What began as a routine call about a backyard python turned into a small-town wildlife mystery that has Ang Thong buzzing — and a handful of residents quietly scribbling down a house number for the next draw. In the early hours of August 23, 2025, Pannawat “Lek” Imsub, a volunteer with the Poh Teck Tung Foundation based at Wat Loh in Mueang Ang Thong district, received reports of a 3–4 metre python that had slithered into house number 25/5 on Thetsaban 3 Road, Bang Kaeo subdistrict. When Lek arrived, the obvious suspect was nowhere to be found. The homeowners, understandably anxious, checked their CCTV footage and — sure enough — the video verified a large, 4-metre python had entered and left the property under cover of darkness. That should have been the end of it, the kind of “case closed” that sends a volunteer home with a satisfied nod. But…
Posts published in “Thailand”
Evening Raid in Banglamung: Woman Arrested Over 62 Disposable Vapes and Drug Test Flag What began as a routine operation in Banglamung, Chon Buri, on the evening of August 21 quickly escalated into a case that touches on smuggling, underage sales and drug use. At 6:30 p.m., a raid on a residence on Soi Thung Klom-Tal Man 29, led by Deputy Superintendent Police Lieutenant Colonel Thana Wisetchai alongside Investigation Chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Suphat Sutsong, ended with the arrest of 50-year-old Hathaithip “Thai” Rueangkham. Police say they recovered 62 disposable e-cigarettes of the COKE TIN brand from the property. The devices were seized as evidence and have become the focal point of an investigation that local news outlets, including The Pattaya News, are following closely. A Strange Story — and a Stranger-Smelling Defense During questioning, Hathaithip insisted she wasn’t part of an organised trafficking network. According to her account, the…
The turquoise promise of Phi Phi Island turned tragic this week when eight‑year‑old Xiao, a young Chinese tourist, drowned after being allowed into the water without a life jacket despite not being able to swim. The heartbreaking incident—reported by KhaoSod—unfolded on a sunny afternoon at Arida Beach in Ton Sai Bay and has left both visitors and local officials reeling. According to police and rescue reports, Xiao and his father arrived on Phi Phi Island via a tour company and stopped for lunch at Chong Khao Bungalow between 1:00 p.m. and 2:10 p.m. After lunch, at about 1:55 p.m., the pair went to Arida Beach. The father sat on the shore; the boy wore only a snorkeling mask and a breathing tube. Despite the father’s knowledge that Xiao could not swim, the child was allowed into the water without a life jacket. Not long after, around 2:00 p.m., the father…
Bangkok’s Fugitives Find Out Crime Doesn’t Pay — Even When You Move Provinces In a reminder that warrants travel as well as people do, Thai immigration officers in Samut Songkhram have rounded up a 27-year-old Myanmar national, Zen Tun, who had been on the run after an alleged theft in Bangkok. What started as a night-time workplace theft in Rom Klao has ended with an immigration team tracking the suspect across provincial borders and handing him back to Bangkok police for the legal process to run its course. The arrest was part of a concentrated crime crackdown ordered by Police General Kittirat Phanphet, focusing authorities on outstanding warrants and firearm-related crimes during the operation window from August 15 to August 24. The Immigration Bureau didn’t act solo — this was a coordinated sting directed by top brass, including Immigration Bureau Commissioner Police Lieutenant General Phanumas Boonyaluck, Police Major General Chairit…
When souvenir dolls started looking more like a crime scene prop than tourist trinkets, Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau detectives followed the trail — and unearthed an audacious smuggling scheme. On the afternoon of August 23, at about 4:00 pm, authorities arrested 29‑year‑old Phet at his home in Mueang district, Phetchabun province, after an investigation that began five days earlier. The story begins on August 18, when a 24‑year‑old courier named Nawi was handed boxes bound for Japan. Something about the parcels made him uneasy. Rather than shrug it off, he did the right thing and called police. That suspicion paid off: officers opened two boxes of souvenir dolls and found a curious craft choice — doll heads fashioned from ping‑pong balls. That odd detail proved to be a handy hiding place. Under the ping‑pong cap, inside the hollowed dolls, investigators discovered a white crystalline substance. Laboratory tests confirmed it was…
