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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Pattaya driver injured after falling asleep at the wheel, plunging into ditch
A driver asleep at the wheel of his car has broken both legs after the vehicle ended up in a ditch in the Banglamung area of Pattaya. The Pattaya News reports that 33 year old Nattaphon Sukmanat had to be cut out of the vehicle before being rushed to hospital for surgery. The local police force was notified of the…
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4 top tourist destinations to be prioritised for Covid-19 vaccine distribution
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says 4 of Thailand’s major tourism destinations are to be prioritised in the distribution of vaccines. They are Phuket, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai and Surat Thani. In addition, a further 9 provinces with significant infection numbers are being prioritised in the rollout of the first vaccine doses arriving in the Kingdom today. Taweesin Visanuyothin…
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Pattaya mayor pushes to vaccinate residents and become an “area quarantine”
The Pattaya City mayor is pushing for the city to become a “safe bubble” for tourists and residents. The idea is to vaccinate all residents and workers in the tourism industry, designating Pattaya as an “area quarantine,” Mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem says. He adds that the city has prepared a proposal for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The mayor says…
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4 monks arrested and defrocked for alleged drug-taking at Chon Buri temple
Police in the eastern province of Chon Buri have arrested 4 Buddhist monks accused of taking drugs at a local temple. The Pattaya News reports that the 4 have also been defrocked, with the abbot of the temple ordering them to leave the monkhood. The arrests occurred over the weekend after the abbot alerted police to reports of drug-taking at…
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Thai government says tourism-dependent locations will get high priority in vaccination drive
The government’s Covid-19 task force says places like Phuket and Pattaya, which are heavily reliant on international tourism, will be considered “high priority” for vaccination. The Pattaya News reports that Apisamai Srirangsan, assistant spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, made the announcement at a press conference yesterday. The southern island of Phuket – along with a number of…
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12 year old Chon Buri girl finds king cobra in her home
A 12 year old girl is safe after finding a king cobra in her home in the eastern province of Chon Buri. The unnamed girl told rescue workers that she was doing laundry at the back of her house in the Ban Bueang district. When she entered another room in the house, she discovered the king cobra and notified her…
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Pattaya, Phuket, launch campaigns to re-ignite tourism
The normally vibrant tourist hotspots of Pattaya and Phuket are aiming to re-ignite domestic tourism, now that the Covid-19 resurgence appears to be on the decline. Both locations had become completely dependent on domestic tourists following the first wave of the virus, but then had to contend with a second blow when Covid-19 staged a comeback in December. Now, the…
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Police raid Chon Buri bar and arrest 28 people for allegedly violating the Emergency Decree
Police raided a bar in Chon Buri and arrested 28 people for allegedly violating disease control measures. The bar was open past 11pm, the closing time for entertainment venues under emergency control measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Police raided the bar around 1am after a call from a local resident. Along with the bar owner, 8 employees and…
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Chon Buri dog shelter has 40% drop in donations during pandemic
A shelter for stray dogs in Chon Buri not only nurses injured and sick street dogs back to health, it also provides more than 2 dozen dogs with special wheelchairs. Every day the dogs are taken for a walk along a dirt path. With the wheels serving as their hind legs, the dogs can freely walk along a dirt path.…
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Driver says thick smog led to 3-vehicle pileup in Chon Buri
A driver in a serious 3-vehicle pileup in Chon Buri blames the thick smog for the accident, saying it limited visibility. Two people were injured in the accident, including a 30 year old man who was stuck inside his sedan and rescuers used the “jaws of life” hydraulic tool to remove him from the vehicle. Another 39 year old man…
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Pattaya banker detained on theft charges, allegedly defrauded local expats in investment scam
Pattaya police detained a former assistant manager of a local bank branch after he allegedly scammed numerous foreigners, tricking some of them into investments that led to significant losses and using invalid documents to fake transactions. A group of foreigners filed a complaint with the Pattaya City Police against the bank branch’s former assistant manager Chaisit Sappermphool on fraud charges.…
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UPDATE: “Hundreds” of investors caught in alleged Kasikorn Bank branch fraud in Pattaya
CORRECTION: In an earlier story about this case we referred to a Chinese man losing 130 BILLION baht in the scheme. The amount was actually 130 MILLION baht. We apologise for the error. Hundreds, perhaps more than 400, investors have been allegedly defrauded by an assistant bank manager at a Kasikorn bank branch in Pattaya. The assistant manager, named in…
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Elderly expat dies after falling from Pattaya condominium
An 88 year old American man died last night after he fell from his eighth floor condominium in Pattaya. Police say they suspect the incident was suicide, but are still investigating. A security guard patrolling the area found the man’s body on the ground outside his condominium on Soi Buakhao around 10pm last night and alerted Pattaya City Police. Officers found…
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Police arrest 3 Chon Buri gamblers for violating Covid-19 emergency decree – VIDEO
Police in the eastern province of Chon Buri have arrested 3 gamblers, accused of violating the Covid-19 emergency decree. Officers were responding to a tip-off from a member of the public concerned about the spread of the virus. VIDEO: Thai Rath The Pattaya News reports that the arrests took place at a property in the Baan Suan sub-district. Officers arrived…
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UPDATE: Thailand Covid zones and your restrictions
Which of the five coloured zones are you living in? A green zone? Red zone? Pale red zone? hat’s the difference and what’s open and what’s not? If you’re not in Samut Sakhon, the coastal province just south west of Bangkok, then some of the restrictions imposed by the CCSA have recently been lifted. Here’s a quick look at what’s…
