Bangkok
- Business News
Developers need to clear stock, heavy discounting in property market
ADVERTORIAL Property prices are expected to decline by double digits in the next few months as Thailand’s property developers begin to offer more sales incentives in response to post Covid-19 markets. A recent survey by leading property portal FazWaz indicated that 50% of Thailand’s property developers are considering discounting at least 20% off minimum benchmark prices. Brennan Campbell, CEO at…
- Crime News
Chinese man arrested with 1,000 cannabis plants, involved in ‘Heaven Herb’ illegal business
Police arrested a man yesterday for growing 1,000 cannabis plants in a Bangkok warehouse and selling it online through a service called “Heaven Herb.” 41 year old Wu Ding Bin, from China, grew “organic cannabis of foreign varieties.” Police say the foreign strains are priced up to 700,000 baht per kilogram. “Heaven Herb” marijuana was sold and delivered through a Line…
- Covid-19 News
National poll says mental health problems on the rise
Stress from finances as well as health worries has increased during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Suan Dusit University poll. Researchers from the Bangkok university asked 1,239 people last week what their top concerns were, finding that mental health problems such as stress and anxiety have gotten much worse. Suicides have also been increasing due to the stress with…
- Crime News
Boxer wants officers prosecuted after false imprisonment
A former boxer recently released from custody for drug trafficking charges claims he was wrongfully imprisoned and is calling on the national police chief to prosecute the officers that filed the drug charges. He has submitted documents to Thailand’s police chief Chakthip Chaijinda as evidence he had been wrongfully imprisoned for 14 months. Now he’s demanding justice and wants the police…
- Covid-19 News
Quality quarantine options for those who want some luxury
Private state quarantine options are available for those returning to Thailand and willing to pay a hefty price. The 14 day quarantine is required for everyone re-entering the country to prevent any possible spread of the coronavirus, but there are more luxurious options from hotels that have passed the test from the public health and defence ministries. Around 90 guests…
- Environment News
Bangkok governor warns of canal pollution
Bangkok’s governor warns that the volume of garbage in Bangkok’s canals is increasing and is beginning to block the sewer system, causing potentially health-threatening floods in many areas. Governor Asawin Kwanmuang said the removal of garbage from canals in Lat Phrao district and under Pradit Manutham Road alone required 5 trucks. The area is just a kilometre away from a…
- Tourism News
Travelling Bangkok’s klongs with Manit
Should you move to Thailand? In this video I interviewed my friend @Christopher Lau , originally from California, USA and got a little insight of his experience behind living in Thailand for two years. Then I took him for the famous canal boat ride in “Klong Saen Saep” Bangkok. By the end of the vlog we had a very delightful…
- Crime News
Taxi driver attacked and stabbed after accident in Bangkok
A motorbike driver attacked a taxi driver on Wednesday this week after an accident by taking off his helmet and repeatedly hitting the driver with it before stabbing him with a screwdriver. A witness says the motorbike cut in front of the taxi on Phet Kasem Road, or Highway 4, in Bangkok, but the taxi couldn’t stop in time and…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok’s UK visa application centre to reopen
Below is the text of a press release from the British Embassy, lightly edited for brevity: “On June 1, UK Visas and Immigration will begin a phased resumption of services and our main Visa Application Centre in Bangkok (The Trendy Office Building, 28th Floor Sukhumvit Soi 13, Klongtoey-Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110) will be open. Customers who were unable to attend…
- Crime News
Thai man arrested for distributing child porn on social media
A man was arrested for processing and distributing child pornography after a report from a US agency, police announced yesterday. The US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children traced the uploaded pornography back to Thailand and notified Thailand immigration police. The man, Thai media reports as ‘Kittiphong’, uploaded and sold the child pornography on Twitter and the messaging app…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s Covid-19 figures (May 28)
Today the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has announced 11 new cases of coronavirus disease for Thailand. All confirmed cases were reported as quarantined repatriates from overseas. This brings the national numbers to 3,065 confirmed Covid-19 cases. Dr. Taweesilp , the spokesman for the CCSA, says “of the new cases 1 was a 32 year old Thai woman, who returned…
- Covid-19 News
Government looks to domestic travel in phase 3 of easing Covid restrictions
A committee has been convened to agree which restrictions can be lifted as Thailand enters the third phase of its exit from lock-down. Addressing a press conference on behalf of the committee, General Somsak Roongsita says re-starting domestic tourism is one of the main priorities of the committee, which comprises public health officials, doctors and business leaders. While interprovincial buses…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok woman dies of salmonella poisoning after eating ‘death dumplings’
Following the death of a Bangkok woman who fell ill after eating dumplings, lab tests have come back proving there were detected traces of salmonella bacteria in the snack. Prakit Wongprasert from the Samut Prakan provincial health office confirms that several members of the woman’s family also fell ill after eating the dumplings, which were purchased from a local vendor.…
- Environment News
Dozens of plastic containers per person in state quarantine
…and the rest of us haven’t been helping the plastic problem either. Thailand started the year eco-friendly by banning single-use plastic bags. All good, but with “stay at home” orders and mandated quarantines, plastic waste has been increasing. One Thai artist, who stayed in a state quarantine facility, added up all the plastic containers and bottles he used during his…
- Crime News
Two brothers shot dead after fight over pickup truck
Three brothers got into a fight over a pickup truck their deceased father left for one of the sons. It ended with two of them shot dead, Nation Thailand reports. A witness says that the pickup truck was left behind for 39 year old Sarayut Mustofadi, but his older brother, Seri, took the truck. Witnesses say Sarayut and his brother,…
- Bangkok News
Gas explosion in Pathum Thani destroys garage, 10 cars
