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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Government says Thailand records three meningococcal deaths
The Thai government said today, March 22, that it has instructed the Department of Disease Control (DDC) to closely monitor an outbreak of meningococcal disease in the United Kingdom, with three deaths reported in Thailand. Deputy government spokesperson Airin Phanrit said information from international health bodies, including the UK Health Security Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and…
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Police called after naked man walks into Khon Kaen petrol station
Police in Khon Kaen took a man into custody and sent him to the hospital today, March 22, after staff at a petrol station reported a naked man inside the premises, with rescuers saying he may have been experiencing a mental health episode. The incident was reported at about 11.30am at a PT station in Nong Kung Thanasan subdistrict, Phu…
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Thailand to cut visa-free stay to 30 days, Foreign Ministry says
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry is preparing to ask the government to cut the visa-free stay for eligible foreign tourists from 60 days to 30 days, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkaeo said on March 20. Sihasak said the 60-day visa exemption policy was introduced under the government of Srettha Thavisin to support Thai tourism, which he noted remains important to the country’s economic…
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Bangkok arrests 16 foreign women over alleged prostitution
A late-night prostitution crackdown in Bangkok led to 16 arrests on March 20 after complaints on social media alleged a group of foreign women were approaching visitors to offer sexual services on Sukhumvit Soi 4. The joint operation took place at about 8.30 pm in Khlong Toei district. Officers from Lumpini Police Station worked alongside officials from the Department of…
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Samut Sakhon fishing crisis: fuel price hike forces boats to dock
Samut Sakhon fishermen face dockings as ‘green oil’ price rises 6.5 baht per litre The Samut Sakhon fishing industry is under mounting financial pressure as the price of ‘green oil’ rises by 6.5 baht per litre on March 22, forcing many fishermen to dock their boats and prompting growing calls for government intervention. Mongkhon Mongkhontrilak, chairman of the Samut Sakhon…
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1.3 million meth pills worth 39 million baht found by Mekong
A village security team patrolling the banks of the Mekong River in Nong Khai province discovered three large packages containing around 1.3 million methamphetamine pills worth over 39 million baht on March 20. Police believe the drugs were part of a trafficking network’s attempt to move narcotics deeper into the country. The find was announced at a press conference at…
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Department of Disease Control targets online nicotine pouch sellers
Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) has lodged a complaint over the alleged online sale of nicotine pouches, after monitoring found the products were being advertised and sold digitally, with further checks pointing to a physical shop in Pathum Thani. Speaking yesterday, March 21, deputy director-general of the DDC Anek Moong-om-klang said that on March 17, he assigned investigators at…
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Teen severely beaten in Saraburi over 90 baht debt
A 15 year old girl in Saraburi suffered a fractured skull after being beaten by a group of four teenagers, reportedly over an unpaid debt of 90 baht for a shirt. The victim, known by the pseudonym Mook, was found with bruising across her face and body. She is currently receiving treatment at Saraburi Hospital. Her 58 year old grandmother,…
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Senate committee to vote on revoking Thailand-Cambodia land pact
A special Senate committee is set to vote on Monday, March 24 on whether to recommend cancelling the Thailand-Cambodia Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 43, which covers land boundary demarcation. This follows the committee’s earlier vote to recommend scrapping MoU 44, which pertains to maritime and offshore areas. Noppadol Inna, chairman of the Senate committee evaluating the pros and cons of…
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Thai election commission defends ballot design amid court scrutiny
Thailand’s Election Commission (EC) has defended its use of barcodes and QR codes on election ballots, insisting that voting remains free, fair, and confidential amid growing scrutiny over the practice. The Constitutional Court is currently reviewing a petition questioning whether these tracking features violate constitutional principles. EC Secretary-General Sawaeng Boonmee said the commission is awaiting a court summons to provide…
