Bangkok News
Bangkok news, politics, business, crime, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s capital. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Bangkok news source.
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Former PM Chuan elected speaker of lower house
If the first item on the new parliament’s agenda is any indication, it’s going to be a very dynamic lower house. Things didn’t go smoothly on the first day. Ex-PM Chuan Leekpai, a Democrat candidate proposed by the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat Party, secured 258 votes to 235 for Pheu Thai nominee Sompong Amornvivat. One MP abstained. Some Pheu Thai PMs…
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25 workers injured after container explosion at Laem Chabang Port
At least 25 port workers have been injured and locals evacuated after an explosion in a container on a ship at dock at the Laem Chabang Port in Chon Buri, east of Bangkok, this morning. Laem Chabang’s port director Vice Admiral Yutthana Mokkhao says an urgent investigation is being undertaken to determine the contents of the container. The Hong Kong ship…
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Motorbike rider dies near Rama 5 bridge in Nonthaburi
PHOTOS: Sanook A motorbike rider has died following an incident near the Rama 5 road bridge in Nonthaburi yesterday. The Honda CBR 650 was unrecognisable following the crash, both wheels had been ripped off in the collision. An orange bike helmet was on the road nearby. The head of the rider was found some distance away. The torso of the rider was…
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IKEA Thailand launches full online store
“…it took IKEA about two years to study the market demand, develop the infrastructure, and prepare everything before launching their e-commerce service in Southeast Asia.” by Kwanchai Rungfapairsarn IKEA Thailand has announced the official launch of its IKEA Online Store as it gets set to better provide for individual customers across the Kingdom. IKEA Thailand say the seamless online shopping…
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Vendors shuffled off Bangkok footpaths to make way for motorbikes
PHOTO: Daily News Motorcyclists are brazenly flouting the law after a recent picture on the Facebook site of JS 100 Radio showed a ‘traffic jam’ on the footpath at Lat Prao Soi 101 in Bangkok. Pedestrians were unable to get through as the motorcycles crowded the walkways, according to the post. Daily News was slamming the riders for their behaviour. Comments…
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WeWork opens up in Bangkok. What is WeWork?
“This will pave the way for WeWork’s unique proposition to connect two major groups within the WeWork community: corporations looking to innovate, and start-ups looking to grow and better establish their business.” WeWork has started operations in Thailand. So what is WeWork? WeWork – a platform for creators that provides space, community and services to help people build a life,…
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Chinese ‘red notice’ fugitive arrested at Suvarnabhumi
A Chinese fugitive wanted on an Interpol red notice has been arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport, acting Immigration Police chief Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang said. 48 year old Lu Dayang was arrested on Sunday while trying to fly to Macao. Sompong said the Chinese Embassy informed his staff that Lu was wanted for allegedly smuggling illegal goods into China. He said Lu…
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Police searching for building owner after two die in Bangkok shophouse fire
PHOTO: The Nation A 67 year old woman and a 60 year old man have been killed after a fire engulfed a five-storey shophouse modified to provide rented rooms in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district early today. The Samrarnraj police station was alerted at 1.15am of the fire at the shophouse near Chao Phor Sua shrine on Boon Siri road. Five…
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Chinese owners using condo investments as a ‘hotel’
PHOTO: Thai Rath Residents in condos around the country are getting sick of the parade of short-stay travellers using their condo rooms as defacto hotel rooms, travellers renting out their rooms from Chinese owners who run their investments as quasi hotel rooms. Thai Rath reports that “Condo C Ekkamai” (Sukhumvit Soi 63) tenants are at the end of their tether.…
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59 year old man shot dead in convenience store
A man was killed inside a convenience store at sunrise today in Saraburi province, north of Bangkok, after shouting out loud, “If you have a gun, shoot me”. The victim is identified as 59 year old Preecha Khunthong. He was shot several times between the eyes. “I don’t know what happened between him and the gunman. At first, they spoke…
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Thai Airways’ profits dive 83% year-on-year
Thai Airways has had an 83% dive in profits for the first quarter of 2019. The Q1 balance sheet came out yesterday. The airline’s management is blaming the high baht, the ongoing US-China trade wars and the closure of Pakastani airspace (forcing rerouting of its Eurpean flights), for the drop. • Net profit of 456 million baht, down from a…
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Central’s new Suvarnabhumi lifestyle centre set to open late August
PHOTO: Central Pattana Central Village, a new luxury retail outlet situated near Suvarnabhumi International Airport, is 70% finished. Wallaya Chirathivat, deputy chief executive of Central Pattana, says the new lifestyle shopping precinct is scheduled to open on August 31. Central says that retail space in Phase 2 have now opened after Phase 1 of the retail development was totally booked. They report…
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Bangkok’s Klong Lord gets a make over
The new Klong Lord now boasts clear water, not the black grimy mess as in the past. The klong has now had a complete make-over and been rehabilitated and re-landscaped. The Bangkok Metropolitan and Administration (BMA) is upgrading the canal and says it will develop it into one of Bangkok’s important tourist attractions, recalling its identity during the reign of…
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Nationwide police crackdown on student gang violence
The Royal Thai Police say they are cracking down on student gangs. They say they will be enforcing existing laws and focussing on problem cells. They will also prosecute parents for the behaviour of their children. Thai Rath reports that Pol Lt-Gen Phromthorn Phak-at from Royal Thai Police says that the police will be taking a “no nonsense” approach to student…
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As readers abandon print, The Nation announces closure of daily printed paper
Another big national newspaper bites the dust, following an inevitable worldwide trend. A sad day for The Nation as they announce the closure of the Bangkok-based English daily after 48 years. It leaves the Bangkok Post as the only English language national daily. The Nation will end its print edition with its last issue scheduled for June 28. In making the…
