Pattaya News
Pattaya news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s coastal entertainment hub. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Pattaya news source.
-
Sponsored Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
-
Vape and cig racket busted at Pattaya weed shop
A cannabis shop on Pattaya Beach Road has been exposed as a front for selling illegal vapes and foreign cigarettes, with cops seizing hundreds of illicit products in a dramatic police raid. Officers from Pattaya Police, in collaboration with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), swooped on the Dr Weed cannabis store in the heart of the popular resort town, uncovering…
-
No sex on the beach: Cops go nuts for ‘coconut tree’ sex workers
More than 50 alleged sex workers were rounded up along Pattaya Beach last night in a dramatic police sweep, just over a week after furious residents branded previous crackdowns a “PR stunt.” Officers stormed the beachfront at 9.06pm, yesterday, May 21, in a coordinated operation aimed at flushing out the illegal trade tarnishing the city’s tourist image. The move came…
-
High spirits: Russian tourist leaps to death fleeing ‘ghost’ in Pattaya
A Russian tourist high on marijuana plunged to his death from a Pattaya condo after telling a security guard he was being hunted by a murderous ghost with “bulging eyes.” The 27 year old man, named only as Mikhail, had been smoking heavily when he became convinced a phantom was trying to murder him. He ran frantically around the building…
-
Thai bank workers in baht-tle: Dodgy staff ‘cashed in’ on scam
Three Thai bank workers have been cuffed after allegedly helping a Chinese-run scam gang launder a jaw-dropping 2.2 billion baht, through a web of fake accounts. The dodgy trio, who worked at a branch in Pattaya, are accused of turning a blind eye while 15 Chinese nationals, all posing as tourists, opened bank accounts and swiftly drained millions in cash…
-
Pattaya’s diners crisis boils over as costs soar
Pattaya’s vibrant dining scene, once a culinary magnet for locals and tourists alike, is now being battered by a wave of soaring costs, and some restaurant owners say 2025 is shaping up to be even worse than the Covid-19 era. A toxic mix of rising gas prices, skyrocketing raw ingredient costs, labour shortages, and sluggish consumer spending is turning up…
-
Police links cases: 2 Thai teenagers sexually assaulted in Pattaya
Two Thai teenagers filed a sexual assault complaint with Mueang Pattaya Police Station at a similar time in the early hours of this morning. The perpetrator is suspected to be the same person. The first victim, 20 year old Dao, arrived at the police station with her colleague at 2.21am, today, May 21, to report the rape and theft. The…
-
Stark raving nude: Naked men run riot on Pattaya streets
Pattaya locals were left gobsmacked this week after not one, but two stark-naked men caused chaos on the streets, one reportedly defecating near schools, the other hurling furniture at cops in a midnight meltdown. Concerned residents in Bang Lamung district, Chon Buri, are calling for urgent action after a homeless man, believed to be around 50, was repeatedly spotted wandering…
-
Pattaya waitresses battered by foreigner in beach bar bust-up
Two Pattaya waitresses were left bloodied and bruised after a polite request to “keep it down” sparked a violent seaside scrap, with beer bottles flying and tourists looking on in horror. The two waitresses have gone public with shocking claims of a violent attack that broke out after they asked a rowdy group to lower their voices during a quiet…
-
Pattaya cracks top 10 safest cities in ASEAN
In a surprising twist that’s turning heads across Southeast Asia, Pattaya, long known for its wild nightlife, has been named one of the Top 10 Safest Cities in ASEAN for 2025. The ranking, released by Numbeo, a global database that tracks cost of living and quality of life, placed Pattaya at 9th with a Safety Index score of 53.9. The…
-
Cops bust Pattaya branch linked to Chinese scam syndicate
Pattaya locals were left stunned yesterday when more than 20 police officers—some in uniform, others in plainclothes—stormed a bank on Sukhumvit Road in a dramatic midday raid. The operation, linked to an investigation into a massive Chinese call centre scam network, sent shockwaves through the city’s financial and expat communities. The surprise raid was spearheaded by Major General Thirachai Chamnan,…
