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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  • Thai police investigate deaths of 2 foreign nationals in Phuket, Chon Buri

    Thai police investigate deaths of 2 foreign nationals in Phuket, Chon Buri

    Police are investigating the deaths of 2 foreigners this week, one in the eastern province of Chon Buri and the other on the southern island of Phuket. The Bangkok Post reports that 63-year-old Philipe Kernen was found dead at his home in the Phuket sub-district of Rawai earlier this week. The French national was found lying face-down on his bed, with…

  • Half of Chon Buri’s new Covid-19 cases today reported in Pattaya and Bang Saen

    Half of Chon Buri’s new Covid-19 cases today reported in Pattaya and Bang Saen

    Around half of the 873 new Covid-19 cases in Chon Buri were found in Pattaya and Bang Saen. Reports say around 400 cases were from clusters at restaurants serving alcoholic beverages. According to the Chon Buri Provincial Public Health Office, the areas with the highest number of cases and clusters are Three Town Might Market and Soi Bua Khao, which…

  • Third foreigner this week dies from building fall in Pattaya

    Third foreigner this week dies from building fall in Pattaya

    Less than one week after a 72 year old foreigner fell to his death from a popular unnamed Pattaya condo building, a second similar incident occurred. This time, a 64 year old Norwegian man believed to be an expat was found dead after his fall last night from his 5th-floor condominium in Jomtien. Once again, there was no immediate sign…

  • Pattaya Karaoke bar raided afterhours for violating Covid-19 rules

    Pattaya Karaoke bar raided afterhours for violating Covid-19 rules

    A karaoke bar in Pattaya flagrantly ignoring all Covid-19 regulations was raided by police last night as more than 50 people drank and partied inside. Police raided Jacky Karaoke around 11:30 pm last night after receiving an anonymous tip from someone reported to be worried about the illegal venue spreading Covid-19 in their area. The karaoke bar, located on Soi…

  • Pattaya police raid bars serving alcohol past 9pm, arrest two managers

    Pattaya police raid bars serving alcohol past 9pm, arrest two managers

    Two bar managers in Pattaya were arrested for violating the disease control measures last night. Bars across Thailand are ordered to remain closed, but some have opened up as restaurants. In “blue zones,” which includes Pattaya, alcohol sales and consumption at restaurants are allowed until 9pm. At around 9:30pm, Pattaya police officers went to Soi Bua Khao and Walking Street…

  • Major fire guts incense warehouse in Chon Buri

    Major fire guts incense warehouse in Chon Buri

    An incense warehouse in the eastern province of Chon Buri has been completely destroyed by fire. The Pattaya News reports that the fire broke out at a joss sticks warehouse in the district of Ban Bueng on Sunday. 10 fire engines attended the blaze in Soi Intara and it took firefighters over an hour to bring the fire under control.…

  • Man focused on GPS drives into Chon Buri pond, sinks car

    Man focused on GPS drives into Chon Buri pond, sinks car

    A man focusing on the directions on his GPS drove into a pond in Chon Buri. He was able to escape through the car’s window and swim to shore, but his car sunk in the 15-metre deep pond. The man says he was driving from Bangkok to Chon Buri to visit relatives over the weekend when he went onto a…

  • Chon Buri officials issue Covid-19 warning for Si Racha nightclub

    Chon Buri officials issue Covid-19 warning for Si Racha nightclub

    In a long line of warnings from the Chon Buri Public Health Office, a nightclub in the Si Racha area is the latest to receive an alert for anyone who attended to get tested for Covid-19, this time after New Year’s Eve celebrations. Chon Buri health officials put out an announcement yesterday calling on anyone who attended Cool Club X…

  • Pattaya prepares “hospitel” beds, reviews home isolation measures after Covid spike

    Pattaya prepares “hospitel” beds, reviews home isolation measures after Covid spike

    With a surge of cases in Chon Buri, Pattaya officials are planning to open up more hotel isolation centres, known as hospitels, and are reviewing measures for home isolation for those who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms to help curb the spike in cases. In Chon Buri today, health officials report nearly 800 Covid-19 cases with more than 4,000…

  • Mueang Chon Buri restaurants come under strict Covid-19 control

    Mueang Chon Buri restaurants come under strict Covid-19 control

    Mueang Chon Buri district is the latest part of the province to come under the strict Covid-19 restrictions for food and beverage facilities. The order was first enacted in Pattaya, ordered by the governor of Chon Buri late at night on January 1 requiring daily Covid-19 testing of all employees and that every patron at any restaurant have a negative…

