Northern Thailand News
Stay updated with the latest Northern Thailand news at The Thaiger, your ultimate source for regional information. Keep informed on local events, business developments, and lifestyle stories in popular locations like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Pai.
Our in-depth coverage includes famous monuments such as the White Temple and Doi Suthep. Whether you’re a resident or a visitor, The Thaiger’s Northern Thailand news page is your essential guide to exploring this culturally rich region. Delve into the vibrant community and diverse culture with our expertly curated content, designed to keep you connected and well-informed.
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With World Kindness Day just two days away on November 13, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how empathy and care can make a real impact, not just in our relationships but in our health, too. This day is...
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Dozens get hospitalised after eating raw meat salad
Dozens of Northern Thailand villagers became sick after eating raw buffalo meat and were treated for food poisoning at local hospitals. All 79 people treated ate the raw buffalo meat. The meat was sold in beef stalls at wet markets in Phayao Province next to Chiang Rai, Thai media reports. Some people bought the meat, possibly thinking it was beef,…
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Cross-border drug trafficking is a “leading concern”
Thousands of people have been arrested since October for drug trafficking in Northeast Thailand. Methamphetamine and cannabis cross the Laos and Cambodia borders into Thailand and make their way down to Bangkok other parts of Thailand. According to Bangkok Post, the issue has now become a leading concern for Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin. 18,360 people were arrested from 17,685 cases…
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Gang raids virus screening checkpoint and empties community pantry
A coronavirus screening checkpoint in Northern Thailand has been ransacked yesterday morning. Police say around 3 men cleaned out and knocked over the community pantry, which was stationed at the checkpoint, and destroyed some of the plastic chairs. Around 1 am, the group stormed the checkpoint, a tent step-up used to check people travelling in and out of the village…
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Education Ministry urged to tackle sexual abuse of students
92 organisations have demanded the Education Ministry ramp up proactive measures to stamp out sexual abuse of schoolchildren, following recent scandals in 3 provinces. Representatives yesterday handed a letter to the education minister, urging him to take action. They also submitted a list of some 10,000 people who signed a petition via change.org supporting the call. The manager of the…
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Udon Thani temple blaze claims abbot’s life
A famous forest temple in Issan’s Udon Thani province caught fire yesterday, claiming the life of its abbot. The temple has long been associated with the late Maha Bua Yannasampanno, thought by many of his followers to be an Arahant (someone who has attained Enlightenment) and a master in the Thai Forest Tradition. 75 year old Phra Ajarn Sudjai Thanthamano…
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African horse sickness: Imported zebras need health check and quarantine
Humans have the coronavirus, the animal world in Thailand has an outbreak of their own: African horse sickness. The government is now requiring all imported zebras to be quarantined and tested before entering the country. The same goes for horses. Why are people importing zebras? Who knows, but apparently it hasn’t been that hard to get the exotic animals into Thailand.…
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Police arrest 3 involved in mystery woman’s marijuana syndicate
Police seized hundreds of kilograms of marijuana from a drug network run by a mystery woman in the Isaan region, north east Thailand. The syndicate was run by a woman known as “Jae Saigon,” meaning “sister on the merit path,” according to Bangkok Post. A photo from a police suspects chart shows a woman wearing a white robe and her…
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Accomplice in Chiang Rai robbery found hanging in Phayao forest
The alleged motorcycle driver in a recent Chiang Rai robbery has been found hanging in a forest in the upper northern Phayao province, in an apparent suicide. Two men pulled off the daring daytime robbery of more than a million baht in Chiang Saen district last Monday. Both men were then tracked down by police. The first suspect, identified only…
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Man steals one million baht to pay off gambling debts
What would you do if you were broke and owed 800,000 baht in gambling debts? Rob a bank? Seems like the start of a movie, but that’s basically what happened earlier this week in Northern Thailand. On Monday, 2 men robbed a car at gunpoint in front of Bangkok Bank Branch in Chiang Saen and sped off on their motorbike, Thai media…