-
Transwoman nicked after Pattaya Beach brawl with Israeli tourist
A Thai transwoman who fled the scene of a violent late-night brawl with an Israeli tourist has been arrested by Pattaya police. The suspect vanished shortly after chaos erupted on Pattaya Beach Road during the early hours, where at least five transgender women were caught on video attacking an Israeli tourist in a black T-shirt. The row reportedly kicked off…
-
Dead tide: Mystery man washed up on Pattaya Beach
A chilling mystery is unfolding in Pattaya after the body of an unidentified man was found washed up on the sand late Sunday morning, just weeks after two similar tragedies struck Phuket. The victim, believed to be aged between 30 and 40, was discovered face down on Pattaya Beach opposite Soi 13, dressed in a black T-shirt with foreign writing…
-
Pattaya pushes ahead with Jomtien beachfront revamp
Pattaya’s development plan is gaining momentum, with Mayor Poramet Ngampichet inspecting progress on the Jomtien Beachfront Landscape Improvement Project. The facelift aims to create a more tourist-friendly and organised coastline, with completion targeted for late 2025. A key feature of the upgrade is a significant increase in public parking, expanding from just over 300 spaces to between 700 and 800.…
-
2 Israeli men and Pattaya transwomen fight over sex service deposit
A group of Thai transwomen and two Israeli men are facing charges following a physical altercation over a deposit for a sex service at Pattaya Beach Road earlier today, May 19. The incident was caught on a viral video shared across Thai social media platforms. One of the foreign men was wearing a black T-shirt and shorts, while the other…
-
South Korean man cut on face by steel plate on Pattaya footpath
A South Korean man sustained a serious facial injury yesterday, May 18, in Pattaya, after he accidentally walked into a protruding piece of a galvanised steel plate on a footpath, illegally placed by a nearby construction site. Rescuers from the Sawang Borriboon Thammasathan Foundation responded to the incident on a footpath along Pattaya Sai Sam Road at around 10.30pm. The…
-
Naked Russian man escapes hospital, causes chaos in Pattaya
A naked Russian man escaped from a hospital in Pattaya and caused chaos near Naklua Market just as the clocks struck midnight yesterday, May 18. Officers from Bang Lamung Police Station were called at 12.08am to apprehend the naked man, later identified as a Russian national aged between 30 and 40. He reportedly fled from a hospital near Naklua Market…
-
Thai women’s early morning fight rocks Pattaya’s Walking Street (video)
A brutal street fight between rival groups of Thai women erupted on Pattaya’s famous Walking Street, stunning foreign tourists and sparking social media frenzy. Today, May 17, at around 5am, six women were caught on camera violently clashing amid light rain in South Pattaya’s bustling nightlife district. The 42-second viral video shows the women punching, kicking, and grappling fiercely in the…
-
Miracle escape: Amulet saves driver in Chon Buri SUV crash
In a heart-stopping moment on a shadowy Chon Buri highway, a man’s SUV flipped onto its side — but against all odds, he walked away unscathed, crediting a sacred amulet for saving his life. At 10.36pm yesterday, May 16, Police Lieutenant Colonel Prakasit Phondech of Huai Yai Police Station was alerted to an accident on Highway 36, the Chon Buri-Rayong Bypass…
-
British man knifed and dumped near courthouse in Pattaya
A British man was left fighting for his life in a pool of blood outside a Pattaya courthouse after a brutal knife attack involving three foreigners, sparking a police manhunt and a flurry of questions over what led to the violent ambush. At around 5pm yesterday, May 16, Lieutenant Pakan Pobnan, Deputy Investigation Officer at Pattaya City Police Station, received a…
-
Steel carnage: Factory collapse crushes cars in Chon Buri horror
Panic erupted in Chon Buri today as part of a factory building came crashing down without warning, flattening vehicles and sending workers fleeing in terror. The collapse shook Amata City Industrial Estate Phase 10 in Phan Thong district, leaving behind a mangled mess of metal, dust, and debris. The incident occurred today, May 16, in the heart of one of…
