Last week, Bangkok’s quieter streets were jolted by a grim discovery that has since captured public attention and renewed calls for vigilance in relationships that turn sour. On December 1, officers from Khanna Yao police station responded to a worried call from 58-year-old Mr. Saiyon (surname withheld), who asked them to check on a flat in the Eua Arthorn Koobon 27 condominium in Tha Raeng, Bang Khen district. Saiyon had been trying to reach his daughter, Irin (surname withheld), for about two weeks with no success. He learned she had been staying with her boyfriend, 34-year-old Mr. Thanathan (surname withheld), and when his knock on the door went unanswered a neighbor told him a foul smell was coming from the unit. Fearing the worst, he alerted police. Scene and arrest When officers arrived and announced themselves, Thanathan opened the door and was immediately taken into custody. Inside the flat, they…
Posts published in “Thailand”
When plans meet the rumble of armaments, schedules change fast. Reporters learned that Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul abruptly cancelled a planned visit to the Thai–Cambodian border on Monday, December 8, after clashes erupted at several points along the frontier and Cambodian forces were seen repositioning heavy weaponry—RM-70 multiple rocket launchers, tanks and BM-21 systems—closer to Thai-held areas. Rather than making the trip north, Anutin convened a high-priority security briefing at Government House at 9 a.m., summoning the country’s security agencies to take stock of an increasingly tense situation. The picture emerging from the Second Army Area’s accounts reads like a tactical map coming to life, sector by sector. According to the Second Army Area, Cambodian troop movements and orders were reported in several key sectors opposite Thailand’s border provinces: Opposite Chong Sai Taku, Ban Kruat district, Buri Ram: Cambodian troops based at Chub Koki Khangkoet village reportedly moved landmines into…
Fitness coach Po — the face behind a popular training page — has publicly admitted to an incident at a Bangkok pool that has since rippled across social media. In a frank statement, Po said he lightly disciplined a child with a fingertip after seeing the boy step on his diving fins; he expressed regret, accepted responsibility, and has repeatedly offered apologies and compensation while the case moves through police channels. The episode took place on November 30 at about 4:30pm near a swimming pool where Po had just finished a diving session. Two boys were playing close to his equipment. According to Po’s account, the younger child, wearing an orange shirt, stepped on Po’s diving fins and waved a foam noodle toy nearby — behavior Po found disrespectful and potentially damaging to his gear. Po says he first tried to correct the younger boy verbally. When the child did…
Border towns rarely make headlines unless something dramatic happens — and over the weekend Mae Sot in Tak province found itself at the centre of one such tense flashpoint. Artillery rounds from clashes across the Thai–Myanmar border landed on Thai soil, injuring civilians and forcing hurried evacuations, prompting a stern warning from Thailand’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Ukrit Boontanon. General Ukrit said shells from the fighting spilling over from Myanmar struck parts of Mae Sot district after government troops and ethnic armed groups exchanged heavy gunfire and artillery. Some projectiles veered off course and landed in Thailand, where border communities are already used to the rumble of distant conflict. This time the sound came closer — and with real consequences. Thai border units responded quickly. Soldiers fired warning shots and activated the Thai–Myanmar border coordination mechanism to communicate with counterparts across the line, trying to prevent further stray rounds…
Thailand has put the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) squarely in the spotlight, urging the body to confront a worrying uptick in landmine incidents along the Thai–Cambodian border — a situation Bangkok says threatens not only soldiers’ lives but the very credibility of the international landmine ban. Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow raised the alarm during talks with Carolyne‑Melanie Regimbal, head of UNODA in Geneva, on Thursday, December 4. “The Thai side hopes that UNODA will help in highlighting the seriousness of this landmine situation, as resolving this issue is essential to the credibility of the work of UNODA and the Convention,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on social media. The Geneva stage: Ottawa Convention and Article 8 Sihasak was in Geneva for the 22nd Meeting of the States Parties to the Anti‑Personnel Mine Ban Convention — commonly known as the Ottawa Convention — where he delivered a…
