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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Public hearings planned for bill to legalise transgender cohabitation
PHOTO: Coconuts BKK Public hearings are to be held in the capital and other provinces on November 12-16 to gauge opinions from stakeholders about the ‘partnership bill’. The Bill would, for the first time in Thailand, legalise the cohabitation of transgenders. In Bangkok the hearing will be held at the Miracle Hotel while in the provinces, hearings are to be…
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BKK Conference tackles rising road toll
by Pratch Rujivanrom Country can learn from Vietnam on promoting safety, say who experts Leading international road safety experts are urging Thai authorities to follow Vietnam’s example by setting up a central agency to directly mitigate the country’s severe accidents problem as well as create a digital traffic database to enhance traffic-law enforcement. Some of the world’s top experts and…
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Pattaya expat dies from injuries suffered during WBC Bangkok fight
SCREENSHOT: Christian Daghio fighting Don Parueang on October 26 – ทีเคโอ มวยโลก An Italian man, and former world champion in Muay Thai and boxing, has tragically died following a fight in Bangkok. Thai Visa reports that 49 year old Christian Daghio died on Friday in a Bangkok hospital after being put in a coma due to injuries suffered during a WBC Asia…
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Rap raising debate in the lead up to February election
“As artists, we want to reflect the truth of the society we are living in under dictatorship,” a RAD member identified only as Hockhacker told The Nation Weekend. “Thailand seems to be caught in a loop of dictatorship. We want to voice what the majority cannot say directly. The lyrics were based on information we collected on social media, reflecting…
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Poll restrictions to be relaxed in December
The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has distanced himself from a claim by his deputy Somkid Jatusripitak that the next head of government would “look similar” to the current one. General Prawit Wongsuwan, another deputy premier, said Somkid had shared the same thoughts as “many of us” although he would not specify what he thought regarding the matter. General Prayut was…
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730 more foreigners rounded up in nationwide crackdowns
Immigration police have carried out their latest nationwide raid, rounding up foreigners living illegally in Thailand. There were 730 more arrests yesterday. Pol Maj Gen Itthipol Itthisarnronnachai, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told the media at 1am this morning (Friday) the results of the 38th “X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner” operation. Itthitpol said the operation focused on 238 areas around the…
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Chinese investment sets new records in property purchases
The demand for property, especially in Bangkok, continues unabated. Despite a drop off in absolute tourism numbers, enquiries from Chinese real estate buyers remains strong, setting new records. Not only are the Chinese the most frequent tourists to Thailand, they are the most enthusiastic property buyers, stetting a new record for Q3 this year. Number two in foreign investors into…
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More than 130 kids rounded up in Saraburi pub raid
More than 130 illicit drug users along with 128 underage drinkers were nabbed in a raid on a pub in Saraburi early this morning (Thursday). Saraburi is about a two hour drive north of Bangkok. Provincial and juvenile protection officers raided the Lang Khao Pub in Tambon Huay Sai of Nong Kae district at 1am and found it packed with…
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No hug, no kiss, no goodbye – speeding up school drop-offs
Police in Bangkok are urging parents to cut short their lengthy farewell when they drop their kids off at school to avoid adding to Bangkok’s traffic woes. Traffic police launched the “No kiss, no hug, no bye” campaign in front of St Gabriel School on Samsen Road this morning at 6.45am as students prepared to return for the second semester.…
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Woman accused of animal cruelty dodges media in Bangkok
PHOTO: The Nation Thonburi Court has freed on bail a 30 year old woman who has been accused of animal cruelty. Wararat Krasae, nicknamed Sun, walked free after her lawyer posted 40,000 baht bail. The woman appeared in the public for the first time at the court on Ekkachai Road after some animal lovers’ group filed complaints with police last…
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Thai Airways apologises for the Zurich-Bangkok stuff up
Thai Airways is promising disciplinary action after an investigation found both the flight captain and the station manager based in Zurich had acted ‘unethically’ in the delayed Zurich-Bangkok flight earlier this month. The Thai Airways president Sumeth Damrongchaitham has apologised for the incident stating the investigation showed that the problems happened due to lack of coordination between the flight captain…
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Bangkok bus crashes into power pole – nine injured
FILE PHOTO Eight people have suffered minor injuries following a Bangkok city bus on route number 48 (Ramkhamhaeng 2-Wat Pho) crashing into a power pole near Sukhumvit Soi 48 in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district this morning. The incident caused a long traffic jam. The incident reportedly happened when the driver slammed the brakes to avoid hitting a pickup truck that…
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Former PM Abhisit calls for election of provincial governors
PHOTO: Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva – The Nation The Democrat Party leader and former PM, Abhisit Vejjajiva, is promising to push for elections of provincial governors as part of administrative reforms. He says the decentralisation of power to residents in the provinces was necessary to help reduce inequality between regions. “It is time for provinces all over the country…
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Apple’s first Thailand store opens November 10
We’re ready for the screams of excitement or the howls of derision. But for the fans… Apple’s first store in Thailand is scheduled to open on November 10 at Iconsiam in Bangkok. Apple Thailand has confirmed the date in a statement today. The company said the riverside store could provide inspirations for a lot of people to learn about technology. Apart…
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Illegal foreigner crackdown busts 1,000 in Pathum Thani
“Since 2015, there have been over 3,500 arranged marriages, allowing the men to stay and work in Thailand, the report said.” Acting Immigration Police chief Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakpal has led some 1,000 officers to 25 locations in Pathum Thani’s Klong Luang district. It’s part of his concerted push to round up 7,000 illegal foreigners before the end of the…
