Pattaya News
Welcome to The Thaiger’s Pattaya news page, your one-stop destination for the latest happenings in Thailand’s coastal town, AKA Sin City of the East! Our dedicated team delivers up-to-the-minute news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Pattaya, covering everything from local politics and business to entertainment and lifestyle. Stay informed about the city’s thriving tourism industry, expat community, and vibrant nightlife, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Sponsored Leap into English mastery with Green Valley's LEAP Programme
For many years, St. Andrews International School, Green Valley’s students who did not speak English as their first language have typically participated in English as an Additional Language (EAL) programmes to build proficiency. However, the school has recently introduced a...
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Mountain B Pub fire claims its 21st victim
Tragedy continues to unfold in the wake of the deadly Mountain B Pub fire in Chon Buri. A 21st victim has succumbed to his injuries sustained during the deadly fire that ripped through the pub on August 5 at around 1 am, leaving a trail of terror, injuries, death, and a hollowed-out shell of a building. With flammable soundproofing foam…
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New rules drafted for Pattaya’s sea-walking tourists
Pattaya has drafted some new rules this week for ‘sea-walker’ tourists, a.k.a divers to protect its coral reefs. If the rules take effect, there will be codified underwater zones where divers can walk. These zones should have no coral, if possible. If it’s not possible to create entire zones with no coral, then divers won’t be allowed to come within…
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Mountain Bar & Bistro restaurant for sale to pay for pub fire
Anyone in the market for a restaurant with an infamous locale, here’s one you can probably get a great deal on. The Mountain Bar & Bistro restaurant in Sattahip, Chon Buri, owned by and adjacent to the Mountain B nightclub that burned down earlier this month on August 5 with 20 deaths, is for sale. On Friday, local media spotted…
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Jerk steals donation money from Pattaya noodle restaurant
A massive jerk has snatched money off of a donation tree at a Pattaya noodle restaurant this week. CCTV caught the thief breaking through a thin wall of the restaurant on Monday night, before grabbing the cash from the donation tree worth 2,000 baht. The suspect wore shorts and a t-shirt. The disheartened restaurant owner, 36 year old Chotika Chantakot,…
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More tourists are heading to Pattaya, but spending less cash, mayor says
As Thailand slowly rises from the ashes of Covid-19’s economic destruction, more foreign tourists are heading to Pattaya. The catch? They’re spending less money, according to the city’s mayor Poramet Ngampichet. Pattaya’s changing demographics in tourism may have something to do with the spending differences. The mayor said on Tuesday that this year, the million foreign tourists that have arrived…
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Kuwaiti man allegedly motorbike racing in Pattaya loses middle finger in crash
A young Kuwaiti man who was allegedly motorbike racing in Pattaya had a rather nasty crash on an overpass in the early hours of this morning. A taxi driver revealed he saw the man, 19 year old Faisal, driving fast in a group of four-five people. He said Faisal then crashed into his taxi from the front and then slammed…
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UPDATE: 16 Middle Eastern joyriders in Pattaya arrested
UPDATE Pattaya police arrested 16 Middle Eastern joyriders and seized 43 motorcycles on Monday night after complaints from locals. Police made known they are still on the lookout for the rest of the racers and that the relevant motorcycle rental shops would be charged too. Officers from the Provincial Police Region 2, and Mueng Pattaya Police Station, held a press…
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Pattaya locals gather to promote road safety
A crowd of about 200 locals in east Pattaya gathered at a school on Monday to raise awareness about Thailand’s problems with road safety. Speakers discussed the kingdom’s poor driver training, and the even worse enforcement of motorcycle helmets, which riders often don’t wear. Among the crowd was Chon Buri Deputy Governor Naris Niramaiwong, along with teachers, students, and volunteers.…
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Makhot scoops 50,000 baht in Miss LGBT Thailand heat
The winner of the Miss LGBT Chon Buri pageant announced she was proud to represent her community in the final of the competition next year. Makhot scooped first prize and 50,000 baht at the event yesterday hosted at the Royal Garden Plaza Pattaya by Miss LGBT Thailand. Miss LGBT Thailand 2023 provides an opportunity for all LGBT individuals to showcase…
