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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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Thai whistleblowers file complaints to Big Joke about illegal Chinese associations
Illegal Chinese activities are once again causing a stir in Thailand. A Thai whistleblower met with Thailand’s deputy police chief Gen Surachet “Big Joke” Hakparn yesterday to file a complaint against unlicensed Chinese associations for their suspected vested interest, Bangkok Post reported. The whistleblower, Withan Sukkan, is an interrogative director of the Department of Provincial Administration. Withan said the director-general of the…
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Thailand’s tourist entry fee to generate 3.9 billion baht this year
Thailand is expected to gain 3.9 billion baht (US$112 million) in revenue this year by charging tourists an entry fee beginning June 1, Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said yesterday. Last week, Thailand’s Cabinet approved the collection of an entry fee from all foreign tourists, effective June 1. Foreigners arriving by air will be charged 300 baht (US$8.67) and those arriving…
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German man disappears from beach in central province of Thailand
A German man disappeared from Laem Sing Beach in the central province of Chanthaburi on Sunday after visiting the beach for sunbathing. Police believe he has drowned. Thaweesak, the owner of a local food shop at the beach, notified the police after Sebastian, who was approximately 30 years old, went missing. According to Thaweesak, the German man visited his shop…
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Thailand rules out travel ban from Equatorial Guinea despite deadly MVD outbreak
Thailand has not imposed a travel ban on tourists from Equatorial Guinea despite the outbreak of the highly infectious Marburg Virus Disease (MVD), a deadly virus similar to Ebola. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported the first-ever outbreak of MVD on Monday, February 13, in Equatorial Guinea. Nine people have died and 200 high-risk people have been quarantined, reported Thai…
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Body floating near Koh Tao identified as Myanmar woman
UPDATE The deceased woman found floating in the sea near Koh Tao in southern Thailand yesterday has been identified as 39 year old Aye Pa Pa Khaing from Myanmar. A fisherman found Aye Pa Pa Khaing floating among gallon drums about 12 nautical miles northwest of the island yesterday morning. Her body was recovered by the Royal Thai Navy. Aye…
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Prank video stokes fears for unmarried tourists in Bali
Bali’s tourism industry is worried that a viral TikTok video could discourage travellers from visiting the island due to fears of prosecution over their private activities. Are security forces doing sweeps of hotel rooms to find unmarried people having sex? In some of the most Draconian measures introduced in the Southeast Asian nation for decades, lawmakers declared that sex outside…
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6 year old child flung from overpass in car accident
On Sunday, a family of four was travelling on the Bang Phli-Suksawat expressway in the Greater Bangkok area when tragedy struck. After losing control and crashing, the family’s 6 year old son was flung free of the car and off of the overpass to the road far below, killing the child. The horrific incident took place on the expressway in…
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China’s home-grown cruise ship close to launch
China plans to make a big splash with the launch of its first home-grown cruise ship later this year. It will be the nation’s first voyage into a sector dominated by European shipyards, and a critical step in reducing reliance on external sources. Lavish, unsinkable and afloat by May Known as the H1508, construction began in October 2019 and she…
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Russian tourists fined 20,000 baht for jet skiing in Krabi, Thailand
Two Russian tourists were fined 20,000 baht for jet skiing in Krabi province, in southern Thailand, where the watersport is prohibited according to the province’s environmental protection measures. Jet skis and all other kinds of motorised water sports are banned in Krabi province to protect the environment, but two Russian tourists say there were not aware of the rule. Yesterday,…
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Taxes up, bribes down – Palang Pracharath Party wants venues to operate legally
The ruling Palang Pracharath Party’s Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn wants to make it easier for entertainment venues to operate legally. The Minister for the Digital Economy would like to see bars and clubs operate within the tax system, bringing in fiscal revenue and administration fees while reducing the scope for bribery. Chaiwut said on Sunday that Palang Pracharath members had agreed that…
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The most common complaint about Bangkok taxi drivers is…
Bangkok dwellers are not happy with the city’s taxi drivers. Since new taxi fares came into effect on January 16, there have been over 2,000 passenger complaints about taxi drivers in Bangkok, with the biggest proportion of them concerning cabbies’ rejection of passengers, according to the Land Transport Department. Of the 2,120 complaints, 720 concerned cabbies’ rejection of passengers, 455…
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‘Big Joke’ team search home of alleged triad leader Yu Xinqi
Following last week’s Facebook revelations by the Pied Piper of Bangkok Chuwit Kamolvisit, immigration police Saturday searched a house in Bangkok’s posh Watcharaphol area belonging to alleged triad leader Yu Xinqi. The house belongs to the Chinese businessman who Chuwit alleges set up the Shaanxi Association of Thailand, without a license from the Ministry of Interior. The search of the house…
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Excise officials accused of extortion of elderly grocer
Five officials from the Thai Excise Department have been accused of extortion after allegedly demanding money from an elderly grocer. The woman asserts that the men planted evidence in order to shake her down, and says she’s got CCTV footage proving the extortion claims The men, who claimed to have found counterfeit cigarettes on the premises, demanded 20,000 baht from…
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Patong Police catch 3 Mongolian credit card thieves
Patong Police caught three Mongolian credit card thieves yesterday. This was after a Malaysian man, Choi Mei Choo, and a Singaporean woman, Ho See Ling, filed police reports on February 11. The two said their wallet was stolen at a pier in Patong, and that they later received SMS messages about expensive products being bought with their credit card. Patong…
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Nok Air to launch Bangkok – Korat route
Low-cost carrier Nok Air plans to connect Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok to northeast Thailand in the coming months with a new direct flight to Nakhon Ratchasima, aka “Korat.” Chief Executive Officer of Nok Air, Wuttipoom Churankun, said the Bangkok – Korat route should begin after Songkran Festival in April 2023. The date of the route’s inaugural flight hasn’t yet…
