Crime News

Thailand crime news, breaking reports, investigations, and law enforcement updates—stay informed on drug trafficking, cybercrime, corruption, and public safety developments. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for crime news in Thailand.

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    Why retirees in Thailand are choosing long-term health insurance over quick fixes

    Retirees in Thailand are increasingly seeing the importance of health insurance in protecting their well-being during retirement. With insurance requirements for retirement visas and rising healthcare costs, many are moving away from short-term plans and choosing long-term coverage. Long-term health...

  • Fugitive shot dead in gunfight with police in Nakhon Si Thammarat | Thaiger

    Fugitive shot dead in gunfight with police in Nakhon Si Thammarat

    A fugitive is dead after a gunfight with police in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The man, identified as 30 year old Pongsak Jessadarom, of the province’s Muang district, was wanted on three warrants for theft. Police were notified this morning by local residents of two thieves attempting to break into a house. A motorcycle patrol soon arrived…

  • Drunken man arrested threatening people with large knife on Pattaya beach | Thaiger

    Drunken man arrested threatening people with large knife on Pattaya beach

    Pattaya City police arrested a highly intoxicated Bangkok man yesterday afternoon for carrying a large knife and threatening tourists and locals on Pattaya Beach. The incident began at around 11:00am, according to police, who say the man, who was severely intoxicated, was openly carrying a large knife, yelling incoherently and threatening people on the beach. Police were called by local…

  • Suspects in abduction, murder of judge’s brother taken for re-enactment | Thaiger

    Suspects in abduction, murder of judge’s brother taken for re-enactment

    When the brother of a senior judge in the central province of Nakhon Sawan was abducted in broad daylight in front of the Bangkok South Criminal Court on February 4, police feared the worst. Today, three of the six suspects alleged to have been involved in the abduction and subsequent murder were escorted by officers of the Crime Suppression Division…

  • Former deputy commerce minister and police lieutenant arrested for suspected murder | Thaiger

    Former deputy commerce minister and police lieutenant arrested for suspected murder

    Former deputy commerce minister and police lieutenant colonel Banyin Tangpakorn was arrested this morning, along with two other people, in the central province of Nakhon Sawan. Police believe the three were involved in the disappearance of the brother of a senior Criminal Court judge. Banyin is a former MP for Nakhon Sawan, of the now-defunct Palang Prachachon party. The arrest…

  • American man arrested for theft at Phuket mall | Thaiger

    American man arrested for theft at Phuket mall

    An American man has been arrested for theft after allegedly stealing three designer wallets from a shop at Phuket’s Central Floresta shopping mall. Twenty-one year old Christopher Braman was arrested at the shopping centre in tambon Ratsada on charges of theft and overstaying his visa, police said yesterday. After the arrest, police took Braman him to his rented room in…

  • Police chief denies officers killed suspect | Thaiger

    Police chief denies officers killed suspect

    “We didn’t kill him, he killed himself” The police chief in Nonthaburi, just northwest of Bangkok, denies claims that one of his men kicked a motorcyclist off his bike. The 28 year old man, identified only as “Pisanu,” died after he fell off his Honda Wave motorbike. He was fleeing a police checkpoint at the time. He suffered head injuries…

  • Lop Buri gold shop gunman pleads guilty to all nine charges | Thaiger

    Lop Buri gold shop gunman pleads guilty to all nine charges

    The school principal, who gunned down three people, including a 2 year old boy, and injured four others during a robbery in Lop Buri province on January 9, has pleaded guilty to all charges. 38 year old Prasitthichai Khaokaew, stormed into the Robinsons shopping centre and strode up to the Aurora Gold Shop brandishing a pistol and silencer and calmly…

  • Drink-driving professor crashes, injures 2 police and elderly woman | Thaiger

    Drink-driving professor crashes, injures 2 police and elderly woman

    A university professor has been arrested for drink driving in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok, after he crashed into a police motorcycle. Two police officers and an elderly woman were injured in the incident. Police and a rescue team were called to the scene and discovered a police motorbike lying on the road and 2 injured officers. The injured…

  • Abbot who embezzled 69.7 million baht gets fines, suspended sentence | Thaiger

    Abbot who embezzled 69.7 million baht gets fines, suspended sentence

    An ex-abbot of Wat Sa Ket (Golden Mount Temple), found guilty of embezzling 69.7 million baht in temple funds, has been fined 27,000 baht and given a jail term of 36 months, suspended. The sentence was handed down at the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases yesterday. The court found 64 year old Thongchai Sukkho guilty of “malfeasance.”…

  • Dutchman’s killer, sentenced to death in absentia, arrested after 13 years on the run | Thaiger

    Dutchman’s killer, sentenced to death in absentia, arrested after 13 years on the run