  • Pattaya Mayor says there will be no lockdown despite Covid uptick in Chon Buri

    Pattaya Mayor says there will be no lockdown despite Covid uptick in Chon Buri

    Despite Chon Buri topping the chart of the highest new Covid-19 cases yesterday and an uptick of Omicron cases in the area, the Pattaya City Mayor says there will be no lockdown. Beaches will remain open, Mayor Sontaya Kunplome says, but individual businesses, not entire sectors, will be closed if they do not meet the mandatory Covid-19 measurements. The announcement came…

  • Former Thai boxer stabbed to death outside Pattaya night market

    Former Thai boxer stabbed to death outside Pattaya night market

    A 54 year old former Thai boxer was killed and two others were injured after a fight broke out between rival groups outside Pattaya’s popular Tree Town Nightmarket on Saturday night. One of the three suspects has been arrested, but he says he wasn’t involved and attempted to break up the fight. Narawit Pongsoungnoen, known as Ae Marine who competed…

  • Pattaya sets up 3 free Covid-19 testing points to access nightlife

    Pattaya sets up 3 free Covid-19 testing points to access nightlife

    After intensive rules requiring constant Covid-19 testing for Chon Buri restaurants and entertainment venues were announced last night, the Chon Buri Department of Public Health is now helping to ease the burden by setting up 3 free testing points in popular entertainment and nightlife areas. The Chon Buri Governor announced new rules late last night for venues that serve food…

  • Updates for food and beverage venues in Pattaya

    Updates for food and beverage venues in Pattaya

    (“Food and beverage venues” is a euphemism for ‘bars-pretending-to-be-restaurants’) Pattaya businesses are being thrown another curved ball with the Chon Buri governor releasing new orders last night to clarify, and in some cases increase, restrictions and conditions for food and beverage venues. The updated guidelines relate specifically to bars that are trying to re-open under a loophole that lets them…

  • Pattaya hotel raided for gambling, 42 people arrested

    Pattaya hotel raided for gambling, 42 people arrested

    A Pattaya hotel room was raided by police and 42 people now face charges for gambling, which is illegal in Thailand. Officers also seized tables, cards, and gambling chips with a total market value of roughly 500 million baht (the US$15 million). Firearms were seized from the dealers. Acting on a court warrant, police raided the Le Vernissage Hotel, a…

  • Pattaya tourist leaders call for local Sandbox as hotel bookings drop

    Pattaya tourist leaders call for local Sandbox as hotel bookings drop

    “The permit to arrive in Thailand is the least of the problems for many potential international tourists as airlines around the world have been cancelling services.” Whilst the southern island of Phuket appears to be a winner in the government’s recent, and selective, alterations to its Thailand Pass options, Thailand’s other main tourist hot spot outside Bangkok, Pattaya, has again…

  • Business leaders urge government to include Pattaya in sandbox entry scheme

    Business leaders urge government to include Pattaya in sandbox entry scheme

    Business leaders in Pattaya have joined a chorus of tourism operators around the country who are pleading to be included in the sandbox scheme. Businesses are expressing despair and frustration since the government suspended the Test & Go entry scheme citing concerns about the Omicron Covid-19 variant. The Pattaya News reports that members of the Chamber of Commerce and Board…

  • Crab and ice shops in Si Racha warned of Covid-19 outbreak

    Crab and ice shops in Si Racha warned of Covid-19 outbreak

    A new warning went out for a potential Covid-19 outbreak stemming from some ice and crab shops in Si Racha district of Chon Buri. The Chon Buri Public Health Office issued the notice yesterday urging anyone who was a patron or visited 3 crab shops and an ice shop to come forward for mandatory Covid-19 testing. The announcement said that…

  • Immune to penalty, police raid Sky Mountain restaurant a 6th time

    Immune to penalty, police raid Sky Mountain restaurant a 6th time

    They say no good deed goes unpunished, but in the case of Sky Mountain Restaurant in Pattaya, no unpunished deed goes unrepeated. The restaurant has been raided by police a sixth time for acting as a bar and nightclub and illegally selling alcohol in violation of Covid-19 restrictions, though it has not seen any penalty yet and continues to operate…

  • Man arrested in Chon Buri for allegedly attempting to mail drugs to South Korea

    Man arrested in Chon Buri for allegedly attempting to mail drugs to South Korea

    A Thai man was arrested in Chon Buri for allegedly attempting to send methamphetamine and other illicit drugs to South Korea. Officers say they received a tip through the 1386 hotline that the suspect was smuggling drugs out of Thailand by hiding them in snack packages. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board says each package is included with 870…

