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5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
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Minor International battles Marriott over popular Phuket hotel property in court
Marriott International, the American international hotel company, has failed in its bid to secure an injunction in a Thai court to stop a legal claim filed by the Minor International group. Minor International (MINT) says that its subsidiary MI Squared Ltd had filed a legal claim in a Thai court against Marriott International and the Thai subsidiary Luxury Hotels &…
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Bangkok’s vacant land owners growing fruit and vegetables to evade vacant-land tax
A loophole in land tax around Bangkok (actually everywhere in Thailand) is having an unexpected side effect, mostly good. Many vacant property owners in Bangkok are growing fruit and vegetables to escape the newly launched tax on their undeveloped land. For example, Banana trees are now growing on an expensive piece of land near Naradhiwat-Rajanagarindra Road. To avoid the new…
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Drunken Bangkok tour bus driver fired after ‘borrowing’ a bus
A tour bus driver has now been fired by the tour company that employed him as a driver after he went on a drunk-driving rampage in Bangkapi district of Bangkok around 3am Thursday morning. The incident was reported by khaosod.co.th. The drunk driver was taken to a police station after being nearly lynched by a mob. He was charged with…
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Tourists to Myanmar going up, but falling short of projections
Vietnam to the right of me, Myanmar to the left, Thailand stuck in the middle…. Myanmar’s 2019 tourism figures improved 15% to give the country 1,324,000 tourist arrivals through the main airport at Yangon. Officials released the 2019 visitor data for Yangon Airport, which excludes cross border arrivals and arrivals through Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw airports, the country’s two other…
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Thai teacher caning a student in Ayutthaya reports to police – UPDATE
A teacher, now identified as teaching in Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok at the Chiang Rak Noi School, met with the girl’s mother and police last night. Teacher Som Ruseeprasit was caught on video flogging a young female student whilst screaming appalling Thai swear words at the student. The girl was struck at least three times in the video although he admitted…
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Large Bangkok drug haul – meth pills, crystal meth and Ketamine
Metropolitan Police have reported the seizure of 1,600,000 methamphetamine pills (yaba), 34 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ice), and 40 kilograms of Ketamine. Officials also seized a pick-up involved in the drug gang’s business as well as weapons. The Patrol and Special Operation Division 191 Police seized the drugs from Nipol ‘Hin’ Janprapat and Anuwat ‘James’ Bunjeen while they were in…
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2 more alleged call centre scam suspects arrested in Japan
Two men arrested in Japan yesterday stand accused of operating a large-scale call centre scam based in Thailand, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to 28. Japanese police believe 36 year old Kengo Yasutake and 34 year old Shimpei Hirata operated a luxury home in Pattaya, where a team of Japanese men would call people across Japan…
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Thai political leader proposes legal brothels and sex shops
A controversial Thai MP is proposing licenced brothels and sex shops as a way of addressing the problem of sexual abuse in Thailand. Mongkolkit Suksintharanont, leader of the Thai Civilised Party and a member of the House committee studying ways to reduce rape and other sexual violations, commented in a Facebook post that he would raise the proposal with committee…
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Former head of the National Office of Buddhism has assets valued at nearly 600 million baht
Nice work if you can get it. Except you’re working for the National Office of Buddhism. Now the former director of the National Office of Buddhism, Nopparat Benjawattananant, has been pointed out by the National Anti-Corruption Commission for being “unusually wealthy”, having “suspiciously” amassed assets worth about 575 million baht during his four year tenure. NACC secretary-general Worawit Sukboon says that…
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British and Thai man arrested for flogging fake watches online
A British and a Thai man are in custody after a sting operation in Pattaya caught them selling counterfeit brand name watches online to foreign buyers at a huge markup. Police identified them as 43 year old Mark Peter Dorey and 45 year old Virut Bua-raem. After a tipoff, an officer pretended to be a buyer and contacted Dorey. He…
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Top YouTube makeup artist reveals she’s transgender, says she was blackmailed
One of the most influential makeup artists on social media (yes, it’s a big thing) rocked her fans Monday night with a video revealing she’s a transgender woman. 25 year old Nikkie de Jager, better known as NikkieTutorials, told her 12 million-plus subscribers she revealed her gender identity because she was blackmailed by people who wanted to take her story…
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Thai teacher caught on video striking a student in Sa Kaew
A teacher in Thailand’s east has been caught on video flogging a student whilst screaming invectives at the young girl. The girl was struck at least three times, although the video appears to have started during the midst of the punishment. The video was posted on the Education For Liberation of Siam Facebook page. The school has been identified as…
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Police shoot knife-wielding attacker in Phuket Town
A police officer has shot dead a robber in Phuket Town early yesterday (Wednesday). The knife-wielding robber, 34 year old Aekkasit Kesorn, from Nakhorn Sri Thammarat, had attacked the officer whilst being interrupted in the middle of a robbery. The policeman ended up with a knife wound to the neck. The officer pulled out his firearm and shot the attacker…
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Pattaya police investigate a man’s shooting death, the day after his birthday
A man in Pattaya has died after being shot. The 32 year old Thai man was found with a gunshot wound to the head. Police were notified of the incident yesterday at about 6:30am and are investigating to determine whether it was suicide or homicide. Police and emergency responders arrived at the scene on a rural road to find 32…
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Smuggled cigarettes seized in Phang Nga valued at 6 million baht
Cough, splutter, gasp… A former police officer has been arrested in Phang Nga, just north of Phuket, last night for his participation in a cigarette smuggling ring. The former officer was charged with possessing illegal foreign cigarettes worth nearly six million baht – the news from Khao Sod. A total of 74,327 ‘Blue Range’ cigarette packs valued at nearly 6…
