Isaan
- Northern Thailand News
Roi Et records first case of Covid-19 in employee from Chon Buri karaoke bar
The north-eastern province of Roi Et has confirmed its first Covid-19 case since last month’s resurgence of the virus. Governor Chayan Sirimas says the patient is a female employee from a karaoke joint in the Sri Racha district of Chon Buri province, in the east of the country. “She had close contact with another patient from Chon Buri province (her…
- Covid-19 News
Buriram reports first Covid-19 case in 9 months
After going around 9 months without a Covid-19 case, the Isaan province Buriram reported a local coronavirus infection, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The new wave of infections is far exceeding the first with now 5,048 active cases compared to April’s peak of 1,451. In the new wave of infections, the coronavirus has spread to more than…
- Covid-19 News
Some Isaan provinces require quarantine for travellers from “red zones”
Some provincial authorities in the Northeast region are tightening restrictions for travellers coming from areas with a high number of Covid-19 cases. The Isaan province Nakhon Ratchasima, known as Korat, is now requiring travellers from “red zone” provinces to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. Buriram, another province in the region, is requiring passengers flying from Bangkok, which is classified…
- Northern Thailand News
500 kilograms of methamphetamine found hidden in phone booth call boxes
Police found 500 kilograms of methamphetamine and other illegal drugs hidden in 154 phone booth call boxes at a home in the Isaan province Khon Kaen. Officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau raided the home yesterday and arrested 6 people who are suspected of being members of a major drug trafficking operation in the Northeast. Along with half a tonne…
- Northern Thailand News
Go looking for mushrooms, find 10 grenades – NE Thailand
You’re just walking along, casually foraging for mushrooms when, behold, you come across 10 grenades! 10 LIVE grenades. That was the surprise awaiting a local mushroom picker in Si Sa Ket, North East Thailand, at the Huai Sala Wildlife Sanctuary. 58 year old Supin Thammaporn, was gathering mushrooms around the park when he found the unlikely cache of grenades. Military officials…
- Northern Thailand News
Isaan woman saves her husband from elephant attack
A woman saved her husband from a wild elephant attack by screaming and banging objects together, driving the elephant away with the loud noises. 33 year old Supat Klonsalab, a rubber tapper in the Isaan province Bueng Kan, is being treated at a local hospital. Luckily, his injuries from being stomped by the elephant are not severe. 37 year old…
- Northern Thailand News
Tigers and tiger body parts seized from Thai zoo investigated for alleged wildlife smuggling
In a crackdown on suspected wildlife trafficking, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation seized 5 tigers from a private zoo in the Isaan province Mukdahan. DNA tests confirmed that at least 3 of the 5 tiger cubs are not related to the tigers in the Mudka Tiger Park & Farm, leading officials to believe the wildcats were…
- Northern Thailand News
Police officer allegedly shoots and kills married couple, injures ex-wife at Isaan restaurant
A police officer was arrested for allegedly firing shots in an Isaan restaurant, killing a married couple and severely injuring his ex-wife. 44 year old Aram Sangchai is facing charges of premeditated murder. Aram had just returned home to the Isaan province Buri Ram from Bangkok after working with a police unit at the November 27 pro-democracy protest. The Bangkok…
- Pattaya News
Pandemic has washed away Pattaya’s “soapy” massage parlours
While the Covid pandemic has hit Thailand’s businesses hard, it has also washed away its not-so-legal soapy massage parlours after tourism has dried up its clientele. Such places, known as glorified brothels, have left many masseuses out of work as boards have barricaded the once booming establishments. Soapy Massage (àap-òp-nûat, อาบอบนวด, literally bath, steam, massage)… These are the bigger massage parlours where…
- Crime News
Buri Ram province chosen as first site for medical marijuana harvesting
Thailand’s northeastern province of Buri Ram has been selected to be the first to harvest medical marijuana at home under a ministry-sanctioned pilot project. The community that has been selected by the Cannhealth Institute, is located near a hospital in the Isaan province and features 10 houses in the provinces Khu Muang district. Each house would be allowed to grow…
- Northern Thailand News
Thai man in Surin greeted by crocodile in his toilet
Surprise! A Thai man in Surin province was greeted by an unexpected visitor as he took an early morning toilet break. The man, 52 year old Korn Yudirom, says he got up at 3am to use the toilet, which is located separately from his main home. The man thought water was left running in the toilet, after hearing noises after…
- Northern Thailand News
Police arrest “major drug dealer” in the Isaan region
Police say they’ve arrested a “major drug dealer” at a sugarcane farm in the Isaan province Khon Kaen and seized thousands of methamphetamine pills. Police say they’ve been looking for 25 year old Sukree Chaukhamhod for a while and were recently tipped off that the alleged drug dealer frequently goes to a sugarcane farm in the Nam Phong district. Officers…
- Northern Thailand News
Fuel tanker explodes after collision in Buri Ram
A fuel tanker has exploded after a collision with a trailer truck, causing both vehicles to be engulfed in flames in a series of explosions. Fuel from the 40,000-litre tank spilled out onto the road, spreading about 1 kilometre to nearby homes and into the sewers. People trying to douse the spreading flames found they were just pushing the flaming…
- Northern Thailand News
Man allegedly burns down house because his wife refused sex
A 33 year old man was arrested after he allegedly set a house on fire because his wife didn’t want to have sex with him. Narongchan Paksarom allegedly drove his motorcycle to a house in the Isaan province Buriram where his wife was living and approached the home wearing nothing but a towel, according to his wife Ratchaneekorn Yeeram. She…
- Northern Thailand News
Alleged kidnapping attempt in Isaan region, missing child found tied up
A girl was allegedly kidnapped by a group in the Isaan province Amnat Charoen. She was found with tied up and her was mouth stuffed with paper. The girl says a teenager approached her and offered candy. She said she wasn’t hungry and that she didn’t have money, but the teen allegedly replied that it was okay and he had…
