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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    Living on a budget in Thailand? Here’s how to stay healthy without breaking the bank

    Thailand is a popular place for people who want to enjoy a good life at a lower cost or even on a budget. Many expats, retirees, and digital nomads choose to live here because daily expenses are cheaper than in...

  • 2nd annual Thailand Game Expo opens at BITEC in Bangkok

    2nd annual Thailand Game Expo opens at BITEC in Bangkok

    AIS and M Vision have kicked off the 2nd Thailand Game Expo at the BITEC centre (Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre) in Bangna. 700,000+ visitors are expected to attend the Expo this year, which runs through to this Sunday (February 2) and product sales tipped to top 2 billion baht. The event is organised by AIS eSports. Alistair Johnston, the…

  • Escaped giraffe found dead in Chachoengsao

    Escaped giraffe found dead in Chachoengsao

    A 7 metre giraffe which escaped from a private zoo’s transport on Tuesday was found dead in a ditch today in the central province of Chachoengsao, about 50 kilometres east from Bangkok. Animal control officials discovered the giraffe drowned in a lotus pond by Highway 304 this afternoon, ending a two day search. The animal, along with a smaller giraffe,…

  • ‘Blind’ beggar found driving SUV, fined

    ‘Blind’ beggar found driving SUV, fined

    Further to a story already reported by The Thaiger, a gambler, pretending to be a blind beggar to pay his debts, is blaming his daughter’s refusal to send him money. Somporn Kueyen’s ruse was exposed after a video on social media went viral, showing him parking a Toyota Fortuner outside a temple in Nonthaburi, near Bangkok. He was wearing ragged…

  • The rise of the e-bicycle in Thailand, a bit of motorised assistance

    The rise of the e-bicycle in Thailand, a bit of motorised assistance

    by Nicole Kash Cycling tours offer a unique way to explore Thailand. Faster than walking but slower than driving, cycling tours cover plenty of ground while allowing cyclists to immerse themselves in the sights, smells, and culture of Thailand without the boundary of a car window. Cycling tours can cover up to a heart-pumping 150 kilometre a day. Though exciting…

  • Nonthaburi beggar exposed, drives a big SUV

    Nonthaburi beggar exposed, drives a big SUV

    Beggars and the homeless remain a major issue in Thailand, especially in larger cities and tourist areas, and many choose to help, but their kindness is sometimes exploited. Facebook user “Chaluta Joy” posted photos on Monday of a beggar, who’s been seen asking for money in different villages and markets in the central province of Nonthaburi, stepping out of a…

  • Nonthaburi mansion fire burns away damages valued at 10 million baht

    Nonthaburi mansion fire burns away damages valued at 10 million baht

    A fire at a mansion in the central province of Nonthaburi has created over ten million baht worth of damage. The home, on the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi City, lit up on Saturday, the morning of Chinese New Year. Firefighters rushed to the scene. Firefighters arrived at the two-storey house on 16 rai (6.3 acres) of land to find…

  • Hungarian overstayer dies in Suvarnabhumi detention cell

    Hungarian overstayer dies in Suvarnabhumi detention cell

    A 60 year old Hungarian man has died in detention at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. Lazlo Balogh was awaiting deportation for overstaying his visa. Laszlo was handed over to the Suvarnabhumi airport police for repatriation on Saturday, January 25. He showed no unusual signs after being put in the detention cell and was sleeping normally on Saturday night, according to police. But…

  • A watchful ghost is photographed at a train crash scene west of Bangkok

    A watchful ghost is photographed at a train crash scene west of Bangkok

    A picture from a train crash in Nakhon Pathom, west of Bangkok, has had the Thai netisphere in a lather over a ghostly woman standing watching the proceedings as emergency crews attend to the situation. The photo went viral and shows, what the posters claimed to be a female ghost wearing a traditional Thai dress. ‘She’ is standing amongst a crowd…

  • Suspected British Coronavirus patient, confirmed NOT to have the virus – UPDATE

    Suspected British Coronavirus patient, confirmed NOT to have the virus – UPDATE

    It’s now been confirmed that a British man, in critical condition in a Thai Hospital, has not contracted the Chinese Coronavirus. Ashley Shorley, who was holidaying on Koh Phi Phi at the time, became seriously ill with a “flu virus” on December 27. He was rushed by boat (reported as a sea plane in other media) to Phuket where his condition worsened. He…

  • Citizens help arrest Burmese man breaking into Bangkok ATM

    Citizens help arrest Burmese man breaking into Bangkok ATM

    Breaking into an ATM in broad daylight might not be the best idea, as a Burmese man learned yesterday after his arrest Monday in Bangkok. Officers from the Klong Tan Police Station were called and went to the location to discover the man wearing a black tank top and jeans holding a crowbar, which he was using to tear apart…

