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.
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Bat-tling the cold, Isarn style
KALASIN: While temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius may not seem so cold to expats from more northerly climes, for poor Thais living in unheated shacks without warm bedding the cold season is still a real trial.Every year charity appeals are launched to find warm clothing for poor families in the North and Northeast.Villagers in the Isarn have developed alternative methods…
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Drug disco monk defrocked
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: In an interesting story that until now has not been reported in the English language press, a monk was arrested on November 17 after police discovered he had converted his cell at the temple into a mini disco and was having drug parties. After receiving a tip off that a monk at Wat Mukhathara, in Tambon Pak…
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Full body massage by a real Babe
CHIANG MAI: Villagers in Sansai District’s Tambon Nong Jom have been rushing to try the services of the village’s newest masseuse – a wild boar piglet named Phalo. In exchange for occasional mackerel or a few sweets, Phalo uses his snout to massage tired limbs – reportedly with as much skill as the most expert human hands. The unusual talent…
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Youth loses face in explosive sex act
ANG THONG: Following on from last week’s report about the unfortunate Army private with the fish caught in his throat comes yet another sorry tale from a Thai youth about the perils of putting foreign objects in one’s mouth. This story came to light when an eighteen year old youth, identified only as Chai, was brought in to Wisetchaichan Hospital on December 7…
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A Krathong for your bong
BANGKOK: In the run up to Loy Krathong festival every year, there are a host of predictable stories in the Thai press about teens who choose to lose their virginity during the romantic, full moon celebration. Other common reports involve rampant price gouging on candles and other materials needed to make krathongs as the special day draws near. This year,…
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Aussie stabbing: no worries, mate
PATONG: Officers at Patong Hospital have denied reports in a local Thai-language newspaper that an Australian serviceman on shore leave was in a coma after being stabbed repeatedly following an altercation in Patong on the night of November 5. In fact, the soldier was treated for only minor stab wounds, which were stitched in the hospital. He was released shortly…
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Curious cockroach gives traveler trauma
CHIANG MAI: At some point in their lives, most people are likely to have had some pretty unpleasant bus trips, whether on a crowded Greyhound Bus in the States or a steaming hot, jam-packed third-class “Orange Crush” hurtling though the Thai countryside. If you think your bus journeys have been hell, consider the case of one passenger from Khon Kaen…
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Cobra cocktails, roadside rat-ions
SUPHANBURI: The sight of roadside stalls selling seasonal fruit, diesel-flavored roast chicken or other comestibles is a common one on any road trip in Thailand. Along the roads of Suphanburi, however, the offerings are a bit more exotic, with cobras and field rats the current hits.On October 27, Sala Phromphim, who owns five stalls selling the unusual delicacies along the…
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Copulating couple cause culture shock
UTTARADIT: Government officials in Uttaradit have been put on high alert after a teenage couple was caught having sex right outside the culture office in the Provincial Hall on the afternoon of September 20. On that day, the town was packed with people coming to watch a festival being held in Phraya Phichai Dap Hak Sports Stadium, opposite the hall.…
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Cruel cure for unlucky lad
SURIN: Sometimes, a cure can be worse than the illness. This was certainly the case for one young man who went to the local temple to perform a ceremony to ward off bad luck, but ended up dying after drinking “blessed water” prepared by the temple abbot. Twenty-three year old Bunyang Khreuaniam of Khwao Sinarin District on September 30 told…
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Drinking session takes tragic turn
SUKHOTHAI: The more dipsomaniacal among us will most likely have had the unsettling experience of coming round, after a heavy session, not quite sure where we are or how we got there.Usually, this can be rectified by stumbling out, flagging down a taxi and demanding to be taken home, hopefully before the full force of the hangover sets in.One unlucky…
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Can I have your wife?
