Pattaya News

Pattaya news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s coastal entertainment hub. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Pattaya news source.

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    Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run

    Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...

  • Hitman arrested over 14 year old cold-case murder in Pattaya of NZ businessman

    Hitman arrested over 14 year old cold-case murder in Pattaya of NZ businessman

    An arrest has been made in a 14 year old Pattaya cold case following the arrest of a Thai man who allegedly murdered a New Zealander in 2006. 40 year old Yiamwut Julapong, aka. Pokpong, is now in custody in Phetchabun province after a raid led by Crime Suppression Division. ‘Pokpong’ was wanted under an arrest warrant issued by Pattaya Court back…

  • Good samaritans help motorbike stuck in Pattaya construction pit

    Good samaritans help motorbike stuck in Pattaya construction pit

    A 30 year old man has good samaritans to thank after they helped pull his motorbike out of a construction pit in Pattaya. The motorbike became stuck in the pit on South Pattaya Road at about 3:30am yesterday morning. The man claims he didn’t see the pit, despite multiple signs, lights, and barriers. The area under construction was blocked with…

  • Pattaya beer bar catches on fire, landlord accuses evicted tenant of arson

    Pattaya beer bar catches on fire, landlord accuses evicted tenant of arson

    A Pattaya landlord is accusing an evicted tenant of arson after a beer bar housed in his building caught on fire late yesterday morning. Police and firefighters are continuing their investigation and did not comment on what they suspect caused the fire. The building owner, 68 year old Chanathida Rasamussen, says the fire was out when he arrived at the…

  • Chon Buri royalists, pro-government groups, gather to show support for the Monarchy

    Chon Buri royalists, pro-government groups, gather to show support for the Monarchy

    Thousands of royalist supporters and pro-government factions have come together in Chon Buri to show their support for the Thai Monarchy. Actor brothers, Bin and Ekapan Bunluerit, were also present at the rally on Chonlamark Vithee Road, as well as the mayor of Pattaya, Sonthaya Khunplome, and his brother, Wittaya Khunplome. The governor of Chon Buri, Phakthorn Thianchai, was also…

  • Chon Buri man allegedly killed neighbours over dispute about their barking dog

    Chon Buri man allegedly killed neighbours over dispute about their barking dog

    A Chon Buri man allegedly shot and killed his neighbours because their dog was barking. 49 year old Jirat Wuttimananon turned himself in to police and allegedly admitted to fatally shooting the married couple after an argument about the barking dog. He faces murder charges. “I have been annoyed with the dog for a long time and made many complaints.…

  • Man arrested after allegedly pulling a gun on a woman at the ATM

    Man arrested after allegedly pulling a gun on a woman at the ATM

    A man was arrested after he allegedly pulled a gun on a woman at an ATM outside a Chon Buri petrol station and demanded money. Police quickly arrived to the gas station on Sukhumvit Road and arrested 36 year old Tawat Jantawon who allegedly told police he had taken a small amount of crystal methamphetamine. Police searched the man and…

  • Thai protester released on bail, tells his side of the story after head-butt incident in Pattaya

    Thai protester released on bail, tells his side of the story after head-butt incident in Pattaya

    A follow up to yesterday’s sad incident with a Thai protester ending up head-butting a 52 year old Russian man who was watching a small protest on the Jomtien foreshore with his 10 year old daughter and Thai wife. The incident happened on Monday evening at the Dongtan Curve. The protester, Narathiwat “Ken” Khamma, was arrested and jailed for the…

  • Investors see opportunity in Pattaya hotel market

    Investors see opportunity in Pattaya hotel market

    Although travel restrictions are still tight, investors see potential opportunities in Pattaya’s hotel market. Many are reimagining the 2021 market by focusing on domestic demand. Property consultancy JLL says the ongoing Eastern Economic Corridor development comes into play. U-Tapao International Airport in Rayong expanding to increase capacity by 5 million passengers and a high speed rail is in the works…

  • Cement truck driver blames brake failure after vehicle overturns

    Cement truck driver blames brake failure after vehicle overturns

    A driver was able to escape serious injuries after the cement truck he was driving flipped over in Banglamung yesterday morning. The driver has blamed brake failure for the incident. Emergency responders were notified of the accident on Saturday morning at 10am in Baan Ton Krarok. Police arrived to find the overturned cement truck on the road. The 61 year old sustained…