-
Top Shanghai official tours Pattaya in tourism charm offensive
Pattaya rolled out the red carpet this week as a high-profile Chinese delegation arrived to explore what the city has to offer—and to send a strong message: Thailand is open, safe, and ready to welcome Chinese tourists back in droves. Yesterday afternoon, May 15, at the Garden Cliff Hotel, Pattaya Mayor Poramet Ngampichet and his secretary, Phumpipat Kamolnath, greeted Zhang…
-
Monk’s millions: Pattaya woman busted in gambling scandal
A scandal mixing faith, fortune, and online gambling has rocked Thailand, as police swooped in on a Pattaya condo to arrest a young woman linked to the disgraced abbot of Rai Khing Temple. The monk is accused of blowing more than 300 million baht of temple funds on online baccarat—and now the money trail has led straight to the resort…
-
Cone, not forgotten! Pattaya clamps down on parking space hogs
It’s the end of the road for selfish parking space hogs in Pattaya, as city officials crack down on cheeky locals and businesses reserving public roads with cones, chains and bins like it’s their private driveway. Pattaya’s war on illegal space-grabbing has kicked into high gear, with municipal officers hitting the streets to clear cones, barriers and random clutter dumped…
-
Splash and dash! Pattaya swamped as storm lashes city (video)
A torrential morning downpour left Pattaya swamped as a storm left roads underwater, traffic crawling, and snakes slithering into the chaos. The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) revealed that there’s more to come. A heavy rainstorm hammered Bang Lamung district in Chon Buri for over an hour starting at 9.36am, yesterday, May 14, flooding large swathes of Pattaya and grinding morning…
-
Brake-ing bad: Good Samaritan’s house guest nicks a ride
A Good Samaritan kindness nearly landed him in hot water, after the homeless man he took in turned out to be a sneaky thief with a stolen motorbike. The kindly man narrowly dodged legal drama after unknowingly harbouring a motorcycle thief under his own roof in Bang Lamung, Chon Buri. The drama unfolded yesterday, May 14, when 39 year old Suthep…
-
Kratom and disorderly: Pattaya bar raided over illegal jungle juice
A Pattaya bar has landed in hot water after being caught red-handed selling kratom-laced cocktails and operating without a licence during a late-night sting by police and district officials. At around 9pm, yesterday, May 13, a special operations team from Pattaya City Police, alongside Bang Lamung district officers, swooped on a buzzing beer bar in Nong Prue, Chon Buri. The…
-
Pattaya tour boat boss calls tourists ‘animals’ in foul-mouthed tirade
A Pattaya tour boat operator has been forced to issue a grovelling apology after being caught on camera swearing at a boatload of foreign tourists: calling them “animals” in a foul-mouthed rant that’s since gone viral. The shocking outburst unfolded aboard a Koh Larn Relax tour boat during a snorkelling trip to Koh Sak last Saturday afternoon, and was exposed…
-
Foreign beggar gang busted for using kids as cash bait in Pattaya
A foreign beggar gang using children and the disabled to pull in cash from tourists has been busted in a dramatic sting operation by immigration police in Pattaya. Undercover officers, posing as holidaymakers, swooped on a group of Cambodians spotted hustling money from passersby at popular tourist spots around the city. Some of the suspects were seen carrying two or…
-
Sex, lies and seaside sweeps: Pattaya cops accused of cover up
Pattaya cops are under fire after a recent crackdown on foreign sex workers along Pattaya Beach was branded a “PR stunt” by furious locals and expats, who say Thai officials are ignoring the city’s deeper problems while putting on a show for the cameras. On December 26, a joint operation between Pattaya Tourist Police, Chon Buri Immigration, and the Social…
-
Last orders: Drunk biker dies on booze run near Pattaya
A late-night booze dash ended in tragedy when a drunk biker was killed after losing control of his vehicle and slamming into a pickup truck on a deadly bend in Chon Buri near Pattaya. The 29 year old victim, a Thai construction worker, died in a horrific high-speed motorbike crash after heading out to buy more booze following a drinking…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.