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Chinese national arrested in Bangkok for police impersonation scam
A Chinese national has been arrested at a Bangkok hotel on suspicion of impersonating a police officer to extort millions of baht from Thai victims, following the earlier arrest of an accomplice. Police from Chachoengsao province, acting on a court warrant, detained the suspect in his room at a hotel in the Huai Khwang district yesterday. Officers seized 5,484,200 baht…
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Thai influencer sentenced for online gambling promotion
A 24 year old social media influencer has been sentenced to six months in prison for promoting an illegal online gambling website to her nearly one million followers. Narumon “Mind” was found to have used her Facebook account, verified by Meta and boasting over 740,000 followers, to advertise a gambling site through her story posts in exchange for significant payments.…
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Severe weather warning issued for 40 Thai provinces
Thailand’s Meteorological Department has warned of severe weather tomorrow, with thunderstorms, hail, and strong winds forecast across 40 provinces, with the northeast among the worst-affected regions. Over the next 24 hours, the upper part of Thailand will experience hot daytime weather. Rainfall is set to increase in the northeast and east, with thunderstorms, strong winds, and occasional hail forecast for…
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Finland tops World Happiness Report in 2026, Thailand slips 3 places
Finland has been ranked the world’s happiest country for a ninth consecutive year in the World Happiness Report 2026, while Thailand fell three places from 49th last year to 52nd this year. The report, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford on March 19, said the top three countries were Finland, Iceland and Denmark. Costa Rica…
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Thai man rapes and blackmails ex-girlfriend over unpaid debt
A Thai man surrendered to Bangkok police after he raped his ex-girlfriend in a public bathroom and later blackmailed her with the explicit videos to pressure her over an unpaid debt of about 700,000 baht. The suspect, 28 year old Jirapas Kangwankrai, turned himself in at Tha Kham Police Station on Wednesday, March 18, after public attention intensified over a…
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Chinese man blacklisted for filing fake theft to Chiang Mai police
A Chinese man is suspected of filing a fake theft complaint in Chiang Mai in an attempt to obtain a police document for an insurance claim before leaving Thailand. Officers from Mueang Chiang Mai Police Station were alerted of a snatching at 11.40pm on March 17 by a 33 year old Chinese man, Xiao. He reported that the crime occurred…
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SRT Red Line Salaya–Nakhon Pathom extension mapped for 2033 opening
Thailand’s State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is advancing plans for the Red Line Salaya–Nakhon Pathom extension, a proposed 25.3-kilometre route with a target opening year of 2033. SRT is also moving ahead with two Red Line extensions scheduled to begin construction in 2026, with contract signings planned for March and June 2026. The projects include the northern extension from Rangsit…
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Naked foreigner held for public disturbance and property damage in Pattaya
Police arrested a naked foreigner in Pattaya after causing a roadside disturbance and damaging a decorative statue outside a resident’s home. Officers from Mueang Pattaya Police Station were called to Thap Phaya Road near Soi Phra Tamnak 5 after reports of a naked foreign man walking along the street and appearing heavily intoxicated. His identity and nationality were not disclosed. Police said the…
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Four paedos nabbed in CCIB child pornography crackdown
As part of a nationwide child pornography crackdown, Thailand’s cyber police have raided and arrested four suspects accused of producing, possessing, sharing and selling obscene material involving children online. The Commander of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), Police Lieutenant General Surapol Prembutr, ordered an intensified crackdown on child pornography circulating on the internet and posing a threat to children and…
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Thailand News | Parliament elects Anutin as Thailand’s Prime Minister, rare 25-Satang Coin from 1999 valued at 5,000 Baht
Today we’ll be talking about Thailand’s parliament electing a new prime minister, a viral moment of a man riding a horse in Ang Thong, and Bangkok’s safety plans for Khao San Road ahead of Songkran 2026.We’ll also cover an online debate over whether Thailand is overrated, a tourist brawl in Patong, and a rare 25-satang coin now valued at thousands…
