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 A healthy tomorrow starts today: Celebrate the great American Smokeout day
The Great American Smokeout, held this year on November 17, is a nationwide event that encourages smokers to take their first steps towards a smoke-free life. If you’re an expat in Thailand, this day could be a timely reminder to...
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Police nab Chon Buri meth dealers after trying to sell via Facebook
In a recent sting operation, police nabbed two drug dealers on Wednesday with 63,500 meth pills in Chon Buri’s Sattahip district. The police were able to track the two suspects from their Facebook account “Nooka,” and set up a rendezvous with the suspects to lure them in for the arrest. The first suspect, 28 year old Chotiwat “Nook” Koomsonklin, was…
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French ‘mafia’ boss extorts money from foreigners in Pattaya, claims ties with Big Joke
Police arrested a wanted French ‘mafia’ boss in Bangkok on Tuesday after a group of farangs in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, claimed he extorted money from them in exchange for police protection. The fraudster claimed to have ties with “Big Joke.” Yesterday, high-profile police officer Pol. Lt. Gen. Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn revealed that police arrested 58 year old Herve Christian…
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Intoxicated Chon Buri man stabs himself in front of terrified passersby
An intoxicated Chon Buri man repeatedly stabbed himself in front of terrified passersby in the Sri Racha district yesterday. A local meatball vendor said the man, 54 year old Somchai, walked up to his shop while intoxicated, grabbed a knife from him, and stabbed himself in the abdomen four times. The vendor, Chaovalit Somsri, said that before Somchai started stabbing…
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Pattaya’s new police chief pledges to prioritise tourists’ safety
Pattaya has a new police chief in town. The new chief, Pol. Col. Thanapong Phothi, pledged to prioritise tourists’ safety when he joined Pattaya Police Station yesterday. A crowd of police officers, city officials, and business people happily welcomed Thanapong. Thanapong is a long-time Pattaya dweller, who has previously served in other roles in and around the city. He said…
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Pattaya police chief transferred for fining vape carrying Chinese tourists
A senior police sergeant major from Mueng Pattaya Police Station has been transferred to Chon Buri Police Headquarters after admitting he illegally fined Chinese tourists 30,000 baht for carrying vapes. A Professional Tourist Guide Association of Thailand committee member, Paisarn Suethanuwong, revealed the wrongdoing of a Mueng Pattaya Police Station chief on a Channel 3 news show yesterday. Paisarn said…
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Chinese tourists wrongly fined 60,000 baht for carrying vapes, says law expert
A group of Thai tour guides revealed that a group of Chinese tourists were fined 60,000 baht for carrying vapes in Pattaya. The police also gave a 50% discount and let the tourists pay only 30,000 baht. According to Thai law, Thai police cannot arrest or fine foreigners with vapes. They have to report the issue to the court. The…
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Rolling Loud Thailand 2023 is coming to Songkran Festival in Pattaya
Musical heavyweights Cardi B, Chris Brown, and Travis Scott will join more than 80 other international artists at the Rolling Loud Thailand 2023 jamboree in Pattaya during Songkran Festival from Thursday, April 13 to Saturday, April 15. Pattaya is to welcome some of the world’s leading artists for the three-day music festival on the beach at Legend Siam Theme Park…
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Thai woman escapes deadly nylon wire strung acrosss a Chon Buri road
A Thai woman narrowly escaped with her life after she rode her motorcycle into a deadly nylon wire on a road in Chon Buri province. The victim suspects two teenage boys living nearby of setting up the death trap strung across the road. The 41 year old victim, Chanita, a nurse in a hospital in the Phanat Nikhom district of Chon…
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American fitness YouTuber found dead in Pattaya
American fitness YouTuber Leo and Longevity was found dead at a house in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, last night. Officers from Pattaya City Police Station were called to a house in Pattaya Lagoon Village in Bang Lamung district at 8pm, where they found the body of 34 year old Laith Abdullah Algaz – also known as Leo Rex – in the…
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Guards: it wasn’t us who attacked the Indian “tourist”