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Woman takes poison & plunges to death from balcony in Pattaya
A woman who couldn’t face up to living alone took some rat poison and then threw herself off a fifth-floor balcony in Pattaya. It is believed the woman, Amphon Ersinger, was grief-stricken after recently losing her foreign husband so took some poison and jumped to her death from the balcony of her apartment in Soi Na Kluea 14, Moo (bloc)…
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Locals angry as Middle Eastern joyriders race through Pattaya
Middle Eastern joyriders have turned Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya into a racing track… again, and locals are sick of it. Locals urged police to use the full force of the law and impose serious measures as the number of racers on Sukhumvit Road has increased over the past two months. Last night, Thai media reported that a group of more…
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Drunk woman gets earful after biting tourist’s ear off in Pattaya
A drunken Thai woman was arrested on Saturday in Pattaya after an unprovoked attack on a Thai-American tourist without reason, biting his right ear off, and swallowing it. The 28 year old offender, Kannika Khamthon, was arrested after the incident and taken to Muang Pattaya Police Station. Police reported she was very drunk, and couldn’t answer questions. Kannika was also…
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Pattaya Police Station deemed “satisfactory” in annual evaluation
Pattaya Police have received a high enough score to be deemed “satisfactory” in the Royal Thai Police’s annual assessment this week. The Pattaya Police Station scored 90% on the evaluation. The evaluation assessed police on: general service, criminal justice administration, security of lives and property, traffic control and management, personal management and development, and police drilling and tactics. The evaluation…
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Prime suspect in Pattaya’s thefts against Indian tourists arrested
There’s been a major development in the chaos this year around thieves stealing from Indian tourists in Pattaya. One of the prime suspects has been arrested on August 15, police reported yesterday. Tourist Police Colonel Somchai Theerapatphaisarn said the suspect, named Frame, is a transgender individual. Somchai said Frame had fled to Bangkok, and they have allegedly confessed to multiple…
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‘Dead body’ on Thailand beach turns out to be sex doll
Beachgoers were horrified when a naked corpse turned up on Chon Buri province’s Bang Saen beach in eastern Thailand yesterday. Rescue workers rushed to the scene to investigate, but upon closer inspection, the “corpse” turned out to be a rubber sex doll. The top half of the doll was covered with a shirt while the doll’s bare bottom and legs…
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Ferocious cobra bites rescuer’s girlfriend in Chon Buri
A ferocious cobra bit a rescuer’s girlfriend in Chon Buri’s Sri Racha district this week. Locals had called the rescuer on Tuesday after spotting the two-meter-long monocled cobra in their house. The species is highly venomous. The 41 year old Pattipan, an officer from a foundation, arrived on the scene. He brought his girlfriend, 29 year old Apirat, along with…
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Father tragically drowns while fishing in Chon Buri pond
A Chon Buri woman tragically lost her father, after he drowned in a deserted pond in the main city district yesterday. The woman, 22 year old Maneemol, went to look for her father, 54 year old Kwanjai after she noticed he had been out fishing for an unusually long time. Maneemol arrived at the pond to find her father’s bucket…
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‘Real owner’ of Mountain B nightclub released on bail for 1 million baht cash
Pattaya Provincial Court released the “real owner” of Mountain B nightclub on bail for one million baht in cash yesterday afternoon. Police say Somyot “Sia Yot” Panprasong is the prime investor and mastermind behind the illegal nightclub, which went up in flames on August 5, claiming the lives of 19 people. Police put out an arrest warrant for 55 year…
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Sick German man fails in suicide attempt in Pattaya
A German man with a debilitating medical condition tried to shoot himself but missed in a failed suicide attempt in Pattaya. The 82 year old man, believed to be Jonas Wolfgang Dietrich, was found unconscious with a gun wound to the chest on Sunday at about 10.30pm at 352/58 Village No. 5, Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District in Chon…
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Pattaya cops arrest spurned lover armed with gun after car chase
