, Thailand

    Locals in Lop Buri province in central Thailand – famous for its out-of-control monkey population – are begging tourists to stop giving monkeys cigarettes. Monkey lovers in Lop Buri were saddened to see a clip circulating on social media in which a visitor to the city flicked a lit cigarette to a monkey. In the clip, the innocent monkey picked…

  • World Cup broadcasting soap opera drama rumbles on | Thaiger

    World Cup broadcasting soap opera drama rumbles on

    The FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar broadcasting soap opera continues to provide drama. In this week’s episode, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) is demanding the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) return the 600 million baht it handed over because it can’t fulfil its World Cup broadcasting agreement. The long-drawn-out melodrama appeared to have reached a conclusion when Thailand…

  • Police arrest weight loss pill executive for causing 4 deaths in Thailand | Thaiger

    Police arrest weight loss pill executive for causing 4 deaths in Thailand

    A dietary supplement executive was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday after four people died from taking his company’s weight loss pills. Police arrested 50 year old Nuttawat outside a condo in the Huai Kwang district under an arrest warrant issued by Kanchanaburi Provincial Court on January 18, 2022, for, “secretly adding a substance to food, medicine or other edible products…

  • Ladyboys steal Russian tourist’s gold necklace in Pattaya, Thailand | Thaiger

    Ladyboys steal Russian tourist’s gold necklace in Pattaya, Thailand

    In a tale as old as time, another foreign tourist had their gold necklace stolen by ladyboys in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, in the dead of night. At 3am today, 24 year old Artem [surname withheld] of Russian nationality sought help from officers at Pattaya City Police Station. He said two ladyboys molested him and untied his gold…

  • 7-Eleven stores introduce digital govt service channel for Thais | Thaiger

    7-Eleven stores introduce digital govt service channel for Thais

    A new digital channel is being introduced in 7-Eleven stores to make it easier for residents in Thailand to access government services. The Digital Government Development Agency (DGA) is using a technology integrator Counter Service to create a new channel to verify and issue digital IDs for citizens. The DGA reckon the systems will make it easier for people to…

  • Motorbike taxi driver wins 12 million baht lottery jackpot in Thailand | Thaiger

    Motorbike taxi driver wins 12 million baht lottery jackpot in Thailand

    A “win” motorbike taxi driver from Samut Prakan province, just south of Bangkok in Thailand, won 12 million baht (US$345,050.76) in the lottery yesterday. Ek – who works in the King Kaew area of Bang Phli district – revealed that he chose the winning lottery number 375805 using the age of his ex-wife who sadly passed away just one week ago.…

  • 9 year olds smoke cannabis on Pattaya Beach in Thailand | Thaiger

    9 year olds smoke cannabis on Pattaya Beach in Thailand

    Netizens are concerned about the safety of children after pictures of a group of 9 and 10 year olds smoking cannabis from a bamboo bong on Pattaya Beach in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, went viral on social media. Thailand delisted cannabis as an illicit narcotic in June to allow the public to utilise the plant’s medicinal properties. But without…

  • Thailand’s Board of Investment unveils transformation plans | Thaiger

    Thailand’s Board of Investment unveils transformation plans

    Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) has come up with new ways to attract more investment into Thailand. The board’s target is an easy-to-swallow group of companies dubbed “smart and sustainable” according to Bangkok Post. The government’s effort to create a “new” economy in Thailand is focused, like almost every other Asian nation, on buzzwords. The board’s chosen buzzwords are “innovation”…

  • Driving licence point deductions starting next year in Thailand | Thaiger

    Driving licence point deductions starting next year in Thailand

    Driving licence point deductions will start next year in Thailand to help curb traffic violations and dangerous driving. Starting January 9, 2023, the Royal Thai Police and Land Transport Department will enforce the demerit point system. Each driving license holder will be given 12 points to start with but will be deducted for each violation they are caught committing. The…