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Pattaya Beach, fly over the pristine but horrifyingly empty beaches | VIDEO
The Thailand Discovery YouTube channel has captured an empty Pattaya beach front for the first month of 2021. The first month of any year would usually be one of the busiest months of the year and the beaches should be heaving with tourists in the post Christmas/New Year break and the lead up to the Chinese New Year travel burst.…
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Re-openings and easing of restrictions in Chon Buri, effective Monday, February 1
Re-open for business, sort of. Chon Buri province’s PR department has released its latest list of orders which will come into force on Monday. It follows the CCSA changing the Chon Buri provinces Red Zone classification into an Orange Zone. More about the latest provincial zones and restrictions HERE. The hard-hit bar and entertainment scene in Pattaya will be breathing…
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Chon Buri hotels and tourism businesses ordered to close
Hotels and tourist attractions in Chonburi must close, according to an official order from the province’s communicable disease committee. Hotel and other businesses related to the tourism industry, who struggled due to the provincial travel restrictions, actually requested the order so employees could get unemployment benefits. With the official closure order, the employees can receive 3 month compensations from the…
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Chon Buri tutoring centre owner arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a student
A 59 year old teacher and owner of a tutoring centre in Chon Buri’s Bang Saen district was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a 15 year old student. Police say the sexual abuse was caught on camera. In a video obtained by police, the teacher was seen touching the girl’s breasts and then moving his hand under her skirt while…
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Scrub away Pattaya’s restrictions with a Walking Street wash-a-thon
Without much other good news on the horizon, Pattaya officials have celebrated almost two weeks of no new Covid-19 infections with a celebratory ‘wash down’ of Walking Street. The ritual ‘wetting’, in the Songkran tradition, was seen as a new beginning, washing away the bad spirits and the bad times that had fallen on the once-busy red light district. Sonthaya…
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Chon Buri could be removed from “red zone” list, tourists expected to flock to Pattaya
After several consecutive days without a local Covid-19 case, Chon Buri might soon be removed from the government’s list of “red zones” for high risk of Covid-19. Once lockdown restrictions are eased, the coastal province expects to have an influx of tourists to Pattaya. The province has been under strict disease control measures and is classified as one of the…
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Massage workers in Pattaya call for reopening of spas and massages shops
A group of about 50 workers from Pattaya massage shops and spas gathered together to call for the reopening of their businesses after being closed for the past month due to Covid-19 restrictions. The group called themselves the “Pattaya Health Massage” presented a letter signed by 60 massage shops, spas and gyms to Bang Lamung District Sheriff this morning. Chon…
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29 arrested in Pattaya for smoking shisha above Indian restaurant
Police are investigating an Indian restaurant where they arrested 29 people for a late night party in Pattaya’s Soi 7. The incident took place at 12:30am at a 5 story building which had the first 3 floors closed. Police say the venue was actually operating as a shisha lounge, pool hall, and bar. The raid was based on a tip…
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Chonburi sees 0 new Covid-19 infections for 3 days in a row
Chonburi province has reported another day of 0 cases of Covid-19, marking the third day in a row to see no cases. In the past 6 days only one case has been reported in the province and all of that person’s relatives have tested negative for the virus. The provincial health office says they will keep doing doing targeted mass testing…
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Chinese businessmen hand out food in Pattaya
Chinese businessmen are helping to feed people in Pattaya after handing out over 1,000 meals to the needy last night. The handouts occurred near Third Road with Pattaya City Police nearby to help ensure social distancing and other safety measures. Hundreds of locals were seen queing for the event well before it was scheduled to start, indicating the increasing need…
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Pattaya hotels take food to the streets in bid to survive
Pattaya’s hotels are taking their restaurants to the streets by offering food stalls outside and delivery in a bid to save their businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. Such changes in their attempts to avoid closing, come as city officials say they will use funds to spruce up the city for Chinese New Years on February 12. As Chonburi province is…
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Pattaya cleaning up its Walking Street act in time for Chinese New Year
Pattaya City is planning to clean up its Walking Street act in time for the upcoming Chinese New Year. But, as the second wave of Covid-19 mostly destroyed what was left of any foreign or domestic tourism, it might all be in vain. Thousands of businesses remain closed due to Chon Buri province being a “highly controlled” Covid-19 zone, which effectively…
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Koh Larn asks Chon Buri officials to open the island again to tourists
The Koh Larn community committee is asking the Chon Buri provincial communicable disease committee to consider reopening the island after being affected by the restriction measures from January 5. Actually, almost closed down. One of the Covid-19 hot spots, Chonburi is classified as a “high risk” area where maximum restrictions are imposed. Businesses and tourist destinations are ordered to close…
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Pattaya City mayor planning local rollout of Covid-19 vaccine
The mayor of Pattaya city says officials hope to be able to buy 240,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for administration to local residents. Sonthaya Khunpluem is reviewing finances and plans to set aside approximately 80 million baht for vaccine procurement, subject to government approval. “Currently, house registration of Pattaya City has reached a total population of 120,000 people, then…
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Pattaya hotels want official closure order to get unemployment benefits
Pattaya hotels and tourism businesses want to close… just temporarily until the Covid-19 situation improves, but they say an official closure order needs to be issued by the Chon Buri governor so employees can claim unemployment benefits. The hospitality and tourism industry in the 5 highest risk red zones (the coastal provinces Chonburi, Rayong, Chantaburi, Rayong, Samut Sakhon, and Trat)…
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