News

Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.

  • Sponsored

    Experience Bangkok from a new perspective with Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel

    Bangkok surely knows how to dazzle. Down by the Chao Phraya River, the pace slows as boats drift past temples and heritage buildings. High above the skyline, the city spreads out in a glittering patchwork of lights and towers. The...

  • Bangkok rolls out new ‘user-friendly’ bus stop signs | Thaiger

    Bangkok rolls out new ‘user-friendly’ bus stop signs

    The Bangkok Governor says the installation of 30 new “user-friendly” bus stop signs around the city will help save people from getting lost. Aswin Kwanmuang says the idea was presented during Bangkok Design Week last year by a civic group called May Day. Both sides of the signs show the numbers of the buses on the route, emergency phone numbers and…

  • 47 year old shot dead in Narathiwat over drug conflict | Thaiger

    47 year old shot dead in Narathiwat over drug conflict

    A man was shot and killed in Narathiwat last night over an alleged drug-trafficking conflict. Police believe the death is not part of the southern insurgency that has continues to plague Thailand’s deep South for more than a decade. “But the killers may want to disguise their crime as a security case,” according to police. The shooting was reported to…

  • Search continues for man who jumped from Sarasin Bridge in Phuket | Thaiger

    Search continues for man who jumped from Sarasin Bridge in Phuket

    The search for a Phuket man who jumped off the Sarasin Bridge yesterday is continuing. Kokkloi Police in Phang Nga were notified of the man who jumped from the Sarasin Bridge (southbound) yesterday early afternoon. Police and rescue workers arrived to find his Honda motorbike parked on the side of the bridge road. Nearby they found a pair of shoes. Rescue…

  • Shooting yourself in the foot, literally – Suvarnabhumi police station | Thaiger

    Shooting yourself in the foot, literally – Suvarnabhumi police station

    A gun cleaner has shot himself in the leg outside Bangkok’s main airport police station. The 40 year old gun cleaner, Damrongkiat, a trader who sells uniforms and insignia to police and cleans their weapons, had already worked on three guns at the time without any problems. Next it was a Glock 9mm. Damrongkiat says he forgot to remove the…

  • Netflix scores production coup with major documentary about cave rescue | Thaiger

    Netflix scores production coup with major documentary about cave rescue

    The world’s leading TV streaming service ‘Netflix’ is bringing the drama of the Tham Luang cave rescue to the small screen. The 13 young football players will net around 3 million baht each, with other monies going to other volunteer services and foundations. The international rescue of the 13 young footballers, who were trapped for nearly two weeks in a…

  • Bangkok gold shop thief gets away with jewellry valued at 3 million baht | Thaiger

    Bangkok gold shop thief gets away with jewellry valued at 3 million baht

    by Kittipong Maneerit A gold shop at a Big C in Rama 4, Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district, was robbed yesterday afternoon.Police are searching for a man in his mid-30s, wearing a shaggy wig, who stole gold ornaments worth a combined 3 million baht.The thief is described by police as about 35, 170 centimetres in height, heavyset and wearing a wig…

  • Government considers blanket alcohol bans on April 13 | Thaiger

    Government considers blanket alcohol bans on April 13

    There’s a 24 hour ban on alcohol on the weekend preceding AND the actual election weekend this month. And next month is Songkran with the Government mooting possible blanket bans on Songkran day, April 13. This year the Government says they want an alcohol ban on the biggest annual holiday for Thais. It’s also part of the week when there…

  • UPDATE: Arrest warrant issued for Patong taxi driver killer | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Arrest warrant issued for Patong taxi driver killer

    An arrest warrant has been issued for the taxi driver who shot dead a fellow driver in Patong yesterday morning. The Patong Police were notified of the incident at 10.20am at a taxi stand on Phra Metta Road in Patong. Read more about yesterday’s daylight murder HERE and an update HERE. The Phuket Provincial Police Investigator Chief Col Akanit Danpitaksard says, “At…

  • Two more king cobras caught in Kathu, Phuket – VIDEO | Thaiger

    Two more king cobras caught in Kathu, Phuket – VIDEO

    PHOTOS: Pannakorn Pongpao/Kathu Rescue Foundation/Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation Two 3-5 five metre king cobras have been caught at a Burmese worker’s house in Kathu, close to where another of the large reptiles was caught last weekend. Read more about the first snake caught in and around the camp HERE. Kusoldharm Rescue workers were notified that a king cobra was discovered by a…

  • Phuket hotels under pressure to perform | Thaiger

    Phuket hotels under pressure to perform

    by Bill Barnett C9 Hotelworks Despite registering a record high 9 million passenger arrivals at the island’s gateway international airport in 2018, performance data is indicating that a slowdown in its double-digit growth rates over the past few years is on the horizon for Thailand’s resort destination of Phuket. While airport arrivals grew 8% year-on-year, the gains posted were at…

