Thailand News

Discover the most recent and relevant news from across Thailand on The Thaiger’s National News page. Covering a wide range of topics, including politics, business, crime, and lifestyle, our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.

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    Is tap water in Thailand safe to consume?

    Wondering if you can drink the tap water in Thailand? From brushing your teeth to filling up a bottle, it’s helpful to understand a few basics. Tap water safety in Thailand varies by location, and while some people use it...

  • Myanmar workers’ DNA matches semen found on Koh Tao murder, rape victim, say police | Thaiger

    Myanmar workers’ DNA matches semen found on Koh Tao murder, rape victim, say police

    PHUKET: A police source has confirmed that DNA samples from two of three detained Myanmar workers matches the DNA extracted from semen found on the body of British tourist Hannah Witheridge. Ms Witheridge and fellow national David Miller were brutally murdered on the popular island on September 14. — The Nation

  • Myanmar migrant worker confesses to Koh Tao murders, say police

    Myanmar migrant worker confesses to Koh Tao murders, say police

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Migrant ‘confesses to Koh Tao murders’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A migrant worker has confessed to the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao in Surat Thani province, deputy national police chief General Jakthip Chaijinda said yesterday. He is among three Myanmar men…

  • Koh Tao killer confesses

    Koh Tao killer confesses

    PHUKET: A Myanmar national has confessed to killing two British tourists on Koh Tao in Surat Thani, acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jakthip Chaijinda said today. David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were brutally murdered on the island on September 14. Both suffered serious head wounds. Police said Ms Witheridge was also sexually assaulted. The migrant worker was identified only as “Win”,…

  • Woman caught smuggling drugs in pumpkins | Thaiger

    Woman caught smuggling drugs in pumpkins

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Woman caught smuggling drugs in pumpkins The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police yesterday caught a woman allegedly trying to smuggle in marijuana and amphetamines stuffed in pumpkins. Kanjana Srijuisai, 37, was arrested at a border checkpoint in Ubon Ratchathani after returning from Laos. Noticing her…

  • Car licence plate sells for record Bt25m

    Car licence plate sells for record Bt25m

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Car licence plate sells for record Bt25m The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Car licence plate number 1 Kor Kor 1111 was yesterday passed to a 19-year-old student, who bid Bt25 million for it, making it the most expensive number sold at an auction organised by…

  • Policeman gets 57 years for drunken gun rampage | Thaiger

    Policeman gets 57 years for drunken gun rampage

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Policeman gets 57 years for drunken gun rampage The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court yesterday gave a former crowd control policeman a total of 57 years and 10 months in prison for six cases in which he reportedly shot at motorists in Bangkok.…

  • Media, police forensic experts leave Koh Tao | Thaiger

    Media, police forensic experts leave Koh Tao

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Media, police forensic experts leave Koh Tao The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Forensic police yesterday pulled out of Koh Tao after completing their task collecting DNA samples from a large number of men, both Thai and migrant workers, in their hunt for the killers of…

  • New Army chief vows no coup

    New Army chief vows no coup

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New Army chief vows no coup The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Newly appointed Army chief General Udomdej Sitabutr vowed yesterday there would be no military coup to oust the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration. “There won’t be [a coup], be it by those [in power] now or…

  • Railway staffer child rapist-murderer sentenced to death

    Railway staffer child rapist-murderer sentenced to death

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Railway child rapist-murderer sentenced to death The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court today sentenced to death State Railway of Thailand employee Wanchai Saengkhao, 22, for raping and strangling a 13-year-old girl before dumping her body from a moving train in July. He was…

  • Judge kills his wife, himself

    Judge kills his wife, himself

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Judge kills his wife, himself The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Phitsanulok Court judge Chalermpol Butrdee shot dead his wife before turning the gun on himself early yesterday morning at their home in Nakhon Sawan’s Muang district. Following the report of the incident at about 2am,…

  • Koh Tao party zone plan amid security concerns

    Koh Tao party zone plan amid security concerns

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao party zone plan amid security concerns The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Designated entertainment and activity areas and a special management team will be implemented on Koh Tao, Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said yesterday.The scheme, dubbed the “Koh Tao Model”, is a…

  • Man kills daughter, wife, burns bodies

    Man kills daughter, wife, burns bodies

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man kills daughter, wife, burns bodies The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have arrested a man with a history of drug use and mental illness after he allegedly stabbed to death his wife and daughter and then burned their bodies in his pickup truck on…

  • Koh Tao Murders: Police pin hopes on DNA test results

    Koh Tao Murders: Police pin hopes on DNA test results

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao Murders: Police pin hopes on DNA test results The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Nearly two weeks since the gruesome murders of two British backpackers on Koh Tao, the killers are still at large. Worse still, police have pinned all their hopes on the…

  • German beggar faces deportation for charity-paid partying in Pattaya

    German beggar faces deportation for charity-paid partying in Pattaya

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community German beggar faces deportation for charity-paid partying in Pattaya The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: After attracting sympathy and donations from Thais in Bangkok, a German with an excessively swollen leg was seen enjoying drinks and the nightlife in Pattaya on Wednesday night. Tourist police have…

