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
The 5 best luxury villa rentals in Koh Samui by The Luxury Signature
Koh Samui has long been known as one of the world’s finest luxury travel destinations. Its pristine beaches, lush landscapes, and crystal-clear waters create an idyllic setting that attracts travellers seeking an escape from the everyday grind. And opting to...
-
CAAT probe crash of light-aircraft that killed South African pilot
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has inspected the wreckage of a private light aircraft that crashed in Chon Buri’s Sri Racha district yesterday. The crash precipitated a fire that killed the 60 year old pilot, Mike Romberg from South Africa. The turboprop light aircraft crashed to the ground when it was about to make a landing at Rajamangala…
-
Round the world handicapped pilot crashes in Chon Buri
A video has captured the final moments of a light aircraft that crashed in Sri Racha, Chon Buri yesterday. Footage also shows the aftermath of the crash. The aircraft was piloted by Mike Lomberg, a South African who was flying through Thailand as part of a round the world flying adventure. The private light aircraft crash-landed yesterday, killing the pilot. The…
-
UPDATE: The Hangover – Pattaya
A 64 year old Thai woman has been arrested for allegedly stealing cash and valuables from a British man after he bought sex from her and another woman. Pattaya police say that Penchan Hale was arrested in Bangkok on Tuesday for allegedly drugging and stealing from 56 year old George Andrew Lerce last Saturday night. (Original story below) The tourist…
-
100 illegal road racers invade Pattaya roads
More than 100 motorcyclists have taken part in road racing on two roads in Pattaya early this morning. Witnesses say there was no police presence to stop the illegal activities. Tipped off by local residents, reporters from The Nation went to the area at 2am and found motorcyclists gathered on Sukhumvit Road and Jomtien 2 Road in Tambon Nong Plue…
-
Thai arrested over refusing to return a tourist’s lost phone
A Thai man has been arrested for refusing to return a smartphone to a Russian tourist who dropped it on a South Pattaya road three days ago. Pattaya police chief Pol Colonel Apichai Krobphet said 64 year old Niyom Sukcharoen faces a theft charge for refusing to report finding the Xiaomi Mi8 smartphone which been dropped outside a restaurant. Apichai…
-
Freak needle-fish accident kills Thai Navy cadet
Photos: Khaosod, Wassana Nanuam / Facebook Thai navy special forces have reported the tragic loss of one of its cadets during a ‘freak’ training accident on Thursday. While in training to join an elite Navy unit, 22 year old Navy trainee Kriangsak Pengpanich was struck in the neck by a needlefish moving at high speed. The carnivorous shallow water fish are…
-
“Meute” House/Techno marching band at Wonderfruit
PHOTO: Steffi Rettinger Just drums and brass, that’s all they need. Hailing from Hamburg, Germany this modern take on the marching band concept is comprised of eleven musicians and, boy, are they good! With their iconic red jackets this group dares to rearrange house and techno music to bring it to the street. Started in 2015 by trumpet player Thomas Burhorn, this…
-
‘Wonderfruit’ so far – in pictures
Photo: Monocle.com Wonderfruit music festival is taking place right now in Pattaya, and you should be there. Founded by Pranitan “Pete” Phornprapha alongside musician friend Montonn “Jay” Jira in December 2014 the festival prides itself in its go green attitude and pledge to social responsibility and raising awareness. Photo: Mont LD Watanasiriroch (Facebook) Photo: Instagram/Bitoeysiam A blend of burning man and…
-
200,000 methamphetamine pills seized in Pattaya
Police have arrested a 46 year old alleged drug muler along with 200,000 methamphetamine pills in Pattaya. The suspect, 46 year old Sopon Saimee, has reportedly confessed to police that he was delivering drugs for a gang leader who was based in northern Thailand. He claims he was paid 3,000 baht per delivery of each 20,000 meth pill package. Following a…
-
Two die in Pattaya ferry engine room tragedy
