Posts published in “Thailand”

Bangkok’s quiet residential streets turned into the latest front in Thailand’s fight to protect its underwater treasures on December 24, when environmental police arrested a 33-year-old man accused of selling protected coral and sea anemones online. The suspect, identified as Chitipat, was taken into custody after officers found more than 200 marine specimens during a court-authorized search of a house on Soi Phetkasem 77 in the capital’s Nong Khaem district. A digital trail led investigators to a physical haul The investigation began in the most 21st-century of ways: with online adverts. Officers from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division spotted posts in public social media groups offering coral for sale, which prompted surveillance and digital sleuthing. The online listings, investigators say, eventually pointed to Chitipat as the likely seller and secured a court warrant to search the property. When police executed the warrant, they reportedly discovered a collection…

In the glow of neon and the hum of late-night traffic, Bangkok authorities rolled out a coordinated operation on the evening of December 23 along one of the capital’s busiest arteries. From BTS Nana station down to the green fringe outside Benjasiri Park, teams of city officials, social welfare workers and local police canvassed pavements and public nooks where people had been sleeping, part of a wider effort to manage homelessness in the Sukhumvit commercial and tourist strip. The sweep began at around 10pm and was described by officials as more than a simple eviction: it was an assessment-driven push to connect vulnerable people with state welfare, shelters and vocational training — while also reminding everyone that public spaces must remain safe and accessible for pedestrians, shoppers and visitors. The agencies involved included the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and district offices from Khlong…

In the sort of seaside scene that makes for awkward small talk and viral social-media fodder, a Russian couple found themselves at the center of a late-night commotion on Jomtien Beach, Pattaya. What began as a boozy reunion among friends turned into a public spectacle when, in the early hours of December 24, the pair were spotted engaging in sexual activity while seated on camping chairs — an act that drew quick attention, a police complaint and an online storm. Police at Mueang Pattaya Police Station received the first call around 2:00 a.m. from a concerned Thai witness who said the couple’s behavior was not only inappropriate but made nearby residents and tourists uncomfortable. By the time officers arrived the couple had left the immediate scene, but a clutch of eyewitnesses — and a now-viral video clipped by bystanders — left little doubt about what had taken place on the…

The quiet hum of an idling engine at a King Kaew Road petrol station in Racha Thewa turned into a scene of sorrow on December 24, when staff discovered the body of 78-year-old truck driver Pramote slumped in the cab of his ten-wheel lorry. According to police reports, the truck had arrived around 6:00 PM the previous evening and remained parked with the engine running until attendants became alarmed the next morning when the vehicle hadn’t moved and calls to the driver went unanswered. A loyal life on the road Pramote wasn’t just any driver. The man had spent more than four decades behind the wheel of the same truck, ferrying containers and hauling loads across routes that included Lat Krabang and Bang Phli. The truck’s owner—who employed Pramote for over 40 years—recalled that the driver typically made a single trip per day and was known for his work ethic.…

On December 24, what began as a flurry of sharp accusations between neighbors turned into a public back-and-forth that read like a diplomatic courtroom drama. Cambodia’s government released photos and statements alleging that Thai forces had used M-46 cluster munitions in recent clashes — weapons, Cambodian officials warned, that can scatter lethal fragments across fields, forests and villages and remain a long-term risk to civilians, especially children. The Royal Thai Army fired back the same day through spokesperson Winthai Suvaree, insisting the images and claims were misleading. Winthai said the munitions in question were dual-purpose artillery shells intended strictly for military targets. According to him, the submunitions inside the shells detonate successively on impact, rather than lying dormant like anti-personnel landmines that can later maim or kill noncombatants. Two versions of the same scene On one side, Cambodia’s Ministry of Information and Ly Thuch — vice-president of the Cambodian Mine…