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One of the robbers in Chiang Rai arrested – VIDEO
UPDATE: Police have arrested a suspect from Monday’s robbery that took place in Chiang Saen district in Chiang Rai, when a pair of robbers stole 1.05 million baht outside a Krungthai Bank. 2 men on a motorbike managed to escape and a manhunt was ordered. Read more HERE. When officials arrived at the crime scene they found 46 year old…
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18 year old daughter allegedly raped multiple times by father
Thai media report that an 18 year old girl was raped multiple times over 8 years by her own father. The victim, identified only as “Mali,” filed a complaint with police in the northern province of Lamphun, just south of Chiang Mai, alleging that her 38 year old father ‘O’ had been raping her since she was 11 years old.…
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5 dead in high speed Surin crash
5 are dead after a pickup truck traveling at high speed crashed into a Mitsubishi Pajero in Issan’s Surin province yesterday. The incident happened on Surin-Prasat Road near the Sab-anan rice mill in the province’s Chaneang district. The pickup’s driver, who was one of those killed in the accident, is believed to have lost control of the vehicle on the…
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Mother leaves newborn in north east forest after giving birth
A newborn baby was found in an Isaan forest recently. Thai news reports say that the baby was covered in blood with the umbilical cord still attached. Luckily, the baby survived and is now in the care of a local hospital. A villager found the newborn while walking through the forest in the Nakhon Ratchasima province, north east Thailand, and…
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Parents believe murdered Mukdahan girl was killed by a local
The body of 3 year old girl, missing since Monday, was found naked and apparently strangled in a forest in the northeastern province of Mukdahan on Thursday. Now her parents believe their daughter was killed by a local villager. “Nong Chompoo’’ Wongsricha went missing on May 10. After a massive search involving some 500 officers and volunteers, police in Dong…
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Robbers stole 1.05 million baht in cash from a Chiang Rai bank
Today at 10am Police in Chiang Saen district Chiang Rai (which borders Myanmar and Laos on the so-called Golden Triangle), were notified that a pair of robbers had stolen 1.05 million baht from the local Krungthai Bank. Police authorities are currently chasing down the 2 suspects who pulled off the daring daylight robbery on the bank. Both suspects were dressed in…
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Dengue fever on the rise in Isaan
While the country is slowly getting a handle on containing the coronavirus pandemic, the Isaan region is tackling a bout of dengue fever. There’s been a rise of the mosquito-borne illness in Nakhon Ratchasima with 737 cases. Local health volunteers have ramped up initiatives to prevent the further spread of the disease. Abate sand granules are being used to kill mosquito…
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Mukdahan border police seize 480 kilograms of marijuana
In a third major seizure in a matter of days, border patrol police seized 480 kilograms of compressed marijuana on the banks of the Mekong River in the northeastern province of Mukdahan. Authorities estimate the street value of the marijuana to be at least 10 million baht. A village head and 2 other accomplices were arrested, police told a media…
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Airports open, quarantine rules and Samui – the latest
Airports of Thailand warns domestic airline passengers to check provincial travel restrictions before they book flights. Currently, there are 5 airports fully operational – Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang), Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Hat Yai, but only 4 airlines, namely Nok Air, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet are serving them. Phuket airport was set to reopen…
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Police investigating murder of 3 year old found in Mukdahan forest
The body of a 3 year old girl, missing since Monday, was discovered on Thursday in the northeastern province of Mukdahan. A team of detectives is now investigating the and murder. A massive search involving about 500 police, soldiers, local officials and volunteers was launched when the child, Nong Chompoo, was reported missing in the province’s Tambon Koktoom. The team…
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Thailand Transport Company plans to restart 16 routes from May 18 onwards
Today a spokesman for the state-run Transport Company Limited, one of Thailand’s biggeest bus operators, announced it will open 7 routes in the northern region and 9 in the northeast and eastern regions from Monday onward “to facilitate the people who need to travel after the Transport Company temporarily ceased service due to the Covid-19 epidemic situation.” Here are the…
