Thailand News

Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.

  • Thailand pushes for more international flights as tourism surges | Thaiger

    Thailand pushes for more international flights as tourism surges

    Thailand’s Transport Ministry is under orders to request more international flights to the country as tourism surges. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-chat issued the order for the ministry to contact international flight carriers on the same day he noted that tourism is on the road to recovery. According to the government, the country has seen around 10 million foreign arrivals up…

  • Man stabs passersby in Bangkok, 1 killed 1 injured | Thaiger

    Man stabs passersby in Bangkok, 1 killed 1 injured

    Police used tear gas to catch and arrest a man stabbing passersby in Bangkok, Thailand, this morning. Two people were stabbed, one of whom later died in the hospital, according to police. At around 11am, officers from Hua Mak Police Station fired tear gas at a man hiding in a shelter on Soi Krungthep Kreetha 3 in Bangkok after he…

  • VIDEO: Shit hits the fan as man attacks friend for mocking him in a leaked sex tape | Thaiger

    VIDEO: Shit hits the fan as man attacks friend for mocking him in a leaked sex tape

    The shit really did hit the fan yesterday after a man attacked his friend and poured faeces over him. He said he was provoked by his friend after he made fun of a leaked sex tape featuring him and his ex-wife indulging in a bit of oral sex. The victim, a 55 year old amulet seller called Somkid (surname reserved)…

  • A British musician bangs drums of discontent after breaking leg in Thailand | Thaiger

    A British musician bangs drums of discontent after breaking leg in Thailand

    A British musician is banging the drums of discontent after breaking his leg in Thailand leaving him with a bill of 680,000 baht (£16,000). Kieran Angus, a drummer with the Scottish rock band Broadsea, fell off his motorbike while on tour in Thailand breaking his leg as a consequence. The 27 year old from Aberdeen believed he was insured but…

  • Homeowner beats cannabis thief to death in northeast Thailand | Thaiger

    Homeowner beats cannabis thief to death in northeast Thailand

    Police let off a man who allegedly beat a cannabis thief to death in Udon Thani province in northeast Thailand last month. Police say he had the right to protect his assets. Yesterday, 55 year old Wanna filed a case with the Commander of the Udon Thani Provincial Police force against her neighbour who escaped prosecution after allegedly beating her younger…

  • British man who loves Thailand banned for 5 years for overstaying | Thaiger

    British man who loves Thailand banned for 5 years for overstaying

    A British man was arrested for overstaying his welcome in the Isaan province of Sisaket yesterday. He admitted to immigration officers that overstaying in the country was wrong but he loved Thailand so much that he did not want to leave. The Sisaket Provincial Immigration Police were doing their rounds and checking on foreigners in the area when their database…

  • Thai rapper ‘Milli’ makes BBC 100 Women 2022 list | Thaiger

    Thai rapper ‘Milli’ makes BBC 100 Women 2022 list

    Thailand’s very own rapper “Milli” is the only Thai national to make it on the BBC 100 Women 2022 list, which features 100 “inspiring and influential women from around the world.” Bangkok-born Danupha “Milli” Khanatheerakul rose to fame after appearing on the popular Thai TV show The Rapper 2 in 2019. Milli’s 2020 single “Pak Korn” (Calm Down) was a…

  • Restaurants in Thailand that received 2 MICHELIN Star (MICHELIN Guide Thailand 2023) | Thaiger

    Restaurants in Thailand that received 2 MICHELIN Star (MICHELIN Guide Thailand 2023)

    Michelin Guide Thailand 2023 just came out on 24 November 2022! While there are some new entries on the Bib Gourmand and the one-star restaurant list, the 6 restaurants that received 2 Michelin stars are all retainees. Michelin Guide is known for its stringent standards when it comes to awarding stars, so you can expect not only amazing food but…

  • Is poor English proficiency holding Thailand back? | Thaiger

    Is poor English proficiency holding Thailand back?