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Mother and baby killed in Nakhon Si Thammarat intersection
A mother and her 19 month old son have been killed after their motorcycle was struck by a car in a collision in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand. The incident occurred at a three-way junction on Therdphrakiat road in the main city district this morning around 8am, according to police. The 38 year old motorcycle rider, Supanrat Srisawang, was making a right…
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Fishermen catch albino dolphins on video playing in the Gulf of Thailand
A group of albino dolphins have delighted guests and fishermen in a fishing vessel off Songkhla’s Sathing Phra district in the Gulf of Thailand. “SOS”, a LINE group, has posted a video clip of the dolphins. The LINE group’s administrator related the story that three fishermen had seen the dolphins in the boundary area between Kradang Nga and Ja Ting…
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6 million baht lottery winner goes on drug-fuelled rampage, tries to burn down house
A man who won a six million baht lottery prize in June is now in police custody in Sisaket, northeastern Thailand. His mother reported to police that “he’s become a berserk drug addict”. Police told Thai media that 56 year old Kom Poka called police to arrest her 32 year old son Chainarong in Sisaket after he went on a…
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British tourist punches and shoves Thai traveller on Bangkok public transport – VIDEO
An angry British tourist has punched a young Thai MRT traveller in the face after the Thai man, apparently accidentally, knocked the British man’s iPhone 11 out of his hands. The ugly incident was captured by another passenger and has gone viral in Thai and British media. The incident occurred last Sunday in Bangkok, at the Wat Mangkorn station near…
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Thai PM says he wants to prevent political protests, from either side
In a move that is sure to be seen as a bid to stifle opposition gatherings, protests and debate, the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is voicing concern that opposition-organised political rallies, as well as those of his supporters. will “lead to fresh conflicts”. The PM told reporters yesterday that “…he has instructed security authorities to find ways to prevent such activities in…
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Singaporean threatened with execution if he didn’t pay up a million dollar ‘debt’ in Thailand
A Singaporean man stands accused of masterminding a plot to abduct a fellow Singaporean from Suvarnabhumi Airport last Thursday. Police report that the suspect, identified only as ‘Kim’, will be charged with conspiring to commit robbery, illegal possession of firearms, illegal detention and the physical assault of 32 year old compatriot Mark Cheng Jin Quan. Mark owns a software and application…
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Buri Ram gold and jewellery thief arrested whilst trying to flee the province
A man was arrested in his car yesterday in the northeastern province of Buri Ram after allegedly stealing gold valued around two million baht from a shop at a local department store over two weeks ago, on the night of December 28. 22 year old Prawit Chaikheenee was arrested whilst sitting in his on the Buri Ram-Nang Rong Road while…
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Russian tourist in coma after Patong hotel balcony fall
A Russian tourist remains unconscious in hospital after falling four floors from the balcony of his Patong hotel. Police say the man, Daniil Solovev, is in “a serious but stable condition”. Police were called to the accommodation on Nanai Road hotel at 11am on Sunday morning. By the time they arrived, Solovev had already been rushed to hospital. Emergency responders say…
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Dramatic video shows high speed impact, eight British tourists injured on their way to Pattaya – VIDEO
Dramatic highway CCTV has now been released of the crash of the passenger van, injuring eight British tourists travelling from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya. Three were seriously injured in the high speed crash which scattered contents of the van over the road and grassed verge between the two sides of the motorway. Eight British tourists are in hospital after their…
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Base jumper rescued after dangling from cliff in Phattalung – UPDATE
The Austrian BASE jumper was dangling a cliff for eight hours in Phattalung province, 175 metres above the ground when his open parachute snagged on a rocky outcrop of a mountain before being rescued. ‘BASE’ stands for building, antenna, span, and earth. The base jumper, 28 year old Johannes Klauser, is safe after a harrowing rescue on Monday afternoon, when…
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61 year old Chinese tourist being treated for new coronavirus in Thailand
A 61 year old Chinese tourist, found to be infected with the new strain of coronavirus dubbed “Wuhan or Chinese pneumonia” when she arrived in Thailand last week, is being treated in hospital and is expected to be discharged in a few days. This is from the Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. The woman is recovering at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases…
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Base jumper rescued after dangling from sheer cliff face in Phattalung
An Austrian base jumper is safe after a harrowing rescue Monday afternoon, when winds blew him onto a cliff face and left him dangling about 175 metres off the ground from his snagged parachute in the southern province of Phattalung. The jumper, 28 year old Johannes Klauser, went with his wife to the top of 250 metre high Khao Ok Thalu…
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Taiwanese husband arrested over death of Sri Racha woman in a suitcase
Just days after the body of a foreign woman washed up in a travel bag on Sri Racha Beach near Pattaya, police say they’ve arrested a Taiwanese man for the murder of the woman, his Chinese wife. The gruesome discovery was made by an officer from the nearby naval base. Police yesterday arrested 38 year old Lu Ji Yang of …
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First case of New Coronavirus Pneumonia detected arriving in Bangkok
A first case of ‘New Coronavirus Pneumonia’ has been identified in Thailand, but the Public Health Ministry is assuring the public there is no wider outbreak of the virus. The mystery virus has now been identified by Chinese scientists and was earlier nicknamed as the mystery Wuhan pneumonia. Anuthin Charnvirakul, the Thai Public Health Minister has informed the media that…
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Gold shop gunman could have fled to Chon Buri
The armed gunman who shot and killed three people, injuring another four during an apparent gold shop robbery in Lop Buri last week, could have fled to Chon Buri. Police are raising the possibility after the Thai army chief Apirat Kongsompong met with the heads of Provincial Police Regions 1 (Bangkok) and 2 (Chon Buri) in Bangkok yesterday. Some media and…
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