by Theerawat Thongma and Dethawee Theewarangkool Two workers have died and another three remain in critical condition after allegedly inhaling toxic fumes when they were cleaning a boat-restaurant’s engine room. The vessel was anchored at a pier off Chon Buri province yesterday. Muang Pattaya precinct superintendent Pol Colonel Apichai Krobphetch led a rescue team to head tot he scene of the…
-
72 year old fined 500 baht for blocking ambulance
by Preewadi Khunnaklad. PHOTO: The Nation A 72 year old white sedan driver, caught on camera as the person behind the wheel of a car blocking an ambulance on Sukhumvit Road in Chon Buri’s Muang district, has been fined 500 baht as he acknowledged the charge of driving in a manner to block traffic. Muang Chon Buri superintendent Pol Colonel Atinan…
-
Pattaya’s reclaimed beaches are washing away
PHOTO: Pattaya Mail All the money and effort Pattaya has spent to rebuild its beach is being wasted through little or no maintenance. This is the opinion shared with Pattaya News by tourists to the region. Numerous visitors have told Pattaya Mail reporters about weeds, moss and water-filled gouges running through the northernmost part of the beach near the Dusit…
-
Chinese tourist mixed up in a ‘misunderstanding’ in Pattaya
SOURCE: Siamchon A melee broke out earlier today at the Taboo Club in Pattaya’s Walking Street. It got heated after a bouncer insisted that a Chinese tourist apologise to a bar girl he had ‘rejected’. Chinese tourists had headed to the bar and were then approached by bar girls. But 25 year old Yang Zhan didn’t appreciate her advances and…
-
Pattaya kathoey thief charged over Walking Street theft
A video on the Pattaya Online Facebook site shows the chief of the national tourist police and Pattaya police chief Pol Col Apichai Krobpetch sorting out a theft in the seaside ‘World Class Family Resort’. An alleged ladyboy thief, 23 year old Sunthorn Huajaipetch from Nakorn Ratchasima, had been nabbed after a theft along the notorious Walking Street. 35 year old…
-
Car crashes into back of truck in Chon Buri, four killed
A driver and three passengers have all been killed after their car collided with the rear of a truck in Chonburi’s Bang Lamung district early today. Police say the accident happened around 2.30am on the Sukhumvit road in Tambon Bang Lamung of Bang Lamung district, heading towards Sattahip. Emergency responders spent more than half an hour using hydraulic iron cutters…
-
Wanted UK brothers arrested during a raid in Chonburi
PHOTO: Thai Immigration Bureau Thai Immigration have filled in the details of an armed night raid earlier this week at a Chonburi hotel. The men arrested have been named as 43 year old Joseph Mulhare and his 38 year old brother Gregory Mulhare. Their arrest followed a cat and mouse game as the pair moved from Pattaya to Bangkok before…
-
Jomtien’s Jetski rapist arrested after attack on 14 year old girl
An 18 year old man, who was staffing a jetski and beach equipment rental business a on Jomtien Beach south of Pattaya, has been arrested for the rape of a minor. The original story about the offense HERE. He gave the victim 40 baht following the rape, after promising her 500 baht before the incident. He said she had smiled…
-
Pattaya beaches remain a disgrace despite 429 million baht clean-up
PHOTOS: Facebook/Pattaya News Pattaya News has reported about the state of the beach along the Pattaya foreshore saying hundreds of millions of baht has been spent on adding new sand to the beaches but the area still looks a dirty mess. “What should be a stunning natural attraction for tourists is a continuing disgrace,” reports the Pattaya News. They report that…
-
Meeting in Pattaya addresses Chinese tourism drop-off
PHOTO: South China Morning Post The Tourism Authority of Thailand, and its regional offices, are very good at painting a happy face, even as the numbers and trends are heading in the opposite direction of their planned growth in tourist arrivals. In Phuket, for example, where there’s been a big drop off in Chinese tourists, the local TAT is quoting…
-
14 yo allegedly raped at knifepoint in Pattaya
Police in Jomtien are investigating the alleged rape of a 14 year old girl at a beach south of Pattaya last night. Police say it is a well lit area but only have information that the rapist was a 20 – 25 year old with facial tattoos. Sanook is reporting that the incident happened in a water sports zone where there…
-
Answers demanded over nuclear waste found in Laem Chabang Port