    The government of Thailand has been working hard to make it a world-class destination for not just tourists, but digital nomads and business and technology innovators. But do the people of Thailand speak English well enough to fully attract these business opportunities? Thailand is ranked second to last among the countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations…

  • Shopee stops all bank payments after hackers steal from customer in Thailand | Thaiger

    Shopee stops all bank payments after hackers steal from customer in Thailand

    E-commerce platform Shopee announced a permanent end to purchases made by bank payment starting today onwards. The decision comes after a customer in Thailand was hacked via Shopee and lost tens of thousands of baht from a bank account linked to the app. The hackers allegedly used the Shopee app to get into bank accounts and transfer money without even…

  • Cat killer feels no guilt over sadistic act | Thaiger

    Cat killer feels no guilt over sadistic act

    A sadistic Thai man faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 100,000 baht for the barbaric killing of a neighbour’s cat in Lak Si district in Bangkok. But rather than be embarrassed by his cruelty, cat killer Tian Arunjit declared no guilt to reporters. The 68 year old said he was proud his behaviour…

  • Thailand PM wants to groom successor in two years | Thaiger

    Thailand PM wants to groom successor in two years

    Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is not throwing in the political towel just yet, he wants another couple of years at the helm before grooming a successor. PM Prayut seized power in a 2014 military coup, was reelected in a disputed election in 2019, and bizarrely had to stand down in August this year after the Constitutional Court of Thailand…

  • Man wins 144 million baht in Thailand’s lottery | Thaiger

    Man wins 144 million baht in Thailand’s lottery

    A lucky Thai man won a whopping 144 million baht (US$4,101,396.48) in Thailand‘s government lottery on December 1. Today, Pachara Nathakitpaisan travelled to the Government Lottery Office in Nonthaburi province, central Thailand, to claim 96 million baht of his winnings. On December 1, the number 375805 was drawn for the lottery’s first prize of 6 million baht. Pachara bought 16…

  • Plumber murders and robs Thai woman in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Plumber murders and robs Thai woman in Bangkok

    A plumber was arrested in Nonthaburi after he allegedly murdered and robbed a female customer at her house in Bangkok. The murderer said he noticed the woman had a lot of money in her bank account when she paid for his service and got greedy. Officers from Khok Khram Police Station in Bangkok reported details of the murder case on…

  • Father dies trying to save son from teenage gang | Thaiger

    Father dies trying to save son from teenage gang

    Father’s Day for one Thai family turned into a tragedy this year after a father died trying to save his son from an attack by a teenage gang in the Klong Luang district of Pathum Thani province. Officers from Klong Luang Police Station and a rescue team rushed to the Liap Klong Song Road in Pathum Thani at 3.30am yesterday,…

  • Frenchman arrested for scamming Thai woman out of 2 million baht in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Frenchman arrested for scamming Thai woman out of 2 million baht in Bangkok

    A Frenchman was arrested in Bangkok yesterday after he swindled nearly 2 million baht from a Thai woman who invested in his fake import-export business. The victim reported she found many other Thai people had been tricked by the scoundrel. The victim told police that she met the 41 year old Frenchman, Jacouel Clemen, at a bar in the Sukhumvit…

  • VIDEO: Policeman fined 500 baht for blocking ambulance in northeast Thailand | Thaiger

    VIDEO: Policeman fined 500 baht for blocking ambulance in northeast Thailand

    Thai netizens are outraged by a video circulating on social media of a pickup truck blocking the way of an ambulance carrying a patient in critical condition to a hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand. An investigation revealed that the pickup driver is actually a Police Captain at Dan Khun Thot Police Station. Officers at Pak Chong Police…

  • Whole new world of censorship pain on its way to Thailand | Thaiger

    Whole new world of censorship pain on its way to Thailand

    A whole new world of censorship pain is on its way to Thailand, with the latest act by the thought police becoming law on Christmas Day. Online platforms must abide by a new regulation to deal quickly with complaints about content deemed to violate the Computer Crimes Act. A new regulation issued by Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaiwut…

  • Arrogant Thai construction company rips off Myanmar migrant workers | Thaiger

    Arrogant Thai construction company rips off Myanmar migrant workers

    An arrogant Thai construction company has been ordered to cough up wages it refused to pay to its migrant workers earlier this year. The arrogance of the unnamed building firm is underlined by the fact that no representatives came to court to defend or justify its action. The Labour Court in Phuket told the construction company to settle three months’…

  • Thai govt’s chemical castration policy takes effect next month | Thaiger

    Thai govt’s chemical castration policy takes effect next month

    The Thai government is preparing to introduce its controversial chemical castration policy on repeat sex offenders next month. The Justice Ministry revealed it is preparing for the new law which is set to take effect on January 23. The policy is aimed at preventing people convicted of sexual and violent crimes from reoffending. The Senate passed the bill, allowing the…

  • Pro-monarchy ‘dictator’ must be stopped from retiring in Australia, say Thai asylum activists | Thaiger