    A former municipal councillor in the southern Chumphon province, sentenced to death in absentia for the murder of a wealthy Dutchman, was arrested yesterday after 13 years on the run. 54 year old Anupong Suthani was arrested in the northern province of Phrae. He was wanted on an murder arrest warrant issued by the Pattaya provincial court in December 2007.…

  • Korean tourist allegedly attacked in Pattaya after refusing to give money to a Thai woman | Thaiger

    Korean tourist allegedly attacked in Pattaya after refusing to give money to a Thai woman

    UPDATE: The Pattaya News now reports that the suspects in the case have apologised and the matter has been settled amicably. Read the full story HERE. ORIGINAL STORY: A Korean man was allegedly attacked by a group of Thais after refusing to give money to a woman he met at a beer bar in Pattaya. 57 year old Sung Ho…

  • Bangkok gunman arrested this morning in Phetchaburi | Thaiger

    Bangkok gunman arrested this morning in Phetchaburi

    A lone, jealous gunman, who killed his ex-wife in her place of employment in a shopping centre near Victory Monument yesterday afternoon, has been arrested. The 34 year old gunman was arrested in a home in Phetchaburi, south west of Bangkok, at 4.30am today. He has been charged with pre-meditated murder, illegal possession of a weapon and carrying a gun…

  • Gunman allegedly shoots and kills ex-wife at mall in Bangkok, another injured | Thaiger

    Gunman allegedly shoots and kills ex-wife at mall in Bangkok, another injured

    Bangkok police report that a woman was shot and killed and a bystander wounded after a man opened fire in a shopping centre this afternoon. The gunman fled the scene straight after the shooting. He’s still at large. The incident took place in front of a beauty clinic inside Century Movie Plaza, near the Victory Monument. The clinic is identified…

  • 1 dead, 1 injured in Bangkok mall shooting, gunman escapes | Thaiger

    1 dead, 1 injured in Bangkok mall shooting, gunman escapes

    One woman is dead and a bystander injured after a gunman opened fire at a shopping mall in downtown Bangkok on this afternoon. The incident occurred in front of a beauty clinic inside Century Movies Plaza, just steps away from a tourist shopping area. The victim killed was a 28 year old employee of the clinic, while the injured victim…

  • Chon Buri sugarcane vendor dragged behind motorbike after thief steals his phone | Thaiger

    Chon Buri sugarcane vendor dragged behind motorbike after thief steals his phone

    An elderly sugarcane vendor in Chon Buri province’s Sattahip district sufferered multiple injuries when a potential customer stole his phone and tried to speed off on his motorbike, leading the vendor to grab onto the bike in a desperate attempt to to get it phone back. 63 year old Chaiyapat Warawan says a young Thai man about 20 years old…

  • Man claims he was attacked and robbed by “foreigners” | Thaiger

    Man claims he was attacked and robbed by “foreigners”

    A student in Chiang Mai says he was mugged by “foreigners from Europe.” Twenty-four year old Theerapat Saen-in posted his alleged ordeal on Thai social media earlier this week. According to his post he was taking photographs at a view point on Doi Suthep when he was approached by “farangs.” He says they bashed him on the head with a…

  • 8 sought in wombs-for-hire case | Thaiger

    8 sought in wombs-for-hire case

    Police are seeking arrest warrants for eight new suspects: two Chinese nationals and six Thais, in an illegal cross-border surrogacy ring busted on Thursday. “Two Chinese suspects were hired to take surrogate mothers to give birth in another country, while the Thai suspects brokered surrogacy and arranged travel documents for the surrogate mothers.” Nine suspects, six Thais and three Chinese…

  • Attempted murder charge for Bangkok gunman | Thaiger

    Attempted murder charge for Bangkok gunman

    Multiple charges have been lain against against the man who allegedly fired more than 50 shots in downtown Bangkok early yesterday, including attempted murder. Police say the charge was filed because a ballistic examination showed some of the gunshots were aimed at people opposite the suspect’s position. Other charges include carrying gun without a permit, discharging a firearm in a…

  • Bangkok “auntie” arrested for robbing cabbies | Thaiger

    Bangkok “auntie” arrested for robbing cabbies

    An “auntie” in Bangkok has finally been arrested after stealing money from numerous taxi drivers. Police arrested 55 year old Nongnuch Pimsuan of Kanchanaburi province at around 5pm yesterday. The suspect had an arrest warrant in her name from the Taling Chan Court. Police were notified as early as February 4 that a passenger had stolen 1,400 baht from a…

  • Man seeks rifle, threatens shooting spree in Facebook post | Thaiger

    Man seeks rifle, threatens shooting spree in Facebook post

    A 22 year old man has reported to police [location undisclosed] and faces charges after a Facebook post saying he wanted to buy a rifle for a shooting spree at shopping mall. Natthapong Jalaebram, known on Facebook as Ring HR, was accompanied by relatives when he reported. Thai media report that Nattahpong posted: “Wanting to buy an AK or an…