  • Business and government leaders meet to reopen Pattaya bars

    Business and government leaders meet to reopen Pattaya bars

    A high-level meeting is the latest in the non-stop attempts by businesses in Pattaya to reopen bars and entertainment venues, with business leaders and government officials meeting at Pattaya City Hall yesterday to discuss the issue. The conference was run by the president of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, the Bang Lamung District Chief, the mayor of Pattaya, and…

  • Man arrested in Chon Buri for allegedly killing a pregnant elephant

    Man arrested in Chon Buri for allegedly killing a pregnant elephant

    Police arrested a man who allegedly shot and killed a 25 year old pregnant elephant in Chon Buri. The man reportedly claimed that the elephant came to eat bananas on his land and he shot her because she was about to chase him. The police have filed two charges against the suspect for possessing a firearm and killing a protected…

  • Pattaya restaurant busted operating after curfew as a nightclub

    Pattaya restaurant busted operating after curfew as a nightclub

    In a familiar scene lately as Thailand toes the line between Covid-19 safety and restarting the tourism economy by relaxing alcohol bans in select areas around the country, a restaurant essentially operating as a bar on South Pattaya Road was shut down last night for violating the Chon Buri Communicable Disease Control order. Dripoly restaurant in Pattaya was raided just…

  • 40 year old arrested for sexually harassing 12 year old girl

    40 year old arrested for sexually harassing 12 year old girl

    In Bang Lamung, a 40 year old man identified as Mr Fai was arrested, accused of sexually harassing a 12 year old girl after breaking into her house. The Nong Prue Police received notice of the break-in that took place on Wednesday in the Pong sub-district. The father of the 12 year old girl called the police after catching the…

  • 2,000 meth pills seized in alleged drug dealer arrest in Chon Buri

    2,000 meth pills seized in alleged drug dealer arrest in Chon Buri

    In the Mueang Chon Buri district of Chon Buri, police arrested a suspected drug dealer who was reportedly in possession of 2,000 meth pills. The arrest was carried out by Saen Suk Police as the 28 year old man was captured on Soi 5 of Sukhumvit Road in the Saen Suk sub-district, where police raided several restaurants selling alcohol illegally…

  • Tourists stranded an island off the coast of Sattahip rescued by Royal Thai Navy

    Tourists stranded an island off the coast of Sattahip rescued by Royal Thai Navy

    Six Belgian tourists stranded on an island off the coast of Chon Buri’s Sattahip district were rescued by the Royal Thai Navy on yesterday. According to the navy officials, the tourists took three small boats into the sea on Sunday and got themselves into trouble when one of the boats had a mechanical failure, and a water leak to another boat.…

  • 4 Bang Saen restaurants busted selling alcohol outside Chon Buri Blue Zone

    4 Bang Saen restaurants busted selling alcohol outside Chon Buri Blue Zone

    Though Chon Buri has allowed alcohol in restaurants as part of the tourist Blue Zone, only specific areas received the exemption to Thailand’s alcohol ban. Over the weekend, 4 restaurant managers outside of the approved Blue Zone areas, mostly in the popular alternate tourist area Bang Saen, were arrested for selling alcohol against Covid-19 restrictions. The busts took place on…

  • Chon Buri and Pattaya bar scene get good news, but at what cost?

    Chon Buri and Pattaya bar scene get good news, but at what cost?

    The reality is that many ‘bars’ will rush to achieve certification as an SHA+ approved ‘restaurant’. The signwriters in Pattaya will be busy making new ‘restaurant’ signs as hundreds of bars vie to open up, serving food, so they can serve alcohol and get their businesses going again. It’s all smoke and mirrors but an advancement for the seaside party…

  • Baby elephant rescued after being shot in the shoulder while leg caught in trap

    Baby elephant rescued after being shot in the shoulder while leg caught in trap

    An injured baby elephant has been rescued and is receiving medical treatment in the eastern province of Chon Buri, according to a Reuters report. Fahsai, whose name means, “fair sky” is thought to be around 3 months old. She was rescued after getting her leg caught in a hunter’s trap and then being shot in the shoulder several times. The…

  • Police arrest man for allegedly attacking and robbing a Russian woman in Pattaya

    Police arrest man for allegedly attacking and robbing a Russian woman in Pattaya

    A 42 year old man was arrested today for allegedly beating and robbing a Russian tourist in Pattaya six months ago, Khaosod English reports. The 56 year old woman was taking photos in South Pattaya when the man allegedly attacked her, stealing her phone and US$2,000 in cash. The victim’s face was left with bruises from the assault. The man,…