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.
The Thaiger is your essential guide to navigating Pattaya’s dynamic landscape. To stay connected with the most trusted news source in town, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
-
Sponsored Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
-
Naked woman stops Chon Buri traffic after fender bender
Traffic on Sukhumvit in Chon Buri this morning was interrupted in a bizarre commotion involving an erratic naked woman running around the road. At around 7:00 am officers from the Saensuk Police Station and rescue workers arrived at the scene after the incident was called in. The naked woman yelled at people to stay away, claiming she was infected with…
-
Extorted women held in chicken fighting dog kennel by fake police
A woman went out for a shopping trip but ended up at the centre of a bizarre story after she alleges she was arrested by fake police and detained in a dog kennel while being extorted for 50,000 baht. The woman was reported missing on Monday by her mother after she never came home from her shopping trip and today police arrested…
-
Ostrich escapes from Chon Buri farm, causes traffic jam
An ostrich ran into a busy street in Chon Buri, causing a traffic jam. Cars and motorbikes were backed up around a 1-kilometre down Suk Prayun Road. It took officers nearly 2 hours to catch the 2-metre tall bird. A rescue team chased the ostrich to a parking lot outside a Robinson shopping centre and was able to get a…
-
Pattaya officials concerned high costs of Covid tests will deter foreign tourists
Tourism officials in Pattaya are concerned that the demands being made of foreign tourists, including multiple costly Covid tests, will put people off visiting. Pattaya hopes to re-open quarantine-free under a sealed route scheme, but Thanet Supornsahasrungsi from the Chon Buri Tourism Council has expressed concern about the costs involved for visitors. The Bangkok Post reports that Pattaya is eyeing…
-
Alleged Pattaya gambling operation broken up, 4 arrested
Pattaya Police raided a suspected gambling operation yesterday afternoon. 4 people were arrested, consisting of 3 suspected gamblers and the homeowner. The Region 2 Police and the Pattaya City Police combined forces to stage their raid on the house in Nong Prue, a town municipality in Pattaya. The Pattaya news says the raid is a result of the police being…
-
Pattaya man dies after receiving beating, attacker says he didn’t mean to kill him
A man was arrested for allegedly beating a man to death at a house in Pattaya. The suspect claims he didn’t intend to kill the victim. When Nongprue police and local media got to the scene, they discovered the body of 44 year old Run Thongnak with bruises all over the face and body. Run’s girlfriend, identified only as Namtip,…
-
Pattaya birthday party busted for breaking emergency decree
18 people were arrested and police seized methamphetamine, ketamine, ecstasy at a birthday party last night in Pattaya. The party was a violation of the Emergency Decree and Disease Control Act as the gathering risks the spread of Covid-19 The Nong Prue police chief, Chiddecha Songhong, says police arrived at the house located at the Pool Villa Resort around 11pm…
-
Coffee shop employee attacked while at work in Si Racha
A coffee shop employee sustained serious injuries after he was attacked by two men while he was at work. The coffee shop wasn’t identified. The incident happened in Si Racha, the town and subdistrict on the east side of the Gulf of Thailand. CCTV footage captured the assault. The victim has been identified as 23 year old Songchaiphon Donchai, who…
-
Koh Larn to reopen next week, beaches still closed until further notice
Koh Larn, the small island off of Pattaya, has announced via social media last night that they plan to reopen the island for visitors next Tuesday. 3 Ferries will also be running a day, one at 7am, then another at 12pm, and the last one at 5:30pm. The same Covid rules that apply to Chon Buri will be applied to…
-
Heavy rains in Pattaya bring some fun but also casualties
The rains that have been battering Pattaya over the weekend have come with a light side and a dark side. Many locals were seen finding the silver lining in the heavy rains, having fun going with the flow, sometimes literally. But for others, the rains turned deadly. The rain caused floods on streets and neighbourhoods, dumping water into people homes…
-
Koh Larn resorts accused of encroaching on coastlines
The island of Koh Larn, just off the coast of Pattaya, is the centre of a controversy as officials are threatening to pursue 39 private resorts accused of illegally encroaching on the coastlines. The Pattaya Marine Office says these resorts are cutting off the sea from the public, violating the Thai law that reserves beaches as state land and not…
-
Motorbike accident victim presumed dead, actually asleep drunk
Rescue workers arrived to an all-too-familiar scene: an accident with a motorbike strewn across the pavement and, a bit beyond, its unfortunate rider lying motionless on the road. They assessed the accident and approached the body to conduct an examination and physical health check. But as they began, they were shocked when the man suddenly woke up. The incident took…
-
Man assaulted at Pattaya worker camp
A Cambodian worker at a camp in Pattaya sustained a severe head injury after he was reportedly beaten by teenagers. Police were alerted to the attack at 11pm a few days ago. When police got to the worker camp, they found the man lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from his head. The worker, identified 28 year old “Mr Mai,”…
-
Chon Buri man allegedly smashes into several cars while drunk
An alleged drunk driver smashed into several cars. The man had fallen asleep behind the wheel and did not wake up when police arrived to the scene. Officers had to call a locksmith to get him out of the car. Chon Buri police were alerted to the incident after midnight and arrived at the scene with emergency services. There, they…
-
Electrician electrocuted to death in Chon Buri
An electrician has been electrocuted to death while he was installing wires for a customer in Chon Buri, a province that sits on the Gulf of Thailand. First responders got to the scene to discover 47 year old Montri Somboon’s body still connected to a power pole close to the house. Rescue workers removed Montri’s body; it took them about…
-