  • Customs seizes Bt103m of luxury cars, iPhones

    Customs seizes Bt103m of luxury cars, iPhones

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Customs seizes Bt103m of luxury cars, iPhones The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Customs Department has seized prohibited goods such as counterfeit smartphones, including iPhone 6 models, and tax-evading luxury cars worth a total of Bt103 million, the department’s adviser on customs control systems, Narin Kalayanamit,…

  • Pata Zoo fights efforts to move caged gorilla Bua Noi

    Pata Zoo fights efforts to move caged gorilla Bua Noi

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pata Zoo fights efforts to move caged gorilla Bua Noi The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The owners of Pata Zoo are fighting back efforts by many people to move the gorilla, Bua Noi, to what they consider “a better home”. “Don’t use mob rule here,”…

  • PM vows crackdown on Koh Tao scourge

    PM vows crackdown on Koh Tao scourge

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM vows crackdown on Koh Tao scourge The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: N THE WAKE of the murder of two British citizens on Koh Tao, off Surat Thani coast, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday vowed to tackle influential rackets and illegitimate businesses on the…

  • Russian arrested for installing ATM skimmer

    Russian arrested for installing ATM skimmer

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian arrested for installing ATM skimmer The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Russian has been arrested for allegedly installing a “skimmer” device to steal PIN numbers of cardholders who used an automatic teller machine (ATM) at a 7-Eleven convenience store in eastern Bangkok. The new…

  • Police free bar owners and look for ex-village headman’s son

    Police free bar owners and look for ex-village headman’s son

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police free bar owners and look for ex-village headman’s son The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are looking for the son of a former Koh Tao village headman in their pursuit of the killers of two British backpackers on the night of September 14, after…

  • Koh Tao Murders: Police arrest one suspect, launch manhunt for another

    Koh Tao Murders: Police arrest one suspect, launch manhunt for another

    PHUKET: Police have arrested the brother of a local village chief on Koh Tao for the brutal slaying of British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge last week (story here). Region 8 Police Commander Panya Mamen named the man arrested only as “Mon”, reported Thai PBS. Local officers are coordinating with Bangkok Metropolitan Police to hunt down a second suspect,…

  • Tourist Police, charity rescue German beggar

    Tourist Police, charity rescue German beggar

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tourist Police, charity rescue German beggar The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Tourist Police and a German charity have come to the aid of a German man with excessively swollen legs, found begging near Khao San Road in Bangkok, after his photos were distributed and…

  • NCPO will select National Reform Council members | Thaiger

    NCPO will select National Reform Council members

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO will select National Reform Council members The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order yesterday clarified its decision to cancel the appointment of a 14-member committee to select the 250-member National Reform Council. NCPO spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvari said the…

  • Vietnamese men arrested for kidnap, extortion and torture

    Vietnamese men arrested for kidnap, extortion and torture

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Vietnamese men arrested for kidnap, extortion and torture The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three Vietnamese men are in police detention for allegedly kidnapping and chopping off their victim’s finger in an unsuccessful attempt to extort Bt1.5 million from his family. The victim, who is also…

  • Police to offer compensation for wrong imprisonment | Thaiger

    Police to offer compensation for wrong imprisonment

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police to offer compensation for wrong imprisonment The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Soon individuals who were wrongly imprisoned or victims of serious crimes will be able to lodge a police complaint and simultaneously file for compensation with the Rights and Liberties Protection Department. Department chief…

  • DNA samples to be sought of all Koh Tao residents

    DNA samples to be sought of all Koh Tao residents

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community DNA samples to be sought of all Koh Tao residents The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are collecting DNA samples of all people on Koh Tao, an island off Surat Thani province, in a bid to find the murderers of two British tourists. “We are…

  • Thailand dodges US sanctions over human trafficking

    Thailand dodges US sanctions over human trafficking

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Relief as US opts against sanctions The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand yesterday welcomed US President Barack Obama’s decision not to impose sanctions against the Kingdom over its failure to combat human trafficking, assuring it would continue to work hard to improve its performance in…

  • Koh Tao Murders: Police seek help from FBI on DNA | Thaiger

    Koh Tao Murders: Police seek help from FBI on DNA

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police seek help from FBI on DNA The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police will request help from the United States’ Federation Bureau of Investigation to test semen found in the body of a female British backpacker brutally murdered on the resort island of Koh Tao…

  • Hunt for Koh Tao killers stalls

    Hunt for Koh Tao killers stalls

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hunt for Koh Tao killers stalls The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are confident that their investigation and the evidence obtained will help them catch the killers of the two British backpackers who were bludgeoned to death on Monday on the resort island of Koh…

  • PM Prayuth under fire for tourist safety bikini remarks

    PM Prayuth under fire for tourist safety bikini remarks

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM Prayuth under fire for tourist safety bikini remarks The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Britain Thursday raised concerns after Thailand’s junta leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha suggested that female tourists wearing bikinis could be more vulnerable to attack, as DNA tests failed to yield a breakthrough…

  • DNA test clears British suspect from Koh Tao murders | Thaiger

    DNA test clears British suspect from Koh Tao murders

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community DNA test clears British suspect from Koh Tao murders The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Briton questioned over the murder of two countrymen on Koh Tao on Sunday did not match DNA found on the female victim, police confirmed today. The man, Chrtstopher Alan Ware,…