  • “Might undermine the Thai constitutional monarchy” – Charter Court | Thaiger

    “Might undermine the Thai constitutional monarchy” – Charter Court

    The Constitutional Court has disbanded the Thai Raksa Chart Party for nominating a member of the Royal Family as its candidate for PM in the forthcoming election. The ruling said that such a move “might undermine” the Thai constitutional monarchy system, which placed the monarchy above politics. The court ruled unanimously to dissolve the party under Article 92 of the…

  • Bangkok’s Asoke overpass closes for maintenance | Thaiger

    Bangkok’s Asoke overpass closes for maintenance

    BKK motorists, put these dates in your diary. The busy Asoke Overpass at Bangkok’s Phetchburi-Ratchadapisek intersection will be closed from March 9 to September 4. A source at the BMA says the overpass will be closed for maintenance and upgrades to the structures capacity. They say the six month closure will allow major strengthening of the 40 year old overpass,…

  • Tourist ransacks hotel bathroom before falling from second floor | Thaiger

    Tourist ransacks hotel bathroom before falling from second floor

    An unidentified western tourist has ransacked a Pattaya hotel toilet before injuring three policemen who tried to arrest him. The tourist was then badly injured when he fell from the second floor of the hotel trying to escape through a window of the hotel in South Pattaya. Police, at this stage, have been unable to identify the man and are…

  • Three men arrested and 1.2 million methamphetamine pills seized | Thaiger

    Three men arrested and 1.2 million methamphetamine pills seized

    by Kornkamon Aksorndech | PHOTOS: The Nation Three men have been arrested on suspicion on trafficking 1,214,000 meth pills in raids on two houses in tambon Bang Khamod in Saraburi’s Ban Mor district. Saraburi is north-east of Bangkok. The suspects, 34 year old Thawat Meechob, 28 year old Narin La-ongsin and 31 year old Nipat Waraput were arrested at the…

  • UPDATE: Taxi driver shot dead in Patong | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Taxi driver shot dead in Patong

    A taxi driver was shot and killed in Patong this morning, apparently over an ongoing dispute at a taxi rank they worked at together. Patong police headed to the scene at 10.20am on Phra Metta Road (aka. Phang Muang Sai Kor Road) in Patong (third road back from the beach). The incident occurred at a make-shift taxi stand between The Marina…

  • Italian man attacked with a hammer in road rage incident | Thaiger

    Italian man attacked with a hammer in road rage incident

    Police are hunting for a Thai motorist who attacked an Italian motorcyclist with a hammer in Chon Buri, breaking his arm. The victim was 40 year old Denti Samuele who was taken to the Chon Buri Hospital after the assault. The incident happened in front of the Lotus shopping mall in Tambon Samed, Chon Buri last night around 10pm. The…

  • Woman decapitated as Bangkok bus careers out of control off bridge downramp | Thaiger

    Woman decapitated as Bangkok bus careers out of control off bridge downramp

    PHOTOS: matichon.co.th A 33 year old woman has died after a bus, on Route 115 in Bangkok, suffered ‘brake failure’ (sigh) on the down-ramp of a bridge in Bangkapi, Bangkok. Thai Rath describes the grisly scene as the victim’s decapitated body lay in the middle of the road and human remains splattering roadside vendors. ‘Benjawan Muangkate’ had been crushed between…

  • Drunk woman recovered from lagoon in Rassada | Thaiger

    Drunk woman recovered from lagoon in Rassada

    PHOTOS: Tan Promedic Phuket Police have reported that a drunk woman walked straight into a lagoon in Rassada last night. Rescue workers helped to bring her back to shore before she drowned. She was rambling about wanting to see a mythical creature. Kusoldharm rescue worker were notified at 10.30pm that someone had walked into the lagoon in Soi Paneang in…

  • Weather for March 7 | Thaiger

    Weather for March 7

    Bangkok Partly cloudy. High 34ºC. Winds S at 15 to 25 km/h. Phuket Partly cloudy. High 32ºC. Winds NW at 15 to 30 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 37ºC. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. Pattaya Partly cloudy. High 31ºC. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 km/h. Hua Hin Generally clear. High 33ºC. Winds SE at 15 to…

  • Cooking spotted eagle ray is OK – Fisheries spokesperson | Thaiger

    Cooking spotted eagle ray is OK – Fisheries spokesperson

    “The use of spotted eagle rays as a main ingredient in a reality TV cooking show is not illegal, though the aquatic animal should be conserved rather than consumed.” This from the Deputy Fisheries Department Director General Arunchai Puthcharoen. He referred to controversy over the use of eagle rays as the main ingredient in the Thai MasterChef program, raising concerns…