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Soi Dog Foundation responds to rabies and dog registration stories
PHOTO: Bangkok Thailand Soi Dog Phuket’s Soi Dog Foundation has sent The Thaiger a response to an article published on October 16. The story was sourced from our Bangkok partners ‘The Nation’ and, according to Soi Dog, contains some glaring inaccuracies. You can read the original article HERE. We reprint the response from the Soi Dog Foundation below… “The Department…
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Heavy rain in spots around the country until Monday
Residents in the Central, East and the South, including Bangkok and suburbs, are being warned to brace themselves for heavy rains from tomorrow until Monday. In a first warning issued at 11am this morning, the TMD (Thai Meteorological Department) said that heavy rains would hitting the forecast areas due to a low-pressure cell over the lower South China Sea. They…
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Four Thai pilots told not to discuss the first class seat fiasco
As if their slice of the local Thai market keeps dwindling amidst increased competition and rising operating costs, and one of their planes skids off a runway at Suvarnabhumi last week, wasn’t bad enough. Now Thai Airways is facing another PR nightmare over bumped passengers on one of its flights. After the Thai Airways president expressed ‘regret’ and said the…
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11 million traffic tickets ignored and unpaid
The coffers of traffic re-inforcement cold be boosted significantly if the Police IT department were able to step up their efforts to link their database of traffic tickets to the Land Transport Department’s vehicle registration database. 11 million traffic tickets issued remain unpaid because of the delay in getting the system’s linked. The head of a police committee in charge of…
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Thai apologises for bumping first class passengers for crew
Thai Airways, still licking their PR wounds from the, as yet, unexplained plane-skidding-off-the-runway incident, have today been forced to apologise to two passengers for bumping them out of their first class seats. The seats were required for two ‘deadheading’ off-duty pilots (flying as a passenger on company business to get to work. eg. You may have to deadhead to New…
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Calls to restrict foreign property purchases in Bangkok
Dr. Sopon Pornchockchai, the President of the Thailand Agency for Real Estate Affairs, is calling for controls to restrict foreign property buyers. Thailandproperty.news is reporting than he is justifying his comments saying the growth in income of Thais is slower than the property price rises being pushed up by high foreign demand. “Some measures should be adopted, such as higher…
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Man rapes teen then forces her to withdraw money from ATM
PHOTOS: Sanook.com The national police spokesman Pol Col Krissana Pattanacharoen says that an arrest warrant has been issued for the man who raped a 19 year old woman then forced her to withdraw money for him at an ATM in Bangkok. The theft at the ATM was captured on CCTV. Sanook reports that the crime happened in the Mahadthai 2…
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Two million stray cats and dogs by 2027 – warning from Livestock Department
by Kornrawee Panyasuppakun In the wake of the criticism on social media following the proposal of the new pet and livestock registration laws, the Livestock Development Department has hit back warning that we’ll face a crisis soon if we don’t take action now. “Stray dogs and cats must be registered and sterilised, otherwise their population will reach 2 million in 10…
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Mu Pa drops in on Gen Prayut at Government House
PHOTO: Thai PBS Members of the Mu Pa football Academy and team are back in Thailand following their whirlwind overseas tour of Argentina and the US, including an appearance on one of the most popular talk shows in the world. This morning they had a meeting this morning with the Thai PM Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha at the Government House. Accompanied…
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‘Monk’ tries some alternative enlightenment
Thai Rath has shared a widely viewed CCTV clip featuring a man, apparently a monk, in saffron robes swinging a beer bottle at a man in a food market. The alleged monk appears to be holding a beer bottle. According to Thai Rath, the layman, believed to be a store-holder, confronted the monk asking why he was drinking beer in the…
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Instagrammer apologises for doing handstand at Wat Pho
A foreign tourist has apologised on his Instagram page for posting a photo of himself doing a handstand in front of a key Buddha image inside the Wat Pho in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. The tourist, whose Instagram account is soseguri that has 546 followers, deleted the photo and published an apology early on Friday. “I am very sorry for the…
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Key suspect arrested in 800 million baht bitcoin ‘scam’
Parinya Jaravijit, a key suspect in an alleged 800 million baht bitcoin investment scam, was arrested last night at Suvarnabhumi Airport when he arrived back in Thailand. Parinya – who continues to maintain his innocence – was taken to Ratchadapisek Criminal Court today to apply for his first 12 day detention period (October 12-23). Police have objected to his bail…
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Pakistani asylum seekers set to be deported
Immigration police have rounded up 100 Pakistani asylum seekers who have overstayed their visas or lack any visa. They claim their Christian religious beliefs make it dangerous for them to return to Pakistan. Acting Immigration Police chief Maj-General Surachate Hakparn ordered checks of Soi Charansanitwong 12 in Bangkok’s Bangkok Yai district yesterday (Wednesday). Surachate told a press conference that 52…
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Airport tips for cheapies – Bangkok
Heading out of Bangkok and looking for a few financial short-cuts? Getting to the airport, Don Mueang or Suvarnabhumi, needs a bit of planning. To get to Don Muaeng from the Bangkok on time a taxi is probably going to be your best bet. If it’s in one of the peaks the taxi can take the ‘top floor’ route which…
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Three-quarters of Bangkokians in debt
An estimated 77.5 per cent of Bangkokians are in debt and 53 per cent admit to have fallen behind in repayments. This, from a survey by Bansomdej Poll in collaboration with the Foundation for Consumers (FFC)’s Chaladsue (Smart Buyer) magazine. The poll of 1,171 people conducted between August 24-28 this year found that out of the indebted respondents (most of…
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