The Hat Yai floods produced scenes of desperation and heartbreak this week, and among the most painful was the loss of four‑year‑old Amidala “Padme” Arayawat. The little girl’s body was recovered on November 27 — two days after she vanished from a rescue boat during a chaotic evacuation in the rising waters near Bangkok Hospital Hat Yai. The family’s ordeal began when floodwaters surged up Banja Road, swallowing streets and rising almost to the second floor of their home. Padme, her brother and their mother found themselves trapped as currents grew stronger by the hour. With rescuers unable to reach them immediately, Padme’s mother posted an urgent plea on social media, explaining she planned to swim to a neighbour’s higher ground if no help arrived. A rescue team eventually did reach them and loaded the family into a boat. But the river‑like currents in the flooded streets proved treacherous. As…
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Surat Thani immigration officers uncovered what they say was a carefully staged attempt to hide foreign ownership of a Koh Samui nightlife venue, leading to a formal complaint lodged on November 26 at Bo Phut Police Station. At the centre of the probe is 60-year-old British national Maxine Lisa Schwander and two Thai women named Ladda and Jirichuda, who investigators allege acted as nominee shareholders to mask outside control of a bar near Chaweng Beach. The venue, known as Sin by Night, reportedly offered dance shows and allowed customers to book specific performers — a familiar draw on the island’s bustling entertainment strip. But according to immigration officers, the bright lights and late-night crowds were hiding a breach of the Foreign Business Act: Schwander is accused of using Thai nationals as front shareholders so she could run the business despite restrictions on foreign ownership. Under Thailand’s Foreign Business Act, the…
Thai narcotics agents pulled off a cross-border sting that reads like a modern crime thriller — only this time the plot unfolded amid cardboard boxes, postal counters and luxury condominiums. In a coordinated crackdown, officers from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) and the Airport Interdiction Task Force (AITF) dismantled a trafficking network that had been using cleverly concealed parcels to ship heroin from Bangkok to Australia. Suspicious parcel at Suvarnabhumi sparks fast-moving probe The operation began where many international schemes do: at the airport. AITF officers inspecting outbound parcels at the Suvarnabhumi Airport Free Zone noticed something odd about one cardboard box bound for Australia. When they opened it, they found a hidden compartment — and inside, 1.52 kilogrammes of heroin. That single seizure triggered an immediate investigation aimed at finding who had packaged and shipped the drugs. What followed was a rapid series of arrests and…
When nature decides to stir up trouble, sometimes it does so with a side of scandal. During the catastrophic floods that swamped Hat Yai in Songkhla province, a Malaysian bank manager’s clandestine romance was swept into the open — not by sleuthing spouses or scandal-hungry tabloids, but by rising waters and a phone full of social posts. It all started with a message on Threads on November 24, posted by a woman identified only as Zara. She says she discovered the affair after a friend — the wife of one of four Malaysian men stranded in a hotel in Hat Yai — asked her to help check on the group. With roads cut and rescues in motion, Zara reached out to relatives in Thailand to verify the men’s safety. Hotel staff confirmed all four men were there, but one of them, the friend’s husband, was apparently sharing a room with…
The roar of engines might one day echo through Bangkok’s leafy heart. Thailand’s Sports Authority (SAT) has pulled back the curtain on a proposed Formula One street circuit that cuts a 5.732-kilometre clockwise ribbon through the Chatuchak district — a bold plan that blends high-octane spectacle with some of the capital’s most familiar sights. Imagine a lap that threads through eight headline locations: Krungthep Aphiwat Central Terminal, Mo Chit Bus Terminal, the world-famous Chatuchak Weekend Market, Queen Sirikit Park, Chatuchak Park, Vachirabenjatas Park (Suan Rot Fai), the PTT Public Company HQ and tracts of land owned by the State Railway of Thailand. Behind the Mo Chit Bus Terminal the design slots in the pit building and paddock — a neat logistical move that keeps the teams tucked right into the urban fabric. The layout promises a classic street-circuit feel. Expect long, breath-taking straights interrupted by tight, low-speed hairpins and technical…