  • Bangkok IT mall fire sparks evacuation

    Bangkok IT mall fire sparks evacuation

    A fire broke out at a Bangkok mall on Sunday, leading to the evacuation of the Fortune Town IT Mall building on Ratchadaphisek Road. No deaths or injuries were reported. Fortune Town is a popular shopping destination for IT and electronics enthusiasts, opposite Central World Plaza and located directly above the Rama 9 MRT station. Traffic Radio reported the fire at…

  • 40-love. Police track down porn producers at a Bangkok university tennis court

    40-love. Police track down porn producers at a Bangkok university tennis court

    The police are searching for an amorous couple who were filmed engaging in sex outdoors in the Bang Khen area, northern Bangkok. Police suspect that film’s producer and the ‘actors’ were making content for a porn site, or subscribers to a chat group. Officers have been examining footage (over and over) from CCTV to try and find clues about the…

  • Nearly 300 bone fragments found in Bangkok pond, police searching for more bodies

    Nearly 300 bone fragments found in Bangkok pond, police searching for more bodies

    288 bone fragments have been retrieved from a pond near the home of a man who was charged last week with murdering his girlfriend and concealing the corpse. Forensic police have now identified most of the bones as ‘human’. The bones are currently being examined at Siriroj Hospital. Up to 20 divers were involved in yesterday’s grisly search. Divers found…

  • Motorcycle ‘win’ drivers charge 380 baht for 4.7 kilometre trip through Bangkok

    Motorcycle ‘win’ drivers charge 380 baht for 4.7 kilometre trip through Bangkok

    It’s not just tourists that get ripped off by the notorious Win drivers in Bangkok (The Thaiger is a regular Grab Bike user but has never had any specific problems with Win drivers). A win-motorcycle user (motorcycle taxi) has related a recent rip off on Thailand’s most popular website, Pantip. The user said they were traveling with another friend from Victory…

  • Bangkok’s vacant land owners growing fruit and vegetables to evade vacant-land tax

    Bangkok’s vacant land owners growing fruit and vegetables to evade vacant-land tax

    A loophole in land tax around Bangkok (actually everywhere in Thailand) is having an unexpected side effect, mostly good. Many vacant property owners in Bangkok are growing fruit and vegetables to escape the newly launched tax on their undeveloped land. For example, Banana trees are now growing on an expensive piece of land near Naradhiwat-Rajanagarindra Road. To avoid the new…

  • Drunken Bangkok tour bus driver fired after ‘borrowing’ a bus

    Drunken Bangkok tour bus driver fired after ‘borrowing’ a bus

    A tour bus driver has now been fired by the tour company that employed him as a driver after he went on a drunk-driving rampage in Bangkapi district of Bangkok around 3am Thursday morning. The incident was reported by khaosod.co.th. The drunk driver was taken to a police station after being nearly lynched by a mob. He was charged with…

  • Police track down “the great Bangkok pantie snatcher”

    Police track down “the great Bangkok pantie snatcher”

    One man’s been busy moving around Bangkok condos and apartments in the northern suburbs and ‘sampling’ a range of women’s underwear and lingerie. But police have curtailed his part-time activities and arrested a 55 year old and charged him with stealing more than 1400 pieces of women’s underwear. He was arrested at a condominium in Bangkok’s Don Muang District, according…

  • British tourist punches and shoves Thai traveller on Bangkok public transport – VIDEO

    British tourist punches and shoves Thai traveller on Bangkok public transport – VIDEO

    An angry British tourist has punched a young Thai MRT traveller in the face after the Thai man, apparently accidentally, knocked the British man’s iPhone 11 out of his hands. The ugly incident was captured by another passenger and has gone viral in Thai and British media. The incident occurred last Sunday in Bangkok, at the Wat Mangkorn station near…

  • Man in custody after allegedly throwing grenade into Bangkok apartment

    Man in custody after allegedly throwing grenade into Bangkok apartment

    A lovesick Lat Phrao man is currently being questioned by police after allegedly throwing a suspected grenade into the apartment of the 20 year old girl he had fallen in love with. The incident happened at a Lat Phrao district apartment in northern Bangkok on Monday evening. Lat Phrao police and officers from Explosive Ordnance Disposal headed to the apartment…

  • Singaporean threatened with execution if he didn’t pay up a million dollar ‘debt’ in Thailand

    Singaporean threatened with execution if he didn’t pay up a million dollar ‘debt’ in Thailand