  • Bangkok cross-border surrogacy gang busted | Thaiger

    Bangkok cross-border surrogacy gang busted

    Two Chinese nationals, a man and a woman, have been arrested after coordinated raids on illegal assisted-reproduction clinics in and around Bangkok. The pair are suspected of involvement in a major cross-border surrogacy racket. Police found at least seven Thai surrogate mothers in the raids. In a raid on a house in Lat Phrao district, police found seven pregnant Thai…

  • UK prisoner tested for coronavirus after extradition is virus-free | Thaiger

    UK prisoner tested for coronavirus after extradition is virus-free

    UPDATE: Neither Mark Rumble nor another suspect deported to the UK have the Covid-19 coronavirus, The Daily Mail reports: “Two British prisoners including a ‘drug dealer’ who were sent home from Thailand do not have coronavirus, tests have confirmed.” A British drug suspect, arrested in Pattaya on November 2 before being extradited to the United Kingdom in January, has been…

  • Phuket speedboat crash captains released on bail | Thaiger

    Phuket speedboat crash captains released on bail

    An official of the Phuket Provincial Court confirmed this morning that both captains involved in the speedboat collision on Monday that killed two Russian children and injured more than a dozen others were released yesterday on bail of 150,000 each. Both were charged Monday with “recklessness causing death and injury.” 24 year old Atsarawut Suden and 33 year old Anusorn…

  • Supreme Court upholds death for schoolgirl’s murderer | Thaiger

    Supreme Court upholds death for schoolgirl’s murderer

    On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for Krittidech Rawengwan, a former village headman who murdered a teenage schoolgirl in the northeastern province of Kalasin. He had already been sentenced to death by two lower courts. On Dec 23, 2015, 18 year old Ruadeewan Polprasit, nicknamed “Nong Snow”, was returning home from school on a motorbike when she…

  • UPDATE: Phuket speedboats crash: 2 children dead, 22 injured – VIDEO | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Phuket speedboats crash: 2 children dead, 22 injured – VIDEO

    “…both boat drivers have been charged with reckless driving causing death and injury.” Two Russian children have died and some 22 people were injured following a high-speed speedboat collision off Phuket’s east coast just before 8am this morning. The incident occurred in the channel linking Phuket’s two main east coast marinas with the Phang Nga Bay on the east side of…

  • Mother beaten to death by meth crazed son | Thaiger

    Mother beaten to death by meth crazed son

    A mother in the western province of Kanchana Buri was beaten to death by her own son who was deranged under the influence of crystal methamphetmine, or “ya ice.” 54 year old Sopee Punsombat was found murdered at her home on Saturday night Police and a doctor were called to the home about half past midnight. When they entered the…

  • PM visits shooting victims in hospital as the nation mourns | Thaiger

    PM visits shooting victims in hospital as the nation mourns

    The soldier who shot dead at least 25 people in a bloodbath in Korat was killed in a police assault at around 9am today, ending a rampage that lasted more than 17 hours. The shooter has been identified as 32 year old Jakrapanth Thomma, an officer working for the army’s 22nd Ammunition Battalion. He stole weapons and a Humvee, (a…

  • Soldiers seize 100 kilograms of crystal meth in Chiang Mai | Thaiger

    Soldiers seize 100 kilograms of crystal meth in Chiang Mai

    A clash with drug runners in Chiang Mai province today resulted in the seizure of around 100 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as “ice,” valued at about 100 million baht. Soldiers, acting on a tip-off, laid an ambush and were waiting for the drug runners. About 10 smugglers are thought to have been wounded in the the clash, which…

  • 4 foreigners, 2 Thais nabbed in 3 drug busts | Thaiger

    4 foreigners, 2 Thais nabbed in 3 drug busts

    Four foreign nationals and two Thais have been arrested in three separate drug seizures involving heroin, ecstasy pills, cocaine, MDA, LSD and marijuana. The first bust saw two Taiwanese men arrested yesterday while trying to smuggle 15 kilograms of heroin out of Thailand in instant noodle packages and powder cans. The two, identified as Li Chun Hui and Li Chai…

  • Army officer wounded in Chiang Mai firefight with drug runners | Thaiger

    Army officer wounded in Chiang Mai firefight with drug runners

    A firefight with drug smugglers in Chiang Mai province’s Chiang Dao district has left an army officer wounded and in hospital. A patrol was dispatched to a border village in Chiang Dao on Sunday, after a tip-off. The informant said drugs would be brought across the border through the Nong Kalang pass. Early yesterday a group was spotted coming from…