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Compromise could save expressway authority from paying exorbitant compensation
PHOTO: YouTube Thailand’s Expressway Authority (EXAT) board has agreed to extend the concession period of NECL, a subsidiary of Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company (BEM), to operate two expressways for an additional thirty years. The hope is they can avert a legal battle which could eventually result in the government authority being ordered to pay as much as 130 billion…
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Air Asia resumes flights from Phuket to Jakarta
AirAsia Indonesia says they will resume direct flights between Phuket and Jakarta on the second of July this year. Flights will be available three times a week. For AirAsia, the move marks a return of the route which had been flown for a number of years in the past. “Currently the traveling trend continues to increase especially in the youth market, hence…
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Petition to restore dignity of Thailand’s only convicted cannibal
In a dark corner of the Siriraj hospital, in the rather bizarre medical museum (nicknamed the Museum of Death) is the mummified body of Si Quey sae Oeng, Thailand’s only convicted cannibal. Now more than 10,000 people have signed a change.org petition for the removal of the gruesome display in order to restore his human dignity. The petition follows up a…
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Motorbike driver dies after smashing into trailer truck in Samut Prakan
PHOTOS: นคร75/อาสาฯมูลนิธิร่วมกตัญญู เขตบางปู A motorbike driver has died after colliding with the rear of a trailer in Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok, last night. Bangpu Police were notified of the incident on Sukhumwit Road in Bangpu Mai at 10pm. Police and rescue workers arrived to find a body of the motorbike driver, 33 year old Amnart chockbandit, at the scene.…
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Condo residents want action as foreigners flaunt rules on daily rentals
PHOTO: Manager Online The ongoing issue of condos and rooms being rented out as daily and weekly rentals, illegally, is making headlines again. A group of tenants went to the media complaining that they discovered owners of apartment rooms in their ‘luxury condo’ on Rama IV were contravening condominium rules and sub-letting their rooms. A sting was set up and…
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Club@Koi explodes in colour, celebrities and fashion for its first anniversary
Koi restaurant, lounge and the Club @ Koi celebrated a their first year of business in their new home in Sathorn Square Building. The night was a celebratory anniversary reception and fashion gala attended by Ambassadors, dignitaries, VIPs and media followed by a sensational fashion show showcasing the latest collection “Single and available” by Munchu’s and a live performance by…
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Ping-pong bombs used in Samut Prakan gang brawl
Samut Prakan police have had to intervene in a confrontation between rival gangs and ended up sending five injured youth to hospital, only for the whole matter to flare up again in the hospital parking area. One group of four young men, wielding knives and wooden clubs, hurled a ping-pong bomb at their rivals in the Koh Bang Chalong community…
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Eight month old baby in ‘walker’ crushed by truck in Samut Prakan
PHOTOS: FM91BKK An eight month old baby, who was in a ‘baby walker’, has died after being crushed by a truck in front of the parent’s house in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok yesterday. Thairath reports that Phra Samut Jaedee Police were notified of the horrible incident in Soi Suksawat in Phra Samut Jaedee District in Sumut Prakan at…
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Greening Bangkok: 100,000 new trees for the city costing 30 million baht
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is planning to spend 30 million baht in planting 100,000 trees this year to increase Bangkok’s green space. The first batch of 50,000 trees requiring 5 million baht would be planted at public parks and state offices. The second batch of 50,000 trees requiring 25 million baht would be planted by 50 district offices on land…
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Grab car driver attacked, but gets the assailant to take him to hospital
… the story gets better. PHOTO: Sanook A father has posted a story on social media about the travails of his son, a Grab car driver in Bangkok. The post said that his son received a call to take a customer from Klong Prapa to Muang Thong Thani. But on the way, passing a secluded area, the passenger produced a knife…
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Dangerous fake JW Whisky heading for BKK
FILE PHOTO Excise officials have busted a factory in Thailand’s far south that was mixing up brews of fake Johnny Walker Red and Black label whiskey. Police say the man behind the faux booze is a foreigner. The whiskey was described by officials as “very dangerous” for consumers and was on its way for Bangkok. They warned it could also end…
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Former British Bangkok teacher jailed over aiding and abetting child abuse
A 42 year old British man, who had previously taught at an international school in Bangkok, is now in jail in the UK for facilitating the abuse of young girls in The Philippines. James Alexander had been working as a teacher and part time DJ while living in Thailand between 2017 and 2018. He served as a reservist in the Parachute…
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AoT denies corruption in the premium lanes at Suvarnabhumi immigration
After widespread rumours swept through social media, citing corruption with the distribution of Premium Lane cards at Suvarnabhumi Airport allegedly sold to regular passengers via tour operators or nominees, Airports of Thailand is denying any involvement in such a scheme, confirming it only provides special security screening services to eligible passengers. Suvarnabhumi Airport General Manager Wing Commander Suthirawat Suwanawat says…
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Announcement of election results this Tuesday and Wednesday
The Election Commission is, as promised, poised to announce the final election results next Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday’s initial round of results are sure to spark off a new round of political dramas – no matter who is considered the ‘winner’ from the results. The announcements come at a time when tensions are running high over lawsuits and the uncertainty over…
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Fire in 40 story unfinished Sathorn condo – VIDEO
PHOTO: Sanook Fire raged at a 40 story Sathorn condo last night just after sunset. A Twitter post shows video of the fire taking control in a condominium under construction in Sathorn, Bangkok. Comments on the post speculate that the fire was at the Knightsbridge Sathorn. This is yet to be confirmed by police or the owners of the building. มีเหตุเพลิงไหม้นะครับ…
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