News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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Show of support for Japanese man stranded in Pattaya
Several local organisations have rallied to help a homeless Japanese man living on Pattaya beach after being left destitute by the Covid-19 crisis. It’s understood that Pattaya Tourist Police found the visibly upset man on the beach with his luggage. After a representative from the Pattaya Japanese Association was called to translate, police learned that the man had been stranded…
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Man arrested after hacking bank account of nearly 400,000 baht
Police arrested a man for fraud after he hacked into a rich businessman’s bank accounts using a smartphone sent in the mail, posing it as a prize. 34 year old Anontwat Vorametchayangkul took 395,000 baht from the man’s accounts, police announced yesterday. He has a background in computer science, and police say he is wanted in 9 cases which are…
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Robots provide novel approach to virus prevention at Bangkok mall
A robot dog is helping protecting people from the coronavirus at a Bangkok shopping centre by dispensing hand sanitiser. It’s name is K9 and it runs off 5G internet from the mobile phone operator AIS (The Thaiger smells a PR stunt for the new AIS 5G network). K9 looks like he, or she, needs a head and a wagging tail. A…
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Hospital director denies corruption, threatens to sue government health official
The director of Khon Kaen Provincial Hospital in north-east Thailand is threatening Public Health Permanent Secretary Dr. Sukhum Kanchanapimai with a lawsuit following allegations of corruption. Dr. Charnchai Chanvorachaikul was transferred to Chanthaburi province in the east of the country following unconfirmed reports of corruption relating to donations to the Hospital Development Fund. Dr. Charnchai completely denies the allegations, which…
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Electricity discount has been switched off
Yesterday the Ministry of Energy announced that the national electricity discount from March to May, which differed based on the amount of electricity used and size and type of the venue, has ended and will not be renewed. But, at best, the discount was merely a perfunctory political gesture, not a useful saving for most Thai residences. The discount was…
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Government to decide which “red” businesses can reopen in next phase
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration revealed today that the government is now considering which high-risk or “red” businesses will be allowed to reopen under Phase 4 of lockdown easing. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says that the virus could be with us for months or even years, so the government must carefully consider which “red” high-contagion-risk businesses can reopen.…
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Thai schools prepare for nationwide reopening July 1
Thailand’s distance-learning experiment has been declared a failure, after the Education Ministry’s surveys found 60-70% of students aren’t ready to use television as the main channel for their studies. Now the ministry and schools are gearing up for classrooms to reopen nationwide. Thailand’s education minister says the ministry had to adjust its plan of airing lessons via television for long…
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Bangkok braces for Black Lives Matter rally
The death of black American George Floyd at the hands of police burgeoned into a storm of protests reaching across the globe; one that will reach Bangkok this weekend. The vast majority of demonstrations over the past 8 days in the US have been peaceful, but some have turned violent and curfews have been imposed after looting in a number…
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17 new Covid-19 cases in Thailand, all repatriated citizens from the Middle East
Today the Centre of Covid-19 Administration reported 17 new cases of Covid-19 infection. All the cases were repatriated Thai personnel returning from the Middle East. Spokesperson Dr Taweesilp reported that most the returnees were asymptomatic and were confirmed as infected after a second test. “13 of the new cases had returned from Kuwait, 12 were men aged 31-56, and the other…
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TAT will use domestic tourism as dress rehearsal for international returns
“…the tourism sector will continue to be stifled by disease control measures until a Covid-19 vaccine is developed.” Due to the current ban on international arrivals, extended several times and now in effect until at least July, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has created a strategy to support domestic tourism and “learn from the experience”, as it eases into the…
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Internet scam offers dodgy amulets for lottery wins
Police are warning of new internet scam offering lucky amulets to guarantee lottery success, claiming, falsely, that they’ve had helped celebrities win the lottery multiple times. The announcement from the deputy spokesman for the Royal Thai police yesterday. “Investigation officers have looked into this matter and found a group of people who offered to buy lottery tickets after they had…
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Carpenter killed at migrant workers’ camp
A Burmese carpenter was killed early yesterday morning at a central Thailand workers’ camp which houses hundreds of migrant workers. 32 year old Thein Tun, was stabbed multiple times and was dead by the time police arrived at the Sino-Thai Engineering camp in the Samut Prakan province, just south of Bangkok. Police found a knife but are still looking for possible…
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Government says Cambodian workers should remain in Thailand during Covid-19
The director general of Thailand’s Employment Department, Suchart Phonchaiwisetkun, says Cambodian labourers should remain in Thailand while the fight against the Covid-19 goes on in the region. He was speaking following a meeting with the the Cambodian Ambassador, Ouk Sorphorn, where they discussed how Thailand would deal with its migrant workforce during the pandemic. According to a report in Nation…
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Beauty clinic designs special face masks for facial treatments
A skin and beauty clinic has designed a mini face mask for clients getting close-up facial treatments to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and comply with the rules set out by the government. But the mask allows therapists to still get to most of the face so they can apply the same procedures. Waleerat Clinic in Bangkok made re-usable…
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Pattaya mayor responds to video showing black water gushing into the sea next to Walking Street
With Pattaya’s beaches reopening this week, for the first time since they were closed in March, there is still concern about what the City’s officials are pumping into the Gulf of Thailand off the Pattaya coast. Last Monday, filthy black water was seen gushing into the Gulf of Thailand right next to Pattaya’s famous Walking Street. The video, from the ‘We…