  • Pattaya police stage fake brawls as part of training drill

    Pattaya police stage fake brawls as part of training drill

    Police and rescue workers in Pattaya have carried out a training exercise that involved simulating fake brawls in a nightclub and a hospital. Officers were taking part in a drill to prepare them for such incidents, with an increase in domestic tourists expected in the coming high season months. Pattaya has a number of large events coming up, including a…

  • Norwegian expat in Pattaya arrested on child porn charges

    Norwegian expat in Pattaya arrested on child porn charges

    An elderly Norwegian man has been arrested in Pattaya on charges of downloading, collecting, and possessing child pornography. The 87 year old expat was arrested yesterday in the Jomtien area, after authorities identified his computer IP address as being the source of illegal downloads of child sexual abuse material. The Pattaya News reports that members of the Institute of Forensic…

  • Pattaya journalist injured as foreigner steals gun, fires at police, then kills himself

    Pattaya journalist injured as foreigner steals gun, fires at police, then kills himself

    An armed man has killed himself after a stand-off with police in Pattaya that lasted several hours, during which a journalist was shot. It’s understood the man, a 25 year old American citizen, stole a Glock 9mm with 8 bullets from a shooting range, with staff trying but failing to stop him from making his getaway on a motorbike, according…

  • Pattaya security guard arrested for indecent exposure in front of school

    Pattaya security guard arrested for indecent exposure in front of school

    A security guard has been arrested for public indecency after exposing himself and masturbating in front of teachers and students at a school in Pattaya. The Pattaya News reports that 29 year old Marut Ruchiwong is accused of carrying out the acts at the gate of Wat Sukree Bunyaram School, in the district of Banglamung. It’s understood Marut drove his…

  • Elephants chase motorbike driver to Chon Buri home

    Elephants chase motorbike driver to Chon Buri home

    Wild elephants chased a motorbike driver in Chon Buri, following him to a family’s home where he stopped and asked to hide inside. 3 elephants ran after him to the house and damaged the front of the home. Luckily, the elephants weren’t able to enter inside the home and the family, including a child and a pregnant woman, were not…

  • “Pattaya Model” to focus on Special Tourist Visa visitors from China and Russia

    “Pattaya Model” to focus on Special Tourist Visa visitors from China and Russia

    Pattaya wants to cash in on the new Special Tourist Visa scheme and local officials plan to introduce the “Pattaya Model” to help boost the local economy after it took at beating from the lack of international tourists due to the pandemic. They’ll focus on drawing in Chinese and Russian tourists on the new long stay visa, according to Pattaya…

  • Pattaya – fighting to survive its Covid crisis

    Pattaya – fighting to survive its Covid crisis

    Pattaya, like some of Thailand’s other former tourist hotspots, is facing some critical challenges. Hundreds of thousands of workers have left the city because there’s simply no work and up to 50% of the city’s shops are closed, some never to re-open. The Thaiger filmed most of this video on a long weekend at the end of October, the busiest…

  • Chon Buri fire kills 1, injures another

    Chon Buri fire kills 1, injures another

    A building in Chon Buri caught fire yesterday afternoon, killing 1 person and seriously injuring another. The fire started on the second floor of the 4 storey building on Pattaya’s Sukhumvit Road and it took firefighters an hour to extinguish. The second floor was destroyed and a burnt body was found in one of the rooms. Another person was severely…

  • Pattaya springs back to life over the long weekend, more to come

    Pattaya springs back to life over the long weekend, more to come

    Pattaya, struggling along for the past 7 months with a handful of domestic tourists and Bangkok weekenders, has had its busiest weekend for a long time, albeit a long weekend created by the public holiday in commemoration of King Chulongkorn. Much of the increased traffic were Thai faces, a big change to the city’s old demographic of international tourists and…

  • Illegal gambling site taken down after raids, alleged earnings up to 10 billion baht

    Illegal gambling site taken down after raids, alleged earnings up to 10 billion baht

    Billion, with a ‘B’. A group of 6 Thais have been arrested over the operation of an allegedly lucrative illegal online gambling website. The website, since closed down, was called ‘Marwin Net.com’ which was allegedly connected with previous raids in Chon Buri. Police claim that the gambling ring has generated an astonishing 10 billion baht. The online gambling ring is…

  • Bangkok Airways add 3 new local routes to their schedule

    Bangkok Airways add 3 new local routes to their schedule

    Some domestic routes are being added as local routes continue to expand. This time Bangkok Airways has announced it’s resuming its Samui-Phuket, Phuket-Hat Yai and Phuket-Pattaya/Rayong (U-Tapao) flights. The first additions to the schedule will be the Phuket-Samui flights resuming this Sunday, October 25, and the Phuket-Pattaya flights start again next Tuesday, October 27. The Phuket-Samui flights will be operating…