- Northern Thailand News
Khon Kaen school director accused of sexually abusing students
5 students in the north-eastern province of Khon Kaen are accusing the director of Ban Thung Mon School, in the district of Ban Phai, of sexual abuse. The girls have filed an official police complaint, with the assistance of Pawanamporn Thaewnon-ngiew, a teacher at the school. The Bangkok Post reports she accompanied them to the police station after they confided…
- Northern Thailand News
8,000 homes inundated in Nakhon Ratchasima after 2 days of torrential rain
The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is urging emergency services and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in the Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima, in Thailand’s north east, to urgently attend to the suffering of the region’s flood victims. Flooding has cut electricity and water supplies to several areas around the district. 8,000+ houses have been flooded after the overflowing…
- Thailand News
Teacher blames stress over dog killing for slapping student
A teacher in the northeastern Buriram province has reportedly blamed slapping a student on being stressed after killing a dog accidentally with his car. The teacher, who works at a famous school in the province, allegedly slapped Fuse, a grade 8 student, after he found him waiting to go on stage to sing for retired teachers. Fuse was reportedly confused…
- Northern Thailand News
Wife who wanted a divorce allegedly killed by husband in murder-suicide
A woman in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima has allegedly been shot dead by her husband because she wanted a divorce. It’s alleged the man then turned the gun on himself, dying from a gunshot wound to the head. Police officers called to a property in the sub-district of Thephalai found the bodies of 46 year old Mongkhol Aksorn,…
- Northern Thailand News
Teenagers allegedly fired guns into the air, stray bullet kills 16 year old girl
A 19 year old man faces charges of intent to murder for allegedly shooting and killing a teenage girl. The man told police he shot the gun in the sky and did not intend to harm anyone. The stray bullet went through the girl’s heart and also injured her friend. 16 year old Nutthicha Thanthaisong was riding home on a…
- Northern Thailand News
Border police find 160 kilograms of marijuana hidden in fertiliser sacks
Border police found 160 kilograms of compressed marijuana near an Isaan roadside. Police say they believe the marijuana was trafficked across the Mekong River. No suspects were found and no arrests were made, at this stage. Police suspect the marijuana was smuggled in on long tail boats from Laos to the Isaan province of Nakhon Phanom during the tropical storm…
- Thailand News
Thai traditional trades staying alive in ‘new normal’
Thai silk and craft-related trade is staying alive in the ‘new normal’ era thanks to the Support Foundation created and backed by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. The Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty the Queen, was initiated in 1976 with the hopes of introducing original handicrafts to the younger…
- Northern Thailand News
Isaan man’s body found in burnt truck, police investigate possible murder
A man’s body was found burned in a truck that had been set on fire in the Isaan province Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat). The man’s employer described the case as “strange” and police are investigating for evidence of a possible homicide. Medical examiners from the Institute of Forensic Medicine autopsied the body and identified the man as 59 year old Saman…
- Northern Thailand News
Dengue fever rises up to 6,024 in 4 Isaan provinces
Dengue fever is spreading in Northeast Thailand with more than 6,000 cases and 4 deaths in the past 8 months. The cases were reported in the Isaan provinces Khon Kaen, Kalasin, Mahasarakham and Roi Et, according to the Office of Disease Prevention. The mosquito spread disease is also known as “bone break fever” because common symptoms include pain in muscles,…
- Crime News
Former mayor gets 2 months detention for indecent act on journalist
The former mayor who ordered a journalist to strip down to his underwear is now facing 2 months in detention rather than a 2 month prison sentence. The Supreme Court recently commuted his sentence and the former politician Premsak Piayura is requesting a venue for his detention. In 2016, a rumour spread saying that Premsak, a former mayor of Ban…
- Northern Thailand News
Ubon Ratchathani teacher charged with sexual abuse
An Isaan teacher is facing sexual harassment and abuse charges after he allegedly paid young students in exchange for sexual acts. The practice is being frequently reported in Thai media these days as the taboo of reporting these cases is slowly raised. The Ubon Ratchathani teacher allegedly sexually abused 5 boys, ages 11 to 12, on numerous occasions, paying them…
- Northern Thailand News
Man arrested for allegedly trafficking 112 million baht worth of drugs
Police arrested a 50 year old man for allegedly carrying 112 million baht worth of illegal drugs. Police searched his pickup truck at a Sakon Nakhon checkpoint in Northeast Thailand and found 75 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine pills and marijuana. The methamphetamine was separated into 1-kilogram packs. They also found 2,000 methamphetamine pill, known as speed, police say. The…
- Northern Thailand News
1,500 year old human bones and pottery found in Isaan province
An Isaan woman found what experts say are 1,500 year old human bones and pottery. Fine Arts Department officials say they believe the bones and pottery were buried together during a funeral hundreds of years ago. A Surin local, 60 year old Muay Maichai, says she was walking through an area she frequents when she saw part of a jar sticking…
- Northern Thailand News
Isaan village chief finds human bones in rice field
An Isaan village chief found human bones in a rice field today as he was spreading fertiliser over his crops. A local 49 year old man was reported missing last month and police suspect the remains are his. The found bones scattered around the field in Buri Ram. Police along with a doctor from the district hospital investigated the scene.…
- Northern Thailand News
Teenager allegedly stole 2 million baht from high schoolers
A teenage girl allegedly stole a total of 2 million baht from her younger peers in the Isaan province Khon Kaen. Around 10 students, all 14 to 16 years old, filed police reports with help from their parents. Thai media reports the 17 year old girl’s name as Wawa. She allegedly ran a savings reward scheme at the local high…
