Northern Thailand News
Northern Thailand news, Chiang Mai news, business, tourism, and culture—stay updated with breaking stories, local events, and travel insights from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pai, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Northern Thailand news source.
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Sponsored Thailand vs. the West: What expats save on healthcare each year
Healthcare in Thailand is much cheaper than in Western countries, making it a great choice for expatriates looking for affordable medical care. Both public and private healthcare options offer high-quality services, with savings of up to 80% on procedures like...
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Buriram policeman charged over shooting of neighbour
A policeman, working in the east of Buriram province in Thailand’s north east, has been charged with attempted murder of his neighbour. The victim was shot in a dispute over the man’s son and the playing of loud music in the Krasang district. 53 year old local policeman, Snr Sgt Maj Chaiyong Jaemrungroj, surrendered to the station’s senior officer yesterday. He…
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Dengue on the rise in the northeast, wet season worries
As if you haven’t got enough to worry about. For now, Covid-19 is largely under control here in the Land of Smiles, but the annual worries around the wet season and Dengue Fever are an ongoing nuisance. Whilst Covid-19 is getting all the headlines, Dengue is a clear and present danger for anyone living in Thailand, especially at this time…
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Police arrest 16 Chinese nationals for illegal crossing from Myanmar
Police in the northern province of Tak have detained 16 Chinese nationals accused of crossing illegally into Thailand from Myanmar. The suspects say they’ve lost their jobs as casino workers as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. Thai Residents reports that officials found the group floating in the Moey river, which borders Thailand and Myanmar. It’s understood some of them…
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Rare big cats spotted in Thai national park
The Facebook page of Khlong Lan National Park in Thailand’s northwestern Kamphaeng Phet province, report that camera traps, set up to track the population of tigers, instead managed to capture a sighting of a black panther and leopard. “The appearance of the panther and leopard prove that the forest has become more abundant and attracted the return of these animals…
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Posters of missing persons removed by Ubon University security
Prompted by the abduction of Thai activist Wanchalearm Satisakit in Cambodia, a student group called “Kob Plerng” (คบแพลิง) at Isaan’s Ubon Ratchatani University put up a string of posters of people assumed to be abducted by the Thai state. They were removed by university security this week. Ubon Ratchatani is one of the four major city centres in Isaan, north…
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Over 1,400 arrested, fined for illegal motorbike races in Udon Thani
In a move reminiscent of last week’s public shaming in Chon Buri, police in the northern province of Udon Thani have hired a local steamroller to destroy hundreds of illegally modified motorcycle mufflers. More than 1,400 alleged street racers were arrested and almost 370 motorcycles seized in a week long crackdown on illegal racing in the province. Udon Thani’s police…
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Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai highway closed by flooding again – VIDEO
There seems no end in sight for the construction of the Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai highway as yet another night of severe rains caused massive flooding in the Doi Saket district. The bypass and the road were underwater, creating a traffic pandemonium. The police came to the scene and began suggesting alternative routes. As the waters subsided the road was opened again,…
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Millions of meth pills, tonnes of marijuana seized in 3 major drug hauls
In what is becoming an increasingly common story, police have announced the seizure of millions of methamphetamine pills (ya ba) and more than 2 tonnes of marijuana, among other types of illicit drugs, in 3 major anti-drug operations last week. The head of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau told a press briefing that drug agencies confiscated nearly 1.5 million methamphetamine pills,…
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Man fatally shot in hunting expedition
Authorities in Lamphun province, south of Chiang Mai, have arrested 29 year old Weerachai Rorwongtawan for allegedly shooting dead his friend, Phitsunu Tanupetchpan, while hunting with 2 other friends. The suspect told police he had invited his friends to go hunting with him, and that he and Phitsunu were in different areas of the forest. When he saw something moving…
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Millions headed home for holiday long weekend
The Transport Ministry says more than 2 million people used public transport on Friday, leading up to the Asahna Bucha Day and Buddhist Lent holiday weekend, to travel to their provincial homes. Some headed for a short domestic holiday. Asahna Bucha Day is today, while tomorrow marks the beginning Buddhist Lent. Because both fall on the weekend, Monday is a…
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Man arrested for triple fatal shooting in Nakhon Phanom
Police in the Isaan’s Nakhon Phanom have arrested a man for the shooting death of his wife and 2 of her family members. The suspect reportedly confessed he acted out of jealousy after learning his wife wanted to return to her ex-husband. 41 year old Noppadol Nuamsamlee was arrested shortly after the fatal shooting of his wife, 23 year old…
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Thousands arrested nationwide for illegal motorbike racing
Since the lifting of the national curfew on June 14, gangs of illegal street racers, known as “dek waen” or “vanz boys” have quickly returned to Thailand’s roads. From June 20-30, police arrested more than 5,600 racers and seized more than 17,700 bikes nationwide. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has warned against gatherings and street racing, and says that regardless of the…
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2 arrested in Isaan for methamphetamines, assets seized
Police in Isaan’s Nakhon Phanom province say they’ve arrested 2 men with 42,000 methamphetamine pills (“yaba”) and 100 grams of crystal methamphetamine (“ice”) in their possession, and seized their assets. The deputy provincial governor identified the pair as 29 year old Vichai Niwongsa and 45 year old Veerapong Ngaonoi, both from the Tha Uthen district. He says authorities followed the…
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1 dead, another injured in Nakhon Ratchasima shootings
One man is dead and another seriously wounded in separate shooting incidents this morning in the Khong district of the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, aka Korat. A suspect was detained for questioning who police believe committed both shootings in a drug deal gone bad. At about 4am police at Khong station learned a man had been shot and wounded…
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Dozens arrested in money laundering and drugs case