New information about an Indian tourist who was allegedly attacked by club guards on Pattaya Walking Street yesterday calls into question what really happened. The nightclub guards who were accused of the assault met with Pattaya Police to provide their side of the story. According to the guards, the victim was not a tourist, but an ex-pat and former club…
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Indian tourist beaten by Pattaya nightclub guards
In an incident sure to fluster the tourism industry’s push to welcome foreign travellers, a group of nightclub guards from an Indian bar were accused of attacking an Indian tourist. The attack went down on the bustling Walking Street in Pattaya in the wee hours of Sunday morning. The tourist reportedly sustained head injuries and was left bleeding on the…
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Pattaya tourism now close to pre-Covid levels, association says
Tourism in Southeast Asia’s sin city of Pattaya is now close to pre-Covid levels, according to the Pattaya Entertainment Association. The association’s secretary-general, Damrongkiat Pinijkarn, said that tourism is now at 80-90% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Damrongkiat said that on Pattaya’s most buzzing road, Walking Street, over 90% of venues have already reopened. He noted that venues on the road…
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Bolt vs Win motorbike taxi gang violence continues in Pattaya
Violence between rivalling motorbike taxi operators continues in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, where three ‘Win‘ drivers were injured after being beaten with a baseball bat and an iron bar, allegedly by Bolt drivers. Yesterday evening, a brawl broke out between three Bolt drivers and three Win drivers at Thappraya Soi 7, South Pattaya, Bang Lamung district, Chon Buri province, near Jomtien…
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Pattaya prepares for return of Chinese tour groups
Cities across Thailand continue to prepare for the expected rise in the number of Chinese tourists to the kingdom. Pattaya is preparing for Chinese tour groups to finally return to the renowned party city. On Tuesday, Pattaya Mayor Poramase Ngampiches met with the Thai-Chinese Tourism Association to discuss how best to accommodate the influx of Chinese tourists to the city.…
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Mother drowns in Pattaya pond where she previously ‘heard a voice’ (video)
A mother tragically drowned in a Pattaya pond on Monday night. The woman, 49 year old Amnuay Khemram, had gone into the pond twice in the past after she heard a voice telling her to walk into it, according to her son, 26 year old Thammarong Khemram. Thammarong said his mother went missing from their home at 11am on Monday.…
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Lifeguards save foreign tourist from drowning in Pattaya
Tragedy was avoided on Jomtien beach in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, yesterday thanks to the expert skills of Pattaya City lifeguards who acted quickly to save a foreign tourist from drowning. At 3pm, the Sawang Boon Rescue Foundation was informed that a foreign tourist was dragged out of the sea unconscious near the entrance of Soi 16 at Jomtien Beach in…
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Crash involving motorbike and garbage truck kills woman in Chon Buri
Another road tragedy in Chon Buri has claimed a woman’s life. A crash involving a motorbike and a garbage truck killed a woman in Chon Buri early yesterday morning. The victim was identified as 51 year old Thanaployphan Srikun. The incident happened in the Sri Racha district. Police and rescuers found Thanaployphan lying on the ground with severe head wounds.…
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You can’t ‘buy anything from the Thai police’ – PM’s Office
The Thai government has denied any involvement in setting up an outrageous TikTok video that informed Chinese tourists that “money can buy anything from the Thai police.” PM’s Office Minister Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana insisted on Sunday he had not told police to provide any VIP services to any TikTok influencer. The pretty young tourist, named only as “Adele,” was given a…
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Australian man killed after row with teenage bikers
A Thai woman blames teenage bikers in Chon Buri for causing the death of her Australian husband. She believes the gang attacked her husband and made him crash his motorcycle into an electric pole. Graeme Foster crashed his motorcycle into an electric pole on the Tung Klom-Tarn Man Road in the Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri at 11.30pm on…
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Illegal poachers shoot and kill Chon Buri forest ranger
Illegal poachers shot and killed a Chon Buri forest ranger in the Sri Racha district on Thursday night. A group of 14 rangers came across the poachers while on a routine patrol in the Khao Khiao-Khao Chomphu Wildlife Sanctuary. The rangers attempted to arrest the poachers, and the poachers then started shooting at them, leading to a gunfight. One of…