Thailand Cracks Down on “Paper” Students: Nearly 10,000 Temporary Stays Revoked What started as routine checks by the Immigration Bureau has mushroomed into a no-nonsense campaign to clean up Thailand’s student-visa system. Authorities say thousands of foreign nationals obtained student visas but never actually attended classes — and now the penalty is swift: visa revocation. The move aims to choke off a backdoor route being used for unauthorised residency and, in some cases, other illicit activity. What investigators uncovered Police Major General Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, revealed that probes showed many entrants named “education” as their reason for travel but were conspicuously absent from classrooms. In response, the Bureau has partnered with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation to cross-check enrollments and residency records. The message from the authorities is blunt: if you enter Thailand on a student visa and don’t actually study,…
In a case that reads like a cross between a cyber-thriller and an accountant’s worst nightmare, Thai police have arrested a 33-year-old South Korean man accused of turning cryptocurrency into literal gold for call centre scam networks. The suspect, identified only as Han, was detained at Suvarnabhumi Airport on August 23 after officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) and the Immigration Bureau intercepted him at an immigration checkpoint, authorities said. Police Major General Athip Phongsiwapai, commander of the TCSD, confirmed that Han is wanted under a Criminal Court warrant on charges including fraud, impersonation and money laundering. The arrest caps an investigation that began when a wave of victims reported being duped into online “part-time job” schemes — tasks like boosting likes and followers — which initially paid out but later froze victims’ investments. The probe, sparked by complaints dating back to February of last year, has already…
Chiang Rai is about to get its wings. Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) has officially launched a 5.7-billion-baht makeover for Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai International Airport that reads like a blueprint for bold ambition: a brand‑new passenger terminal, a dedicated Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) centre, and a plan to catapult the northern province into Thailand’s next major aviation hub. Stationed at the runway of this big idea is Airport General Manager Squadron Leader Somchanok Thiemthiabrat, who says the scheme will be finished by 2032 and will lift the airport’s annual passenger capacity from a modest 1.9 million to a much more impressive 6 million. “The new terminal is a vital step for Chiang Rai’s development. To reach the 7‑million‑passenger target within seven years, we’ll need collaboration from all stakeholders,” Somchanok noted — and you can almost hear the reverberation of jet engines behind those words. The plan isn’t…
Imagine kickstarting your retirement plan with a dash of suspense and a weekly jolt of possibility — that’s the idea behind Thailand’s brand-new retirement lottery, and it’s already turning heads. Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul confirmed that ticket sales will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, as soon as the Senate signs off on an amendment to the National Savings Fund (NSF) Act. The House of Representatives has already given its blessing, and now Bangkok is humming with talk of how saving for the future just got a whole lot more exciting. Here’s how it works: tickets cost a wallet-friendly 50 baht, anyone aged 15 or older can buy in (NSF membership not required), and you can spend up to 3,000 baht per month. There will be 5 million tickets available each week, and the draws happen every Friday. Five lucky ticket holders will each scoop 1 million…
Morning traffic on Highway 36 turned into a scene of tragedy and twisted metal on the wet tarmac of August 23. At about 7:30 a.m., an 18-wheeler Hino truck careered off the Pattaya-Kratinglai-Rayong stretch in front of Bee Garden, ploughing into the median ditch and leaving a trail of destruction — a snapped streetlight pole, mangled metal guardrails and debris strewn across the roadway. Bang Lamung police, led at the scene by Police Lieutenant Colonel Aphichet Metheethammaporn, found the cab battered at the front. The human loss was discovered nearby: 58-year-old truck driver Komsan Kamwasi was lying close to the vehicle’s rear wheels, wearing a blue round-neck shirt and jeans. He had suffered fatal chest injuries and a fractured skull. Investigators believe Komsan was ejected from the cabin during the violent impact and tragically run over by his own vehicle. The harrowing discovery came not from a passing motorist but…