    Pro-monarchy ‘dictator’ must be stopped from retiring in Australia, say Thai asylum activists

    Exiled Thai activists are living in fear that a self-proclaimed “Van Helsing” “dictator” and pro-monarchy vigilante could be pursuing them in retirement. Rienthong Nanna, a doctor and former army general, announced on Facebook that he plans to retire in Perth, Australia causing fear among those who now live there after fleeing the country after his vicious campaign. Rienthong set up a…

  • Father’s Day celebrated throughout Thailand today | Thaiger

    Father’s Day celebrated throughout Thailand today

    Today, the people of Thailand celebrate Father’s Day. It is a national public holiday for schools and many businesses are closed. The holiday is celebrated on this day to honour and commemorate the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, father to the current king and a leader whom many revere as a symbolic father to all the people of Thailand. The holiday…

  • Disruptive Phuket-bound passenger thrown off flight in Karachi | Thaiger

    Disruptive Phuket-bound passenger thrown off flight in Karachi

    A disruptive Phuket-bound passenger on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul was thrown off the aircraft yesterday and arrested after the flight diverted to Pakistan’s Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. After the passenger was taken into custody by local law enforcement, the flight continued to Phuket. Turkish Airlines flight TK-172 on an Airbus A330 diverted to Karachi three hours into the…

  • Thailand tourism predicted at 80% of pre-Covid in 2023 | Thaiger

    Thailand tourism predicted at 80% of pre-Covid in 2023

    Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn just predicted that next year, revenue from tourism will hit 80% of the level it was before the Covid-19 pandemic. He made the bold prediction at the 22nd World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit, being held in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. At that summit, the TAT was invited to take…

  • Pheu Thai Party under fire as Tuhao-Shinawatra connection exposed | Thaiger

    Pheu Thai Party under fire as Tuhao-Shinawatra connection exposed

    Opposition Pheu Thai Party is under fire after police found that many houses connected to suspected Chinese gangster Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant were built by a company owned by the Shinawatra family. The Pheu Thai Party is the third incarnation of the party founded by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2007. On Wednesday, the Royal Thai Police raided 11 locations…

  • Thai baht soars to six-month high against US dollar | Thaiger

    Thai baht soars to six-month high against US dollar

    The Thai baht opened at 34.78 against the US dollar today, strengthening from yesterday’s close of 35 to a six-month high. The baht’s sudden rise is down to the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) hiking the policy rate by a quarter point earlier this week. The BOT remains committed to a gradual monetary tightening policy, raising the policy rate from 1%…

  • Stop giving monkeys cigarettes, beg locals in Lop Buri, Thailand | Thaiger

    Stop giving monkeys cigarettes, beg locals in Lop Buri, Thailand

    Locals in Lop Buri province in central Thailand – famous for its out-of-control monkey population – are begging tourists to stop giving monkeys cigarettes. Monkey lovers in Lop Buri were saddened to see a clip circulating on social media in which a visitor to the city flicked a lit cigarette to a monkey. In the clip, the innocent monkey picked…

  • World Cup broadcasting soap opera drama rumbles on | Thaiger

    World Cup broadcasting soap opera drama rumbles on

    The FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar broadcasting soap opera continues to provide drama. In this week’s episode, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) is demanding the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) return the 600 million baht it handed over because it can’t fulfil its World Cup broadcasting agreement. The long-drawn-out melodrama appeared to have reached a conclusion when Thailand…

  • Thai VietJet cancels Phuket – Bangkok flight last minute over 1 extra passenger | Thaiger

    Thai VietJet cancels Phuket – Bangkok flight last minute over 1 extra passenger

    Budget airline Thai VietJet cancelled a flight from Phuket to Bangkok minutes before take-off last night because staff couldn’t find a seat for one passenger. The plane was already taxiing on the runway ready to depart. Flight vz2305 to Bangkok was scheduled to depart from Phuket at 8.25pm. More than 300 passengers boarded and the plane began taxiing down the runway…

  • Ladyboys steal Russian tourist’s gold necklace in Pattaya, Thailand | Thaiger

    Ladyboys steal Russian tourist’s gold necklace in Pattaya, Thailand

    In a tale as old as time, another foreign tourist had their gold necklace stolen by ladyboys in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, in the dead of night. At 3am today, 24 year old Artem [surname withheld] of Russian nationality sought help from officers at Pattaya City Police Station. He said two ladyboys molested him and untied his gold…