    A Singaporean man stands accused of masterminding a plot to abduct a fellow Singaporean from Suvarnabhumi Airport last Thursday. Police report that the suspect, identified only as ‘Kim’, will be charged with conspiring to commit robbery, illegal possession of firearms, illegal detention and the physical assault of 32 year old compatriot Mark Cheng Jin Quan. Mark owns a software and application…

  • 61 year old Chinese tourist being treated for new coronavirus in Thailand

    61 year old Chinese tourist being treated for new coronavirus in Thailand

    A 61 year old Chinese tourist, found to be infected with the new strain of coronavirus dubbed “Wuhan or Chinese pneumonia” when she arrived in Thailand last week, is being treated in hospital and is expected to be discharged in a few days. This is from the Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. The woman is recovering at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases…

  • First case of New Coronavirus Pneumonia detected arriving in Bangkok

    First case of New Coronavirus Pneumonia detected arriving in Bangkok

    A first case of ‘New Coronavirus Pneumonia’ has been identified in Thailand, but the Public Health Ministry is assuring the public there is no wider outbreak of the virus. The mystery virus has now been identified by Chinese scientists and was earlier nicknamed as the mystery Wuhan pneumonia. Anuthin Charnvirakul, the Thai Public Health Minister has informed the media that…

  • New rules for Royal road motorcades around Thailand

    New rules for Royal road motorcades around Thailand

    His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has expressed concern about the motorcades of Royal Family members inconveniencing public road users. Around Thailand, when a member of the Royal Family travels by road, the roads are routinely closed off and hundreds of police stationed along the well-planned route to hold off traffic until the motorcade has passed through. Now HM The King…

  • Thousands join the pro and anti government protests in Bangkok

    Thousands join the pro and anti government protests in Bangkok

    Protesters, from both sides of the political camp turned up in two different parts of the capital yesterday for their respective political rallies. Organiser of the anti-regime “Wing Lai Lung” (Run to Oust the Uncle), Tanawat Wongchai, told the crowds at Suan Rot Fai in Chatuchak, a northern suburb of Bangkok, that the run marked the start of the campaign…

  • Thousands gather for this morning’s protest running event in Bangkok

    Thousands gather for this morning’s protest running event in Bangkok

    This morning’s fun run/rally/political event/marathon/jog/protest at Suan Rot Fai park in Chatuchak, a northern Bangkok suburb, attracted thousands of runners. The run was organised as a protest against Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his government. The “Run Against Dictatorship” was organised by opposition political parties and activists calling for greater political freedom. The event was held less than 10…

  • Guns, tanks and political speeches. Just another Children’s Day in Thailand.

    Guns, tanks and political speeches. Just another Children’s Day in Thailand.

    Children’s Day has come and gone for another year. As usual, the media like to follow the Thai PM in the hope of a perfect photo of him and an unsuspecting Thai child. The prime minister certainly enjoys the annual interaction and appears more comfortable surrounded by children than performing in Parliament. It’s also a day that the Thai armed…

  • Senior police double down with their praise of the new Biometrics system at Thai airports

    Senior police double down with their praise of the new Biometrics system at Thai airports

    Police are doubling down with their overt support of the new biometrics system at airports. A high-level disagreement over the 2.1 billion baht contract for the biometrics equipment and installation, is emerging as the reason for last yea’s mystery side-lining of the former head of Thailand’s immigration Bureau, Surachat Hakparn. Ever since the introduction of the systems at airports across…

  • Call centre raid in Bangkok – French citizens arrested

    Call centre raid in Bangkok – French citizens arrested

    Ten French citizens have been arrested on charges of working illegally at an international call centre in Bangkok. Immigration officials were acting on a tip off and had already obtained a court-authorised search warrant to enter the building on Soi Thong Lor 25 in Wattana, central Bangkok. The building was a four-storey house modified for office work. Speaking to the media…

  • Surachat claims shots at his car were related to a 2 billion baht Immigration purchase

    Surachat claims shots at his car were related to a 2 billion baht Immigration purchase

    Thailand’s former immigration supremo, Surachat Hakparn, spoke to the media yesterday about the bullets fired into his car on Monday night. He was not in the car at the time. He speculated confidently that the shots fired at the white Lexus SUV, parked near a massage establishment in Patpong, Bangkok, were connected to a two billion baht purchase of a…

  • 71 year old ‘Robin Hood’ pensioner arrested over three year overstay

    71 year old ‘Robin Hood’ pensioner arrested over three year overstay

    An American retiree has been arrested for overstaying his visa by nearly three years, according to the anti-farang Thai publication Naew Na. Immigration police in Bangkok arrested the 71 year old man, who they identified only as ‘Mark L’, in Sukhumvit’s Soi Mee Suwan 3 on Monday. The US pensioner had overstayed his visa by nearly 3 years. The enthusiastically smug…