  • Two lawyers killed in alleged hit and run – Surin | Thaiger

    Two lawyers killed in alleged hit and run – Surin

    Police say a road incident where two lawyers were killed and the driver injured in Surin province’s Sangkha district, might have been a hit and run. Duangthip Hangchaidee and Issara Charoenpittaya were killed and their driver 30 year old driver Napat Plobmuang was injured in yesterday’s accident on the main road in Ban Nong Yoh village, Tambon Takong. Duangthip’s body…

  • Security tight ahead of Thai Raksa Chart verdict | Thaiger

    Security tight ahead of Thai Raksa Chart verdict

    Security is tight this morning in and around the Constitutional Court building as the court is due to deliver its verdict on the fate of the pro-Thaksin Thai Raksa Chart party. Four sniffer dogs, special-forces police and a bomb disposal team thoroughly searched the area of the court building for firearms and explosives. The number of surveillance cameras has been…

  • 206 motorcyclists fined 1000 baht in one hour for riding on footpath | Thaiger

    206 motorcyclists fined 1000 baht in one hour for riding on footpath

    “Excuse me Sir, may I relieve you of 1,000 baht for riding on the footpath?” Is it a new crackdown on motorcyclists riding on the footpaths in Bangkok? Thong Lor police say they stopped and fined 206 motorcyclists in just sixty minutes for using the sidewalk in front of Terminal 21 in Asoke. Daily News reports that police teamed up…

  • Three Chinese arrested for working as photographers in wedding shoot | Thaiger

    Three Chinese arrested for working as photographers in wedding shoot

    Three foreigners have been arrested for illegally working as pre-wedding photographers and assistants in Chalong . Officers arrested three Chinese for illegally working as pre-wedding photographers at the Wat Chalong yesterday. The arrest follow officers receiving a tip-off that there were foreigners doing photos shoots for pre-wedding pics at the popular Chalong Temple. There were three couples who were having…

  • Muslim man shot and wounded on the Thai/Malaysia border | Thaiger

    Muslim man shot and wounded on the Thai/Malaysia border

    Police in Narathiwat are as yet to ascertain whether political or personal motives were behind a shooting in Sungai Kolok district this morning that left a Muslim man severely wounded. Sungai Kolok is on the Thai/Malaysian border. 29 year old Rusalan Do, a resident of Moo 1 in the Rangae district, was shot four times – in the torso, right thigh…

  • Kite protest as Samui airport’s neighbors demand more compensation | Thaiger

    Kite protest as Samui airport’s neighbors demand more compensation

    Ten neighbours living adjacent to privately owned Koh Samui airport, unhappy with compensation offers over the noise, have sent up a fleet of kites in protest to blockade the end of the runway. Soldiers and police were called to Samui International Airport to sort out today’s protest. Many of the airport’s neighbours have accepted the offer of 50 million baht…

  • ‘No homosexuals in Malaysia” – Malaysian Tourism, Arts and Culture minister | Thaiger

    ‘No homosexuals in Malaysia” – Malaysian Tourism, Arts and Culture minister

    Malaysian minister grilled in Germany over policy on gays, Jews ahead of travel fair Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi has caused ripples in Germany after making an ill-informed remark about homosexuality. “Homosexuality? I don’t think we have such a thing in our country.” “I cannot answer whether it’s safe or not,” he was quoted as saying by…

  • Three dead and nine injured after truck brake failure in Sa Kaeo – VIDEO | Thaiger

    Three dead and nine injured after truck brake failure in Sa Kaeo – VIDEO

    SCREENSHOT: Facebook/อนันชัย พูพิลึก Three people are dead, nine people are injured and five vehicles have been damaged after a truck’s brakes failed in Sa Kaeo, near the Cambodian border. Thairath reports that the accident happened in Sa Kaeo yesterday. The truck collided head on with five vehicles as it sped down a hill. One of the sedans caught fire after…

  • Enthusiastic Dutch lover gets his marching orders in Koh Samui | Thaiger

    Enthusiastic Dutch lover gets his marching orders in Koh Samui

    SCREENSAVE: Channel Seven News A Dutch man, who fell fell in love with a Thai female staffer at the resort where he was staying in Koh Samui, wouldn’t take no for an answer. The incident is reported to have happened at the Lamai Hill Villa. Channel Seven news says the issue became an obsession for him, convinced his good looks would…

  • Where there’s fire, there’s smoke – Lampang mountains | Thaiger

    Where there’s fire, there’s smoke – Lampang mountains

    Adding to the air pollution woes of the north, bushfires have been keeping state firefighters and volunteers busy trying to control the outbreaks in the mountains east of Chiang Mai and north of Lampang. The efforts yesterday were to battle a front of multiple fires in Doi Phra Baht forest in Lampang’s Muang district. Fires have been erupting in multiple…