by Pratch Rujivanrom After Friday’s alert about radio active material being discovered at Thailand’s main sea port at Laem Chabang, authorities have passed on very little news Now academics are urging authorities to come clean with information about the radioactive waste found at the port and investigate the shipment’s entire route. The Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) and the…
-
Phew! Police report there is no prostitution or drugs in Walking Street
Netizens of Thailand are breathing a collective sigh of relief after it was revealed that there is no prostitution in Pattaya’s infamous Walking Street. Police proudly declared that, following checks on the famous red light district, they found absolutely no evidence of prostitution. The check was one of the highly public monthly police ‘inspections’ of the street, usually with the…
-
Pattaya police track down property scammer
PHOTOS: Sophon Cable Cautionary Tale #2,980 An Italian pensioner met two Thai ladies along The Avenue on Beach Two Road in Pattaya. The events happened back in February this year. They ladies showed 64 year old Cosimo Tato some English cash and convinced him that they were into selling condos and could arrange a viewing for him and discuss pricing…
-
Two Russians arrested after visas cancelled over threat to blow up consular offices
Two Russians have been arrested for refusing to leave Thailand after their visas were cancelled for threatening to blow up the honorary consular offices of Russia in Chon Buri and Rayong. Pol Colonel Songprode Sirisukha, chief of the Chon Buri Immigration Office, said Dmitry Revtovich and Ilia Gilev had been arrested under a Pattaya Court warrant dated September 6 on…
-
Pakistani terror suspect arrested in Pattaya
PHOTO: The Hindu A Pakistani terror suspect has been arrested in Pattaya following eleven years on the run after escaping prison in India. Pattaya One reports that Jagtar Singh alias Tara is now likely to be extradited to India for his alleged role as a ‘mastermind’ in the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995. Security sources say…
-
Pattaya hotel ablaze, guests head for the exits
PHOTO: Channel 3 A fire at a well-known hotel in Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach caused panic in the early hours yesterday as guests were plunged into darkness and corridors began filling with smoke. The Pattaya police station was alerted that a blaze had broken out at 1.30am at the Grand Jomtien Palace Hotel in Tambon Nong Plue of Chon Buri’s Bang…
-
Pattaya’s hotel performance rebounds as EEC drives positive market sentiment
Domestic tourism growth outshines Mainland China and Russia source business Thailand’s second largest tourism market, Pattaya has pushed through the glass ceiling from the volatility hangover of the 2014 era, with its hotel sector now showing strong signs of rising stability. According to the latest available data, strong demand from the Thai domestic sector accounted for 38% of hotel guests…
-
Interpol red-list Russian nabbed in Pattaya
PHOTO: Manager Online A Russian man, wanted on an Interpol red warrant, is now in custody after police caught up with him in Pattaya yesterday. The arrest was made after the Chon Buri police head office received a request from the Russian embassy to locate Vitalil Trofimov, who is wanted in Russia on drug trafficking charges. Police checked records and…
-
Pattaya gambling raid finds dice, money. And sex drugs.
PHOTOS: Sanook Police raiding yet another suspected gambling den. Expect to find gamblers and gambling paraphernalia. Right? Pattaya police were conducting a routine raid on a noisy gambling den when they found more than just gamblers and cards. Apart from the usual dice, note pads and money, police turned up 317 large packets of ‘sex drugs’ in both gel and…
-
Chonburi road rager gets 10 years for killing a 17 year old
PHOTO: Suthep Poshsomboon reporting to police following last year’s road rage incident “Following several punches by the 17 year old boy, a gunshot was heard” The Chonburi Provincial Court has handed down a 10 year jail term to an engineer who shot dead a teenage schoolboy in a high-profile road rage incident last year. Suthep Poshsomboon was also fined 2,000 baht…
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.