A high-speed car chase between police and a spurned lover armed with a gun ended when officers managed to arrest the man in a state of emotional duress in Pattaya. Police were called to the scene of a domestic dispute between Jane Ditphakdi and an unnamed woman, who rejected his advances, and another man trying to mediate the argument yesterday…
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CSD requested to take over Mountain B Pub fire investigation
Citing a distrust for local officials, a coalition of representatives of many who were injured or died in the Mountain B Pub fire are calling for the Crime Suppression Division to take over the investigation. A group representing 13 of the victims officially complained yesterday to the CSD, asking them to replace local police in running the investigation into the…
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Mountain B fire claims 19th life, 23 year old woman dies in hospital
A 23 year old woman injured in the Mountain B nightclub fire in Chon Buri’s Sattahip district on August 5 passed away at Chon Buri hospital at 2.50am today – leaving her five year old daughter without a mother or father. The fire, which has now claimed 19 lives and 26 people who are still receiving treatment in hospital, also…
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Speedo-wearing middle-aged joggers in Jomtien cause uproar
Scantily clad women are a fairly common sight in Pattaya, in clubs by night and on the beach by day. But when the gender roles were reversed, people on social media were going nuts over two middle-aged men jogging up Jomtien Beach Road, wearing nothing more than tight Speedo bathing shorts as they ran. Photos posted on social media on…
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VIDEO: Young Thais have a blast at Pattaya Music Festival weekend 2
Young Thais had a blast during the second weekend of the Pattaya Music Festival last night, and on Friday. Hundreds of teens took to Jomtien Beach to watch popular singers and bands perform live, including pop-rock artist ‘Stamp.’ Hip hop artists also performed. Video footage from The Pattaya News shows the eager youngsters packing onto the beach and the roads around it.…
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Thief caught after showing off on TikTok the money he “earned”
One common lesson that seems to need to be learned and relearned frequently in the age of sharing your life on social media is: if you’re doing crimes, maybe don’t post about it online. Police in Chon Buri arrested a man in Chon Buri after he posted a video on TikTok waving fistfuls of cash and bragging about earning so…
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17 year old the 18th victim of Mountain B fire, 27 still in hospital
An 18th person has died in the tragic Chon Buri pub fire, this time a young girl of 17 called Mind, who had been on life support in the hospital since the night of the fire. “Mind” was the third minor to die in the fire, after a 17 year old and an 18 year old (a friend of Mind’s)…
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Mountain B victims to be compensated by Thailand govt
Families of victims of the Mountain B fire tragedy in Chon Buri last week will each receive 110,000 baht compensation from the government, the Thai Justice Minister announced. The tragedy claimed its 17th victim this morning, Lt. Cl. Palitdet Chumngern, a marine in the Royal Thai Navy, died at 7.54am at Sririraj Hospital. A Thai Ministry of Justice meeting yesterday…
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Free noodles for beach cleaners after Pattaya Music Festival mess
Music festivals are fun, but they often create heaps of trash. One Pattaya noodle vendor felt sympathy for some beach cleaners dealing with the mess from the Pattaya Music Festival this past weekend. So she decided to treat them to her noodles for free. The vendor, 51 year old Walaiphan, said she saw how hard everyone was working to clean…
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UPDATE: Chon Buri police couldn’t find victim of car crash… on the back seat
UPDATE The Director of the Inter-City Motorway Division, Highway Department, Thanasak Wongthanakijcharoen, defended his highway officers after they were criticised for their slapstick approach to a car crash investigation which couldn’t find the body of the dead driver in the rear of the vehicle. The director said his team didn’t look for the driver’s corpse because it is a department…
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Chon Buri police couldn’t find victim of car crash on back seat
Chon Buri Highway Police rescue team has been slammed by Thai netizens for their slapstick approach because they couldn’t find the dead body of a man who crashed his car. The dead body of the driver lay in the car’s wreckage for 12 hours after the accident before he was found. The body of 68 year old Pattarachai Auttaporn was…
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