A disturbing string of allegations has shaken parts of Bangkok’s nightlife and social media circles: a man who presented himself as a wealthy, high-society figure on Instagram is now accused of sexually assaulting at least four women after luring them to secluded spots across the city, according to a report filed with the local non-profit Saimai Survive on November 24. The pattern: charm, Instagram, and isolation According to Saimai Survive founder Ekkaphop Lueangprasert, two victims — a 19-year-old university student and a 25-year-old private company employee — first sought help from the organisation and later found that two more women came forward after their stories were posted online. At a press conference, both women recounted frightening, similar sequences: contact through social media or in nightlife settings, an appearance of wealth and influence, and then being taken to remote streets where they were allegedly attacked. The suspect reportedly cultivated a “hi-so”…
Under the neon halo of Koh Pha Ngan’s legendary party lights, an island that usually conjures images of carefree Full Moon revelry saw a grimmer, if quieter, drama unfold on the night of Sunday, November 23. Police acting on a tip-off raided a rented house in Ban Tai subdistrict and arrested a Chinese national accused of smuggling and selling party drugs to tourists — a bust that reads like a how-to guide for modern narcotics trade and, at the same time, a reminder of how swiftly the island’s underground economy can move behind closed doors. The takedown Local officers conducted undercover surveillance after receiving reports about a foreigner allegedly peddling narcotics from a private residence. The pattern was telling: a steady stream of foreign visitors at odd hours, a telltale sign that the property was functioning less like a home and more like a discreet party supply line. When police…
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a quiet corner of Samut Prakan turned into the scene of a violent scare: a blast, an overturned scooter and two teenage riders hurt outside the familiar glow of the Mali rice porridge restaurant in Mueang Bang Pla Kot. The incident, reported at about 1:30 a.m. in Phra Samut Chedi district, left the teens shaken and bleeding and set local police and volunteers scrambling for answers. Police Lieutenant Sunthorn Phimpanth from Phra Samut Chedi Police Station and rescuers from the Ruam Katanyu Foundation were among the first to arrive after callers reported an assault involving an explosive device. What greeted them was chilling in its small-scale chaos: a black Honda Zoomer‑X lying on its side, two boys aged 15 and 16 nursing cuts and bruises across their faces and bodies, and the lingering smell of smoke or burnt powder in the cool night…
Southern Thailand is wrestling with one of its fiercest deluges in decades, and communities from Hat Yai to Yala are feeling the strain. Rivers have swollen, low-lying neighborhoods are submerged, and thousands have been forced from their homes into temporary shelters. But amid rising waters, a powerful current of solidarity has surged from Phuket — neighbors, clubs, foundations and government agencies rowing in unison to get supplies, rescues and reassurance to the hardest-hit areas. The provinces hit hardest include Hat Yai and Mueang Songkhla, Phatthalung, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Satun, Surat Thani, Pattani and Yala — a broad swath of southern Thailand where rain and runoff have conspired to overwhelm communities. In response, local leaders in Phuket have turned into relief coordinators overnight. At the grassroots level, Kamala has become a hub of compassion. The Kamala Kamnan and Phu Yai Baan Club, together with Kamala residents, are collecting essentials —…
When a British traveller strolls into a Thai 7-Eleven and turns a quick shop into viral theatre, the internet leans in. TikTok creator @middlenamemason — a cheeky Brit with nearly 800,000 followers — recently posted a short, infectious clip showing what just 110 baht (about £2.50) will buy you in Thailand’s ubiquitous convenience stores. The result? Close to 60,000 likes, a flurry of amused comments, and a fresh reminder that snack prices on the other side of the world are doing the rounds for all the right reasons. The mini-haul that made Brits gasp In under a minute, the traveller transforms a humble 7-Eleven visit into a lesson in comparative economics. With a grin and a running commentary, he pulls items from the shelves and tallies the cost aloud: a vitamin C drink for 20 baht (roughly 47p), a Sprite for 19 baht (about 46p), a tub of Skittles for…