61 people have been arrested in one of Thailand’s biggest money laundering cases of the year, said to be worth more than 10 billion baht. The suspects are believed to be part of a drug syndicate and money laundering network, allegedly run by a 45 year old Chinese man identified as “Chien Ma,” who was caught earlier in Bangkok. Provincial…
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Family’s home seized over unpaid 17,000 baht student loan
A family’s home was seized for failing to pay back a 17,000 baht student debt. Not only were they kicked out of their home, but it was sold swiftly with little or no consultation with the family. The Phrae home in Northern Thailand was seized over the unpaid student loans. The family was later notified in a letter by the…
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Buriram father and son reunited after 16 year separation
An 83 year old man in the north-eastern province of Buriram has been reunited with the son he has not seen for 16 years, thanks to the local police force who were able to help tracking him down. The man, named in a Thai Residents report as Rit Bunpetch, is understood to be bedridden with gallstones and gout, and had…
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Garbage collectors find a bag full of meth
One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. A black rubbish bag thrown into rubbish bins wasn’t your typical garbage. Police say the bag, picked up by a garbage truck in Northeast Thailand, was full of methamphetamine pills. Along with 78,000 methamphetamine pills, police say the bag contained 2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, or ice. Police say the bag may have…
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Police ask man not to wear a shirt critical of the Thai monarchy
A man had decided to wear a shirt displaying text that says he lost faith in the Thai monarchy. Not surprisingly, he received a knock on his door from police officers. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights posted on their Facebook about the incident, saying the man was told not to wear the shirt again as it could cause “social chaos…
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Thai teenager dreams of being an architect, sells his artwork to earn tuition fees
A talented teenager in the north-eastern province of Kalasin has taken to painting landscapes of his local area and selling them to earn his university fees. 18 year old Krittamet Saisaen, known as “Earth”, dreams of being an architect, but the prohibitively expensive fees put that beyond his reach. Earth’s mother died 2 years ago, at which point his father…
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31 illegal Cambodian migrant workers apprehended in border town
Thai immigration authorities arrested 3 Thais and 31 illegal Cambodian migrants travelling in 3 pickup trucks in Sa Kaeo, about 200 kilometres east of Bangkok, near the Cambodian border yesterday morning. 4 other vehicles managed to evade officials. The Thais stand charged with assisting illegal migrant workers. They have been identified as 39 year old driver Yotha Nadkhiew, 42 year old…
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Korat restauranteur will change your perception of airline food
An entrepreneur in Isaan’s Nakhon Ratchasima province is transforming an old Airbus A330 jetliner (formerly flying with Thai Airways) into a restaurant, hoping his new business will take off after months of being ‘grounded’ by lockdown restrictions enforced by the Thai government. 33 year old Sirikorn Phimparat, manager of Airways Land, says the aircraft is now being refurbished as a…
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224 arrested in another Mae Sot gambling raid
Police raided a large and sophisticated online gambling operation, arresting more than 200 people at a hotel in the Mae Sot district in Northern Thailand, close to the Burmese border, as part of an on-going investigation into Chinese-related online gambling. Apparently, there was a crackdown on the illegal gambling in the Myanmar town Myawaddy, causing those involved to flee to…
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British expat petitions government to help desperate elephants, handlers
The closure of elephant camps and sanctuary-style tourist attraction throughout the northeastern provinces has left thousands of elephants facing starvation. Some have made the long march back to their home villages, where their arrival is creating more problems than it solves. Susan Field, a British citizen living in Koh Samui, yesterday presented a petition with nearly 65,000 signatures to the Thai…
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6 Pakistani nationals arrested for convenience store scam
Police in Chiang Rai have arrested 6 Pakistani nationals charged with scamming convenience stores around northern Thailand. Thai Residents reports that the men would hand over a 1,000 baht note to pay for an item in a convenience store and receive change. They would then claim they didn’t want the item after all and ask for their money back. The…
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Locals support young tourist stuck at Phrae forest retreat
A lot has happened in the past 4 months. Imagine being away from it all and staying in a forest in northern Thailand, picking mulberries. That’s what happened to an 18 year old Polish woman. She’s been stuck at a Phrae forest retreat since February. She’s secluded at the Mulberry Farm Denchai. The retreat’s Facebook page says the it’s for…
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Teacher sends questionnaire to students asking for their phone passwords and social media accounts
…and the school has since been forced to apologise. A teacher in Chiang Rai asked students to hand over passwords to their social media accounts and phones. But many have criticised the teacher saying it overstepped privacy boundaries. The school has since apologised and imposed stricter rules. The teacher gave students a questionnaire, asking them to fill out information about…
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Staff at Khon Kaen hospital call for transferred director to be reinstated
Following the transfer of Dr. Charnchai Chanvorachaikul, a former director at Khon Kaen hospital, in north-east Thailand, staff at the hospital are demanding their boss be reinstated in his role. Dr. Charnchai was transferred to the eastern province of Chanthaburi province amid, so far, unsubstantiated allegations of corruption. He has consistently denied the allegation that he accepted bribes from a…
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Monk chases pregnant woman and kills her in Buriram
Investigating a fatal stabbing in Buriram yesterday, police now believe the woman who was stabbed by an Abbot, had been blackmailing him after having an affair. The fatal stabbing happened on a road near Ban Mai Charoensuk in Tum Yai, in northern Buriram yesterday afternoon, following a road incident. The victim, 36 year old “Lampai”, was 8 months pregnant Eyewitnesses…
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Dengue fever outbreak sickens nearly 6,000 Thai kids
While the Covid-19 outbreak is easing in Thailand, there is growing alarm over a nationwide outbreak of dengue fever, which has sickened nearly 6,000 children already this year. On June 2, Thailand had recorded 15,385 cases of dengue fever, which killed 11 people, according to the director-general of the Department of Disease Control. More than a third of those cases,…
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