Vaccine update: Pfizer available to American veterans, foreigners in Pattaya
The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is now available to American veterans living in Thailand as well as foreign residents in Pattaya who are in the “at risk” groups, according to Democrats Abroad Thailand. The vaccine doses were donated to Thailand from the United States. Two doses of the vaccine are free under the Thai government’s mass immunisation campaign. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya…
-
Chon Buri governor orders the temporary closure of a company, worker camp, and 2 dormitories
The governor of Chon Buri has ordered the closure of a company, a worker camp, and two dormitories in Si Racha and Ban Bueng for the next month due to the spread of Covid-19. The closure order was posted last night by the Chon Buri Public Relations office. Chon Buri, which includes Pattaya, is classified as a “dark red” zone under…
-
Koh Larn to stay closed to tourists until the end of the month
Koh Larn, an island off the coast of Pattaya, will stay closed to tourists, at least until the end of the month, the Koh Larn Local Committee announced yesterday. Earlier this month, the island opened to travellers who are vaccinated against the coronavirus, but an order closing the island to non-residents was issued after six Covid-19 cases were reported on the…
-
Pattaya re-opening threatened by rise in infections, slow vaccine rollout
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says the eastern tourist spot of Pattaya has a number of challenges to overcome in order to re-open to foreign tourism. Chief among them is the fact that standard operating procedures submitted to the provincial health office are still awaiting approval. Meanwhile, Covid-19 infections are rising and the vaccine rollout is sluggish. According to a…
-
Pattaya reopening plan for September 1 unlikely to happen
Chiang Mai, which recently reported that, due to the Covid-19 situation and slow vaccination, they will delay their planned September reopening to October at the earliest, like many tourism areas that have seen plans to welcome back international tourists dashed by the intensity of the pandemic in Thailand. Now Pattaya has also acknowledged that their plan for reopening on September…
-
Police arrest 21 people at Pattaya party violating Covid-19 decree
Yet another party breaking all Covid-19 restrictions was just broken up in Central Pattaya tonight, with 21 people arrested. The event was in front of the Tree Town Market area on Soi Buakhao and police raided the party just before 9 pm. Pattaya and the rest of the Chon Buri province is now a maximum control dark red zone, and…
-
Old man attacked by dogs, loses arm, when delivering lemons
Attempting to drop off a bag of lemons at a neighbour’s house, a 79 year old man instead lost his arm as the neighbour’s dogs viciously attacked him. The attack took place in the Panat Nikhom district of Chon Buri on Wednesday. Rescue workers were called to the aid of Juea “Keang” Kitijutirakun after he sustained serious injuries from multiple…
-
Bangkok and Chon Buri police arrest 9 suspects they believe were part of loan shark operation
Bangkok and Chon Buri police arrested 9 people through combined raids on what police believe were locations used for illegal loan shark apps. The arrests happened earlier this morning. Thai media reports that 6 of the suspects are Thai nationals and the remaining 3 suspects are Chinese nationals. Economic Crime Suppression Division police and the Provincial Police Region 2 took…
-
Pattaya beach remodel project defended by mayor
After an uproar paused a beach remodel project that began Sunday, the Pattaya City Mayor held a press conference to explain and justify the remodel plans. Community leaders and notable residents protested the plans to launch the refurbishment, with complaints mainly on two grounds. First, many objected to the removal of trees that would come along with revamping the beachfront.…
-
Man believes 2 prostitutes stole necklace off him in Pattaya
Yesterday in Pattaya, a Russian national reported that he had a white-gold necklace valued at 20,000 baht stolen by what he believes were 2 prostitutes. Around 8 pm Monday, 38 year old Dennis Nidovacom filed his police report. Pattaya police then went to the scene that was located close to a shopping centre on Beach Road. With the aid of…
-
Thai Youtuber killed by train in Pattaya
Yesterday, the body of a Thai “Youtuber” was discovered after he was hit by a train in Pattaya. Local police were notified of the accident that took place near the intersection of Soi Siam Country club just after midnight Rescue workers and local media got to the scene to find the body of the Thai man identified as “Beer Apache”.…
-
Bangkok Hospital in Pattaya announces vaccines for foreigners
Bangkok Hospital just announced a new scheme to offer Covid-19 vaccines to foreigners in Pattaya meeting certain qualifications. The hospital chain posted on their social media announcements a plan to offer free Covid-19 vaccines on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. After months of outcry, Thailand has finally begun to make vaccines more available to foreigners. The plan is a bit strange…
-
Ferry between Pattaya and Hua Hin permanently cancelled
With travel restrictions for dark red zones limiting flights and bus services, ferries are not immune from the economic damages of Covid-19 either. The ferry service running between Hua Hin and Pattaya hasn’t been operating since last year due to Covid-19, but it now appears it will not ever restart. Royal Passenger Liner Co was operating as the sole operator…
-
Couple shocked by random bullet through their window glass
A seemingly freak accident startled and confused a Chon Buri couple when a stray bullet came through their bedroom window. The couple live in a 2 story house in Nong Ree in Mueang Chon Buri and were in bed upstairs in the master bedroom when the incident occurred. Police were called on Thursday about the random bullet and met with…
-
Pattaya suspect refuses to exit car, livestreams police encounter
Viral videos or live streams of encounters with the police have become a common occurrence in the United States and a few other countries, but on Friday a transgender person in Pattaya refused to exit her car after being stopped by police and live-streamed the whole event. The woman was a suspect after reports of a drug dealer in a…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.