  • Burmese worker killed, 11 injured, in Chon Buri truck collision

    Burmese worker killed, 11 injured, in Chon Buri truck collision

    A pick-up truck carrying migrant workers has collided with another truck in the eastern province of Chon Buri, killing 1 and injuring 11. The victims are all thought to be Burmese nationals. The Pattaya News reports that the accident occurred in the sub-district of Nong Kangkok, with the dead man named as 35 year old Mr. Juan. The 11 injured…

  • Royalists gather in Chon Buri to support the Thai Monarchy amid anti-government protests

    Royalists gather in Chon Buri to support the Thai Monarchy amid anti-government protests

    While pro-democracy protesters have been gathering nationwide over the past week, especially in their cat-and-mouse “pop up” protests around the capital, calling on an end to the military-run government and pushing the Thai PM to resign, royal supporters gathered at Chon Buri’s Banglamung District Office to show their support for Thailand and the Thai Monarchy. They say they welcome discussion…

  • Pickup truck crashes into elephant as herd runs across Chon Buri road

    Pickup truck crashes into elephant as herd runs across Chon Buri road

    A herd of wild elephants running across a road in Chon Buri caused a driver to crash into an elephant, damaging his Isuzu pickup truck and injuring a 20 year old passenger. 34 year old Sompong Duangknam says he was heading to the province’s Ban Ang Kraden district when a group of about 20 elephants ran out of the forest and…

  • Pattaya bar ladies use YouTube to make money during pandemic – VIDEO

    Pattaya bar ladies use YouTube to make money during pandemic – VIDEO

    Can’t visit the ladies in Pattaya? Just go to YouTube and type “Pattaya bar live” in the search bar. A number of videos and live streams will come up from various bars in Pattaya. The area was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic with a ban on international tourists, battering the local economy that heavily relied on foreign visitors. But…

  • Shooting outside Chon Buri nightclub injures 4

    Shooting outside Chon Buri nightclub injures 4

    A motorbike driver allegedly shot at a group of people outside a Chon Buri nightclub, injuring 4. Police are investigating the shooting, but say they believe it started as an argument between 2 opposing parties. Police found 10 bullet casings on the ground. 3 men where shot and moderately injured while another woman was seriously injured from a bullet wound. They…

  • Police search for suspect after man shot, critically injured near Chon Buri shipyard

    Police search for suspect after man shot, critically injured near Chon Buri shipyard

    Police are searching for a suspect who allegedly shot a 37 year old man near a shipyard in Chon Buri’s Banglamung district. Son Kuengsamrong was found lying on the ground with a bullet wound just below his rib cage. He was taken to the hospital and is in critical condition. A truck driver passing by yesterday afternoon noticed Son lying…

  • The Pattaya to Hua Hin bridge. Government discusses 900 billion baht investment.

    The Pattaya to Hua Hin bridge. Government discusses 900 billion baht investment.

    The government is looking into a so-called “Thai Bridge” that would connect Pattaya to Hua Hin, an estimated 900 billion baht investment. The project would be part of the Eastern Economic Corridor development plan aimed at improving the transportation and infrastructure in Thailand. The 900 billion baht investment is expected to take 10 years to financially implement, according to chairperson…

  • 2 year old child among 2 killed in Chon Buri collision

    2 year old child among 2 killed in Chon Buri collision

    2 people have died and another 4 have been injured in a collision between 2 vehicles in the eastern province of Chon Buri. The Pattaya News reports that one of the dead is a 2 year old girl. The incident, between a black sedan and a white pick-up truck, occurred in the Koh Chan district, in the north east of…

  • Pattaya officials to examine plans for light rail network

    Pattaya officials to examine plans for light rail network

    The coordinator of a feasibility study into a light railway project for Pattaya says findings will shortly be submitted to officials for consideration. It’s one of those many infrastructure projects that has been long discussed with multiple ‘feasibility studies’ conducted. At this stage, it’s understood a monorail, rather than trams, is being suggested as the best option for Pattaya. Siraphop…

  • Man allegedly chained his uncle and beat him to death with a bat

    Man allegedly chained his uncle and beat him to death with a bat

    A man allegedly chained his uncle to a staircase and beat him to death with a baseball bat. 27 year old Jetsada Raksutee was found at his Chon Buri house and police say he appeared to be in a catatonic state. The body of his 45 year old uncle, Sonthaya Arnpoe, was found covered in blood with his leg chained…