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Sexual exploitation is not everyone’s cup of tea in Kenya (video)
Explosive revelations have emerged regarding the sexual exploitation of workers on tea farms in Kenya that supply some of the UK’s most beloved supermarket brands, including PG Tips, Lipton, and Sainsbury’s Red Label. An undercover reporter investigating the matter uncovered the sordid reality in which more than 70 women on Kenyan tea farms had been subjected to sexual abuse by…
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Elephant’s back caves in after 25 years of tourist rides in Thailand
Pai Lin the elephant spent over 25 years in Thailand’s trekking industry, where she was forced to give rides to up to six tourists at a time. Now, her back is visibly deformed. She now lives free at Thailand’s biggest wildlife rescue centre where she can roam chain-free and engage in natural behaviours. Photographs show that Pai Lin’s spine, which should naturally be rounded…
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Phuket dwellers run for Turkey and Syria
The people of Phuket are stepping up for victims of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Early yesterday morning, hundreds of Phuket dwellers gathered to participate in a charity fun run to raise funds for earthquake victims. The run was organised by the Phuket Tourism Association (PTA), and supported by more than 16 local private businesses and government agencies. The…
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Tourism in South Thailand province jumped by over 600% last year, officials say
South Thailand’s picturesque beaches and islands continue to reel in tourists. The number of tourists that visited South Thailand’s Surat Thani province last year jumped by over 600% from 2021, according to officials. The province includes the holiday paradise islands of Koh Samui and Koh Tao. Surat Thani Governor Witchawut Jintoe, citing the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, said the…
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Woman’s body found floating in waters of Koh Tao, Thailand
A boat driver found a woman’s body floating in the waters of Koh Tao island in Surat Thani province in southern Thailand, the Thai Maritime Enforcement Centre (MECC) reported this morning. The woman was discovered floating among 20 200-litre oil barrels around 12 nautical miles northwest of Koh Tao island in the Koh Pha Ngan district. Speedboat operators from Koh…
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Police commander shot by wife in home
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) Office was left stunned by the tragic death of Pol Lt Gen Panya Pinsuk, their commander, who was found shot at his home on Sunday afternoon. Today, his wife, Pornprapha Pinsuk, who was alone in the house with him at the time of his death, confessed to the shooting. According to reports, the police received…
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Australian drug trafficker breaks silence on hellish 7 years in Thai prison
An Australian woman convicted of drug trafficking has broken her silence about her hellish seven years behind bars in a maximum-security prison in Bangkok, Thailand. Holly Deane-Johns was spared the death sentence and handed 31 years in prison in 2003 after pleading guilty to attempting to post 10.6 grams of heroin from Thailand to Australia in 2000 when she was…
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New hospital aims to boost Samui medical tourism
A new hospital hopes to boost medical and wellness tourism on the popular holiday island of Koh Samui. Wattanapat Samui Hospital has just opened its doors, marking the fifth medical facility on the island. The hospital has 380 beds, specialist personnel, and modern equipment that are expected to boost confidence in Koh Samui as a wellness destination. Dr Somchai Chansawang,…
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Government websites mostly hacked to promote gambling
When a government website gets hacked, one might assume it’s an act of cyber warfare or a government opposition protest group. The truth is far less nefarious. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) announced that, out of about 500 cyberattacks on government websites last year, two-thirds of the hacks were to promote online gambling websites. According to the…
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Thai cop resigns citing ‘protection of the guilty’
A Thai cop who said he was a sergeant in the central Suphan Buri province resigned from his job. His resignation letter is making waves on social media. In the letter, which a fellow police officer posted on Facebook on Saturday, the officer cites “protection of the guilty” as one of the reasons for the loss of morale among police.…
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Thai Airways cabin crew forgets to collect meal trays before landing on Singapore-Bangkok flight
Thai Airways is ‘”urgently investigating” why cabin crew failed to collect meal trays on a Singapore – Bangkok flight before landing on the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport after an irked passenger recorded the incident on TikTok. TikTok user Praewa Nang Mana (@Praewa_panicha) posted a clip of food trays sitting on the foldable tables of three seats. As the plane lands,…
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Young Polish woman claims to be Madeleine McCann, citing rare eye defect (video)
A 21 year old Polish woman has made an extraordinary claim that she may be Madeleine McCann, the four year old British girl who went missing while on holiday with her parents in Portugal in 2007. The woman posted a six-minute video on the Instagram account @iammadeleinemcann, stating that she has the same rare eye defect as Madeleine and wants…
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Russian woman rushed to hospital after Patong hotel fire
Rescuers rushed a Russian woman to a hospital after a fire broke out at a Patong hotel kitchen on Saturday. The woman, Svetlana Stashko, suffered from smoke inhalation after the blaze broke out on the hotel’s first floor. The hotel is located on Phang Mueang Sai Kor Road. Firefighters arrived on the scene and were able to put out the…
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Chiang Mai mother pays 400 baht (plus extras) for husband’s murder
A Chiang Mai mother trapped in a loveless marriage of more than 20 years, last week decided that she had taken enough beatings and abuse. Living in the village of Khun Yuam, Kanda Cheewasawat was exhausted by the brutality of her vicious, drunken husband Phetchaburapa Meesri many years before. She had often tried to leave, but he wouldn’t let her.…
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ASEAN to rescue trafficking victims from Chinese gangs
Thailand is a key destination country for migrant workers, human trafficking, and forced labour. Many IT jobseekers who end up in Thailand look to ASEAN to rescue trafficking victims recruited by Chinese gangs as slaves in cybercrime factories. ASEAN is now to help rescue these trafficking victims reeled in with promises of high-paying jobs overseas which turn out to be…
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