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Woman in southern Thailand accused of murdering daughter
A 54 year old woman, named by police as Prateep Chindawong, has been arrested for the murder of her 29 year old daughter in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Police say Chonthicha Jindawong was stabbed to death with a screwdriver. Thai media reports say the accused had claimed her house was broken into and that the intruder killed…
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As Thailand’s beaches reopen, crowds flock back
Yesterday, the Queen’s birthday and a public holiday, saw many of Thailand’s popular beaches heaving with visitors as they reopened for the first time since their closure by the Emergency Decree in March. People across the country took advantage of the easing of inter-provincial travel restrictions that took effect Monday. Chon Buri’s Bang Saen beach in Chon Buri was almost…
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Private daycares and nurseries desperately want to reopen
Parents are returning to work, but daycares are still shut down to prevent any potential spread of the coronavirus. Private daycares are telling the government they want to reopen, warning that many parents may place their children in unauthorised daycare centres. Private daycare centres say its crucial that they open soon, but their call to open in the third phase…
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Huge Nike flagship store opens in Bangkok’s Siam Center
A massive Nike flagship store is now open in Bangkok’s Siam Center, with a ‘footprint’ spanning more than 836 square metres of prime retail space in the capital. Intended to showcase Nike’s innovation across multiple product categories, the store offers the brand’s first “Nike By You” in-store customisation service in Thailand. Retailers are now pulling out all stops to lure…
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Developers need to clear stock, heavy discounting in property market
ADVERTORIAL Property prices are expected to decline by double digits in the next few months as Thailand’s property developers begin to offer more sales incentives in response to post Covid-19 markets. A recent survey by leading property portal FazWaz indicated that 50% of Thailand’s property developers are considering discounting at least 20% off minimum benchmark prices. Brennan Campbell, CEO at…
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Major makeover proposed for Pattaya’s Walking Street
… but few are impressed. Images on the Facebook page of Pattaya City reveal plans for a major re-imagining and makeover of one of the resort’s most notable, and notorious, landmarks – Walking Street. Gone are the grotty road, broken pavements and lurid signs and frontages, and in their place will be an easy to navigate walking area fit for…
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PM distancing himself from party room clashes
PM Prayut Chan-o-Cha appeared to distance himself from party politics, and internal strife within the ruling Palang Pracharat party, after 18 members resigned en masse to pave the way for the election of a new executive committee, party leader and secretary-general. He repeatedly deflected questions from reporters about speculation that the resignations were intended to replace party leader Finance Minister…
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Thai Airways may not need to file for bankruptcy in US
Contrary to earlier reports, Thai Airways may not need to seek bankruptcy protection in the United States to avoid seizure of its planes and other assets. A senior official made the announcement after a meeting led by Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam with the struggling carrier’s senior management and the airline’s board. The meeting was to discuss the airline’s rehabilitation plan…
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Powering up tuk tuks for a new era in Bangkok
Electric tuk-tuks have been in use in cities around Thailand for some time, but now the Thai Electric Vehicle Association has launched a new post-Covid-19 electric tricycle as an alternative form of public transportation in the “new normal” era, and supports the vehicle to promote Thai tourism after the national lockdown is fully lifted. EVAT sees the three-wheeled transport as…
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Covid-19 update: 1 new imported case (June 3)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced a single new imported case of Covid-19 at this morning’s daily press briefing. The patient is a 26 year old student who recently returned from Saudi Arabia and was sent directly to a state quarantine facility. The new case raises Thailand’s total 3,084 since the start of the outbreak in January, with 2,968…
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Woman found hanged in Nakhon Ratchasima, son found drowned nearby
Police in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima report that a woman was found hanged in a workers’ shelter and her 12 year old son drowned in a nearby pond at a sand depot yesterday. Workers arriving in the morning discovered the woman, hanged with electric wires from the beam of the shelter in tambon Chum Phuang, according to the…
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High-ranking police officers try and extort 40,000 baht from woman
A police chief has dismissed 8 high-ranking officers after they told a woman to pay them 40,000 baht or they would drug test her. The woman said she could only pay 33,000 baht, but the police allegedly demanded more. Video footage of officers demanding money was taken, probably from her phone, and posted online. The police chief at the Nong Chok…
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Sergeant says he’ll go to court to fight army corruption
After accusing the Thai army of corruption, a sergeant says he’ll now go to court to hash it out and strip his rank to get justice. Sgt. Narongchai Intharakawi, a clerk for the Army Ordnance Department, is accused of deserting his post amid a complaint he made against the army regarding alleged fraud. A video of the a superior officer…
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Chinese man arrested with 1,000 cannabis plants, involved in ‘Heaven Herb’ illegal business
Police arrested a man yesterday for growing 1,000 cannabis plants in a Bangkok warehouse and selling it online through a service called “Heaven Herb.” 41 year old Wu Ding Bin, from China, grew “organic cannabis of foreign varieties.” Police say the foreign strains are priced up to 700,000 baht per kilogram. “Heaven Herb” marijuana was sold and delivered through a Line…
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Village head dies in train accident in central Thailand
The head of a central Thailand village was killed yesterday morning when a oncoming train slammed into his truck. Dokrak Meemuk, the head of Village Moo 14 in Nakhon Sawan, had just left his house to attend a meeting, according to his family. Railroad construction workers, who also guide vehicles crossing the tracks at the Ban Tharnwai railroad crossing, told…
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