Fire ravaged a garage in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, last night, causing a massive explosion of gas cylinders stored inside. Damage was extensive but, fortunately, no injuries were reported. Police at Khu Khot police station were notified at about 8pm, and say the bush fire broke out in tambon Lat Sawai of Lam Luk Ka district. More than 10…
- Covid-19 News
‘New normal’ seen in shopping malls across Bangkok
Part of the ‘new normal’, in times of Covid-19 in Thailand, involves redesigning traditional ways of doing things and changing daily life to stay safe and virus free. Today The Standard has revealed a few things that you might see in the near future. To minimise the risk of the spread of Covid-19 in elevators, engineers have created a new,…
- Bangkok News
Temple closes to mark decade since redshirt crackdown
A Bangkok temple, where 6 people were shot and killed by the military during the 2010 “redshirt” political protests, has closed during the tragic event’s 10 year anniversary. A sign was put in front of Wat Pathum Wanaram saying it was closed for “disinfection,” according to Khaosod. But many see the significance of the closure relating to the events a…
- Politics News
Redshirts leader says “justice will never be served” over 2010 military crackdown
The leader of the “Redshirts”, political activists supportive of former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra, says the military government will never be held to account for a 2010 crackdown that cost the lives of nearly 100 people, most of them civilians. His comments come just days after a spokesman for the Democrat Party, a member of the ruling coalition, claimed the…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok officials conduct spot checks on 200 shopping centres and retailers
Following the further easing of Covid-19 restrictions, officials in Bangkok are carrying out inspections on shopping malls, shops and restaurants to ensure the guidelines governing the “new normal” are being adhered to. Nation Thailand reports that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has assigned officers to conduct the checks across 50 districts in the capital. They will be checking that adequate social…
- Crime News
Bangkok sting results in seizure of 221 kilograms of marijuana
Talk about being left holding the bag… police in Bangkok’s Nongjok district confiscated bricks of dried marijuana weighing 221 kilograms on Friday. According to officers at the Lam Phak She Police Station, officers, the raid was a followup to a sting operation that resulted in in the arrest of 46 year old Manop Buakareem, who had delivered a kilogram of…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok City Hall allows 10 more types of business to reopen
The Bangkok Municipal Administration, aka. City Hall confirms that more businesses in the city will be allowed to reopen today, including most shops at malls, in keeping with the second phase of the nationwide relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions. A BMA spokesman says its communicable disease control committee had eased restrictions on 10 business types. The businesses allowed to reopen are……
- Northern Thailand News
Marijuana valued at over 6 million baht seized in Mukdahan
Yesterday police in the northeastern province of Mukdaham announced the seizure of 616 kilograms of marijuana, valued at more than 6 million baht. Authorities say 5 suspects are in custody, identified as 46 year old Boonchu Sittithong, 20 year old Wilawan Lapphu, 22 year old Kittiphong Uttaprom, 34 year old Keng Sae Song and Somboon Chindalert, aged 43. Police got…
- Food
Social distancing pandas fill empty seats at Bangkok restaurant
An “X” usually marks the seats in restaurants and other establishments to make sure people are social distancing to prevent spread of the coronavirus. Sometimes the “X” on the empty is marked with red tape, unintentionally sending a negative message. Now one Vietnamese restaurant in Bangkok has found a more fun way to make sure people are sitting apart but…
- Bangkok News
Architecture students propose redesign and makeover of Bangkok prison
Most of Thailand’s prisons are well past their designed capacity. Living conditions for inmates are cramped and unsanitary. Now some architecture students are trying to come up with creative solutions to improve the living environment at one Bangkok prison. They’ve been working on design proposals that would make the conditions more “humane” at the Thonburi Remand Prison. “Treeward” is one design…
- Crime News
4 alleged gang members arrested, more than a million speed pills seized
Police today announced the arrest of 3 members of a drug gang at 2 houses in Bangkok, and a fourth in the southern Narathiwat province on the Malaysian border. More than a million methamphetamine pills were seized. Police say the houses were used to store drugs smuggled from Laos. A combined team of soldiers, police and officials from the Office…
- Covid-19 News
Tenants bailing out of pricey Bangkok offices amid pandemic
Bangkok’s high-end office district is looking more like a ghost town as the coronavirus pandemic seems to have many companies bailing out of their pricey office spaces. The increasing vacancy trend of Grade-A office space is expected to continue, possibly until a coronavirus vaccine is in effect, according to managing director of Phoenix Property Development and Consultancy, Surachet Kongcheep. Business owners have…
- Covid-19 News
Suicide deaths during pandemic could exceed virus-related deaths
Stress with money and other worries, brought on by the pandemic, have led a significant number of people in Thailand to take their own lives. Those who have studied the subject in Thailand say the number of suicide deaths this year could exceed the number of coronavirus deaths. Scholars in Chiang Mai University studied suicide cases that took place between…
- Politics News
Former Future Forward members claim they’re behind political slogan campaign around Bangkok
Former members of the now defunct Future Forward party say they are responsible for projecting a political slogan on to some of Bangkok’s most iconic landmarks Sunday night, and say more’s to come. Coconuts reports that the political figures, now members of a group called “Progressive Movement,” shared a video of activists using projection equipment from within a van. The…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok’s largest international hospital hurts from halt in medical tourism
The coronavirus outbreak has hospitals across the world at their limits, but at one Thailand’s largest and most famous hospitals, the number of patients has been cut in half. Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok heavily relies on medical tourism. Since the pandemic has ground much of international travel to a halt, Bumrungrad is getting hit hard. 50% of the patients at…