LOEI: A long friendship ended in tragedy on the night of August 30, when a man visiting his buddy’s house without warning asked if he could have his friend’s wife.At 7 am on August 31, Pak Chom Police duty officer Thongphum Premlao received a call from a villager, who reported a dead body hidden in a banana plantation near Ban…
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Buffalo ladyboys’ carjack capers
CHIANG MAI: If you happened to have been out drinking in Chiang Mai over the last few months and, after a few too many beers, decided to do the responsible thing and pull over in your car for a rest to sober up before weaving on home, then you may have come across the Buffalo Ladyboy Gang. The gang has…
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Bogus cop, broken heart
CHIANG MAI: Some women simply fall head over heels for a man in uniform. One love-sick Bangkok native, presumably with this in mind, found himself in trouble recently after impersonating a police officer in a bid to win the heart of a pretty Lanna girl. According to the girl’s neighbors, her pursuer, calling himself Pol Maj Krittanan Rattaradee, moved in…
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Sugar daddies duped by pretended pregnancies
UBON RATCHATHANI: Attractive women having relationships with much older and considerably less attractive men for financial benefit is certainly nothing new. In Isarn, however, some girls have allegedly started using an ingenious method to extract more money from their stingy sugar daddies: having their stomachs injected with chemicals to make them appear pregnant. Pukki, a 20-year-old college student from Ubon…
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Killer cobbler
PATHUM THANI: As anyone who remembers the case of the football fan shot dead in Pattaya for cheering too loudly while watching Italy’s opening match of the 2006 world cup will know, the tragi-comic overreaction is something of a staple in the Thai press. One unfortunate fellow fell victim to this trend on July 11, receiving far more than he deserved for…
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Wasp wipe out a blast
PHRAE: Two teachers in Phrae province were left fuming on June 23 after asking their local council for help in ridding their house of a wasps’ nest only to come back and find that the fumigators had rid them not only of the wasps, but also of half their house. Praphan Saisa-aat, 51, and his wife, K. Rachanee, 53, were…
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A disarming mystery
BANGKOK: As the international media has been puzzling recently over the mystery of why five dismembered human feet have washed up on the beaches of British Columbia over the past year – the most recent find being on June 16 – Thailand now has its own body-part puzzle to ponder: a severed arm found on the tracks at Hualamphong Railway…
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Rogue monk defrocks self
NONG KHAI: As every good clergyman knows, improper sexual conduct is a quick way to get defrocked – cast out of the Buddhist clergy.Perhaps sensing that his own defrockment was inevitable, one naughty abbot in Tha Bor District decided to beat his detractors to the punch.At a meeting of villagers and local religious authorities to discuss allegations of sexual impropriety…
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Runaway bride
SAPHAN BURI: Being forced into a loveless marriage is an unhappy fate for any girl to endure, but not everyone takes the situation lying down. After being forced to marry the son of a wealthy local cattle owner, one young woman from Suphan Buri managed to escape with not only her freedom, but also the 400,000-baht sin sot (bride price)…
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Pestle pistol swindle
SONGKHLA: It’s always worth keeping in mind the phrase caveat emptor, or “let the buyer beware”, when making any purchase.The warning should be especially well heeded when the item under consideration is somewhat less than 100% legit.This sage advice must have been far from the mind of one wannabe tough guy in Haad Yai, however, when he paid 15,000 baht…
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Little larvae, powerful performance
KALASIN: Aphrodisiacs and sex aids come in many forms. The Chinese have rhino horns and tiger penis, while Viagra has spread from America to become a worldwide craze allowing a generation of aging lotharios to revisit the prowess they enjoyed in younger days. In Isarn, however, the latest sex-aid craze is neither the body part of an endangered species nor…
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Snake wife makes grand eggs-it
UDON THANI: The peculiar story of a man who married a python said to be a 600-year-old spirit from his past has taken yet another bizarre twist. Satien Kenkudlung’s python wife (pictured, right, with her husband) slithered away last week, after a short marriage. The volume of curious visitors has dried up, but K. Satien has kept the interest of…
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Monk cops out royally
TAK: While impersonating a policeman for personal gain is nothing new in Thailand, one monk in Mae Sot who thought he may have picked the wrong career took it one step further over the Songkran holidays. The monk not only claimed to be a high-ranking policeman, but also a member of the royal family and a representative of the Bureau…
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Fowl play suspected in local election
ANG THONG: Police Region 1 are leaving no stone unturned in their attempt to bring to justice a vicious gang of youths who abducted 1,500 waterfowl from a local politician, in what police believe could be a politically motivated ducknapping. At about 3 am on March 28, six young men, some on motorcycles, some in a six-wheeled truck, pulled up…
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Burglar busted during cat nap
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: In most professions, apart from those involving heavy machinery or driving perhaps, falling asleep on the job will earn you a strict telling off, a warning letter or in the worst case, the sack. In the burglary trade, however, sleeping on the job can have somewhat more serious consequences as one young army deserter in Phraphrom District…
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The CCTV firm and the house of Porn
SAMUT PRAKAN: A man was arrested March 15 after police found a wire leading from his house to a tiny camera hidden in the ceiling of the bathroom of the house next door where six women lived. The camera, which had apparently been in place for five months, was discovered only when the voyeur was overcome with desire and rang…
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Hot-headed soldiers shoot up police station
NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Dealing with the police can be a frustrating experience in any country. Minor traffic offenses are often ignored and when a crime is reported, often nothing seems to be done. Weeks or months can go by with no apparent effort to arrest perpetrators and put them behind bars. Most people can do little but sit and fume at…
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Lucky four-eared feline catnapped
PATHUM THANI: The owners of a four-eared cat fear that their pet has been kidnapped, after the feline mysteriously disappeared following a story in a national newspaper highlighting the luck the homeless kitty had brought its owners after they rescued it from the side of the road. The missing cat, named Jao Chom Jan (“the one who admires the moon”),…
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Mischievous monkey meddlers meet their match
SRISAKET: A man was arrested in the early hours of February 21 for kidnapping monkeys from a popular tourist spot in Rasi Salai District. Police believe the monkeys were to be smuggled to Korea, to be eaten for perceived health-giving benefits.At 3:30 am, Pol Lt Col Wisanu Reuangsri, an investigating officer at Rasi Salai District Police Station, received a phone…
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