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Netherlands Embassy Bangkok relocation set for August
The Embassy of the Netherlands in Thailand announced it will relocate its Bangkok office to Dusit Central Park in August, ending its long-standing presence on Wireless Road, one of the city’s prime areas. The embassy is currently based on a 32,000-square-metre plot in Soi Tonson off Wireless Road (Witthayu Road), an area known for its greenery and concentration of major…
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Thai ex-cabin crew gets hate from South Korean netizens after resigning
A Thai woman drew abusive comments from South Korean social media users after resigning from Korean Air and posting a farewell message on Instagram featuring photos of herself in a flight attendant uniform. The former Korean Air flight attendant, identified only as Jam, shared the images on her Instagram account, @jammamyy, on February 28. In the caption, she wrote, “Once…
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Ang Thong man rides horse through village in search of petrol
A horse farm owner in Ang Thong today, March 19, resorted to riding his horse through his village with a fuel can to search for petrol, after vehicles used to feed and transport horses ran out of fuel. The incident took place at Cowboy Farm in Ban Phran subdistrict, Sawaeng Ha district, where the farm’s owner, San Kongwet, said he…
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Thai woman reports missing accessories after Bangkok to Shanghai flight
A Thai woman shared her experience online to warn other travellers after she said designer accessories went missing from her suitcase during a flight from Bangkok to China. The woman posted in the Facebook group เที่ยวเà¸à¸‡à¹€à¸‹à¸µà¹ˆà¸¢à¸‡à¹„ฮ้ Shanghai (travel to Shanghai on your own) on Monday, March 16. She said the incident happened on a trip from Suvarnabhumi International Airport to…
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Labour Ministry confirms Thai worker killed in attack in Israel
A Thai national working in Israel was killed yesterday, March 18, amid escalating conflict in the region, prompting Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to urge Thai citizens to move away from high-risk areas for safety. Labour Minister Trinuch Thienthong said today, March 19, that officials at the Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv confirmed the death of the Thai worker, Chaiwat…
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Seven Chinese nationals arrested in illegal entry transit case
Immigration police in Kanchanaburi arrested seven Chinese nationals yesterday morning, March 18, after a search at a rented room in Kaeng Sian as part of an operation targeting illegal entry networks that use Thailand as a transit route. The arrests followed an expanded investigation ordered by senior Immigration Bureau commanders, after investigators previously detained three Chinese nationals for allegedly entering…
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Rare 25-satang coin from 1999 valued at up to 5,000 baht
A Thai jewellery shop has offered to pay up to 5,000 baht for a rare 25-satang coin, provided it was minted in 1999 (B.E. 2542), prompting many to search old containers in hopes of finding the rare coin. Panan Jewellery, a famous coin-buying shop, posted a video on its Facebook page saying it is buying 25-satang coins from that year…
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Loei Hospital theft uncovered after ventilator stands found in river, a year later
Parts of medical equipment found in the Loei River led police to uncover a theft of ventilators from Loei Hospital. A medical worker is named as the suspect and remains at large. Residents reported to officers at Mueang Loei Police Station on March 17 after discovering parts of medical equipment in the river under a bridge in Kud Pong sub-district. Later,…
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Chinese fraud suspect caught after trying to hide with sacred tattoo
A Chinese man was arrested yesterday, March 18, at a ritual site in Khon Kaen, where he attempted to get a sacred tattoo, hoping it would help him hide from the arrest. Officers from Immigration Division 4 were alerted by Chinese officials about a Chinese suspect wanted for fraud. The suspect, later identified only as Shang, was accused of running…
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2 men leave 2 transwomen at Pattaya hotel without paying
Two men escaped from a hotel in Pattaya, leaving behind two Thai transwomen at the accommodation without paying on March 17. The 52 year old woman, Wan, who runs a hotel in the Jomtien area, shared CCTV footage of the suspects with The Pattaya News. She said one man was Thai, while the second was believed to be Chinese. Wan…
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