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Marijuana valued at over 6 million baht seized in Mukdahan
Yesterday police in the northeastern province of Mukdaham announced the seizure of 616 kilograms of marijuana, valued at more than 6 million baht. Authorities say 5 suspects are in custody, identified as 46 year old Boonchu Sittithong, 20 year old Wilawan Lapphu, 22 year old Kittiphong Uttaprom, 34 year old Keng Sae Song and Somboon Chindalert, aged 43. Police got…
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University in Korat plants more than 3,000 cannabis plants
The Suranaree University of Technology in Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima) announced today that they have begun planting marijuana trees as part of their research on marijuana based medicines. A senior official at the university, Weerapong Pairsuwan, says that “up to 3,360 cannabis will be planted, with a harvest more than 1,500 kilograms later this year.” “The plants will be used in researches…
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Kalasin policeman fired, faces prosecution for drunken sexual assault
A senior police officer in northeastern Thailand is facing dismissal and criminal charges after drunkenly trying to grope a teenager. According to his supervisor, the police lieutenant allegedly “asked the girl if he could touch her private parts.” Charoenwit Sriwanit, deputy inspector at Sahatsakhan police station in the northeastern Kalasin province, claimed yesterday that Uthit Onprasong confessed he had been…
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Lightning kills one, injures another in northern Thailand storms
One man was killed and another was injured in lightning storms in northern Thailand. Both were tending cows on their farms. 62 year old Prachuab Phunok died while he was working on a field in the northeastern Mukdahan province’s Nong Sung district, near the Laos border. Police say he was sitting under a tree when lightning struck and killed him. Meanwhile…
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Operating hours for airports across Thailand – CAAT
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, along with the Ministry of Transport, has published the operational hours for Thailands’ recently re-opened airports. The operational hours and applicable provinces are as follows… • Operational hours between 7am – 7pm, includes Nan, Phitsanulok, Phrae, Mae Sot, Mae Hong Son, Lampang, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Phanom, Buri Ram, Roi Et, Sakon Nakhon, Udon Thani,…
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Zoo animals eat frozen treats to chill out in high heat
It’s hot. And humid. So hot that zookeepers are getting creative when it comes to cooling down the animals. Lions and tigers are licking on frozen blood cubes while bears are munching on fruit popsicles made by zookeepers at Khon Kaen Zoo in Northern Thailand. Temperatures have recently reached over 40 degrees Celsius, sometimes for days on end. Along with…
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TMD announces storm warnings for 53 central and northern provinces
Today the Thai Meteorological Department has officially announced a warning for 53 upper Thailand provinces. The announcement says that from May 11-13, there will be high pressures winds from China covering upper Thailand and the South China Sea. In addition, southerly and southeasterly winds have brought humidity to cover upper Thailand, causing that area to have summer storms, thunderstorms, gusts…
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Man kills Buddhist monk in a fit of anger in Lampang
A Buddhist monk was killed last week after he spoke up about a man’s drinking habits. Villagers in Lampang found the body of 69 year old Phra Bundhit Prom-iam over the weekend in his pick-up truck. His body was decaying and “gave off a strong smell”. As police investigated the incident, evidence led them to 44 year old Sakol Pumthong who eventually…
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5 charged over murder of Burmese man in Chiang Rai
After police officers from Maw Fah Luang in Chiang Rai received a tip-off from local residents to check a suspicious object floating in a swamp, a body was discovered in a 200 litre oil drum in Ban Thoet Thai. When police arrived they found a 200 litre steel drum floating around near the swamp’s shore. In the tank they found…
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Issan bricklayer arrested for allegedly murdering wife, hiding her body in concrete pipe
A bricklayer in Issan’s Nakhon Phanom province, bordering Laos, was arrested for allegedly killing his wife and hiding her body in a concrete pipe. Police yesterday confirmed the arrest of 53 year old Phis Jandaprasit. “The suspect confessed that on Wednesday he had a fight with his wife, Boonlert, aged 49, and hit her on the head with a brick…
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