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Maiden Flydubai direct Pattaya flight arrives
The maiden direct flight from Dubai to Pattaya by Flydubai touched down at U-Tapao Airport in Chon Buri Province on Friday night, carrying 158 passengers. The passengers, including six bloggers, were greeted by U-Tapao Airport Director, Admiral Rapeepong Sowan, the vice mayor of Pattaya City and director of the Pattaya Office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). According to…
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Police airport pick-up service delights Chinese tourists
Nothing divides opinion in Thailand like Chinese tourists today. For the past few months, The Thaiger has run more stories about China and Chinese tourists than any other subject. Thailand’s public health minister says Chinese tourists won’t be discriminated against! Thailand prepares to welcome the infected tide of Chinese tourists! Chinese tourists expected to flock back to Phuket and Chiang…
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Driver hits and kills pedestrian on dimly lit Pattaya road
A driver hit and killed a pedestrian crossing a dimly lit Pattaya road on Wednesday night, in Thailand‘s latest road tragedy. Bang Lamung police arrived on the scene in front of Soi Bang Lamung 12 to find the victim, a 46 year old man named Paiboon Tongmo, dead on the road. The driver, 27 year old Sila Narinnok, was in…
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Pattaya bar owner allegedly punches Russian tourist in face over 60 baht bill
A Pattaya bar owner allegedly punched a Russian tourist in the face over his refusal to pay his 60 baht bill. Jane, the 53 year old owner of the Bonzi Bar in South Pattaya, apparently didn’t back down from admitting she was the one who punched the tourist. The Russian was identified only as “Michel,” and was reportedly on the…
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Famous Belgian murderer Robert Beijer arrested in Pattaya, Thailand
Convicted murderer and suspect in Belgium’s infamous ‘Brabant Killers‘ case of the 1980s – Robert Beijer – has been arrested in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. Robert Beijer, a former state policeman, was convicted of murdering and robbing an Antwerp diamond dealer in 1995 along with Madani Bouhouche. Beijer was sentenced to 14 years but was let out early…
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Chinese man falls to death from Pattaya hotel
Tragedy struck Pattaya when a Chinese man fell to his death at a hotel late last night. Police and rescuers found the body of 33 year old tour agent Chen Pu Lin in a pool of blood on a walkway of the Mantra Pura Hotel in Bang Lamung district. Lin was dressed only in his underwear. Investigators also found blood…
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Taxi mafias allegedly assault Pattaya Bolt drivers
A group of taxi mafias allegedly assaulted two Pattaya Bolt drivers on Sunday. The Bolt drivers, 39 year old Kriengsak Tubtimtong and 40 year old Somchai Thongdee, said the incident happened in the Naklua sub-district of Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. Kriengsak, told Pattaya Police that he and Somchai had planned to peacefully resolve a territorial conflict between them and…
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Pattaya’s dignified image remains after police report no sex workers found in inspection
Pattaya’s ever-so-dignified image is here to stay since Tourist Police reported finding no illegal sex workers in an inspection on Saturday. The inspection came after residents claimed that sex workers were illegally operating. At midnight, cops patrolled high-risk areas such as Beach Road and Walking Street, on the prowl for suspects. Tourist Police identified risky spots as crowded tourist attractions, dark…
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Tour boat allegedly leaves Russian family stranded on island off Pattaya
Tour boat allegedly left Russian family stranded, photo by The Pattaya News. A tour boat company allegedly left a Russian family of six stranded on an island off Pattaya yesterday. Thai media reported that there were four adults and two children in the family. The family, who remained anonymous to the press, said they rented a speedboat only identified by…
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No, you can’t get a driver’s license via LINE
Despite what you may have read on the Internet, you absolutely cannot get a legal driver’s license by messaging someone via the LINE app and having them take the test for you. The Department of Land Transport Phuket Office issued a warning about a scam involving illegal and online driving licenses. The scam has been circulating on social media, including…
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