Bangkok’s riverside hum may sound the same, but this week the city is paying extra attention to the Chao Phraya’s rise. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has mobilised teams and is closely monitoring a predicted high-tide surge expected through today until 12 December 2025, with particularly high water between 08:00 and 14:00. The Royal Thai Navy’s Hydrographic Department has already issued a clear advisory: water levels will climb — and some neighbourhoods could feel the squeeze. Here’s the snapshot you need: 11 riverside communities across six districts lie outside the city’s flood-protection embankments and are considered at risk. More than 320 households — roughly 1,070 residents in total — live in these low-lying pockets along the Chao Phraya River, Khlong Bangkok Noi and Khlong Mahasawat. If riverbanks overtop, those neighborhoods in Dusit, Phra Nakhon, Bang Kho Laem, Yan Nawa, Bangkok Noi and Khlong San will be the first to see…
Good news for motorists battered by the recent southern floods: Thailand’s Transport Ministry has waved through a practical, people-first shortcut to replace ruined vehicle documents and licence plates. Announced on December 5 by Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn together with Deputy Transport Minister Mallika Chirawongwanich, the policy relaxes paperwork requirements so flood-hit drivers don’t have to hunt down soaked or missing registration books and ID cards just to get back on the road. What’s changed — the practical bits Department of Land Transport (DLT) Director-General Sorapong Paitoonpong explained the new approach: if your licence plate, tax sticker (those round discs), or registration book was lost or damaged in the floods, you can apply for replacements with much less red tape. In simple terms: If your registration book is gone, a person who legally owns the vehicle only needs to present their national ID card at the transport…
Thailand’s rock scene got an unexpected encore — this time outside the music and squarely in the corridors of correctional protocol. Sek Loso, born Seksan Sukpimai and long a headline-maker both onstage and off, has announced he is withdrawing from all outside work assignments after a tense family visit at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution on December 3. A birthday visit that hit a sour note What began as a family birthday visit turned into a highly public spat. Sek’s wife, Wiphakorn “Karn” Sukpimai, took their daughter to the facility so the girl could celebrate and watch her father perform as part of a scheduled prison event. Karn says she had coordinated the visit with prison officials and that the family was supposed to be on the guest list. But when the duo arrived, correctional officers refused entry, citing security protocols and guest restrictions. Karn captured the unfolding drama in…
Bang Phli police in Samut Prakan pulled off a timely rescue this week, bringing home a 20-year-old university student who had been ensnared by a sophisticated call centre scam that convinced him he was at the centre of a money-laundering probe. The ruse was elaborate: fake officials, forged threats, a staged “arrest” — and an urgent attempt to bleed the family for more cash. Thankfully, quick thinking by the student’s mother and prompt police work prevented the scheme from doing even more damage. The alarm was raised on December 3, when the student’s mother filed a missing person report after her son left home one evening and could not be reached. A chilling handwritten note found on the student’s computer desk read, “Involved in money laundering. Must report to DSI and AMLO today.” The message was the first clear sign that something sinister was afoot. Police Colonel Pairoj Phetphloy, Superintendent…
Thailand’s opposition has turned up the heat on Deputy Prime Minister Thamanat Prompow, demanding his removal amid fresh revelations about a sprawling transnational crime and money-laundering network. The call came from Rangsiman Rome, Deputy Leader of the People’s Party, after the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) moved to seize assets valued at roughly 10 billion baht tied to an online scam linked to businesswoman Tangthai Banmahing. Rangsiman says investigators have traced the illicit cash trail to bank accounts held by a figure named Yim Leak, who is alleged to have deep ties to Cambodia’s political elite. According to the opposition, Yim Leak sits at the center of a regional scam operation that funnels dirty money across borders and into complex financial conduits. One of the main arteries for those alleged flows is BIC Bank Cambodia. Rangsiman claims the bank is under Yim Leak’s control and points to its connections with the…