In a stunning clash of law enforcement and drug traffickers in Chiang Rai province, five suspected drug smugglers were killed and almost 500,000 methamphetamine pills were seized after an intense firefight. A military patrol of the Pha Muang Task Force came across the suspected smugglers carrying backpacks in the morning hours of Thursday in the area where the forested borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. When the task force attempted to search the individuals, the group of five opened fire, resulting in an intense five-minute firefight. The Pha Muang Task Force reported that the suspects were killed and no Thai soldiers were injured. Premchai Premkamol, an officer with the task force, told AFP news agency “Narcotics have been very prevalent at the border but recently there has been an order from the commander to step up law enforcement efforts.” The skirmish in Chiang Rai follows two similar incidents in…
THAI.NEWS - Thailand Breaking News
The House of Representatives has voted in favour of a special committee’s report in exploring the opportunity of setting up a casino-entertainment zone in Thailand. After a three-hour meeting, the report was passed with 310 votes for, and nine votes against. The report, which was prepared by the special committee set up in December 2021, states that Bangkok, with the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and areas within a 100-kilometre radius of Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao airports, would be ideal hosts for a casino complex. Amenities such as five-star hotels, shopping malls, beauty and spa parlours, amusement parks, zoos, indoor and outdoor sports stadiums, as well as the casinos themselves, have been included in the proposal. Sanhapot Suksrimuang, a committee member from the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), said the study took 240 days and its report was comprehensive. Pakornwut Udompipatsakul, another committee member from the Move Forward Party (MFP), added that it…
On June 9, 2022 Thailand made history when it became the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis nationally, joining Canada and Uruguay as the only other countries in the world to do so. However, many people do not realize that cannabis was not always illegal in Thailand. In fact, the country had a long history of cannabis use since pre-written history. Cannabis was used for religious ceremonies and believed to possess medical and magical properties. The use of cannabis began to wane in the 19th century when British merchants arrived in Thailand and began to take control of the trade. The merchants had a vested interest in opium, and replaced it with hemp, which they viewed as a more profitable crop. Throughout the 20th century, laws were increasingly passed restricting the use of cannabis. After several decades of strict regulation, Thailand enacted a law in 1934 that made cannabis…
Visitors to northern Thailand’s backpacker haven of Pai were shocked yesterday, as a motorbike accident left one tourist, a Belgian-Moroccan national, with a broken back. Issam Messaoudi and a friend had set out to visit Mor Paeng Waterfall, a popular swimming spot 6 kilometers from Pai. However, they encountered treacherous road conditions, likely worsened by rainfall, which caused the motorbike to skid and lose control on the steep and slippery road. Thankfully the friend was unscathed, but the same cannot be said for Messaoudi, who was taken to the hospital in Pai and X-rays revealed a broken back. Not having enough resources to treat the young tourist, the hospital decided to send him on a long, perilous journey to Bangkok Hospital in Chiang Mai City for treatment. This is not the only such incident to have recently occurred in Thailand. With the return of many international travelers, motorbike incidents involving…
This week, in an unexpected turn of events, 54-year-old Peter Coker Jr, a citizen of the Caribbean island state of St Kitts and Nevis, was arrested in a hotel room near Surin beach in Thalang district of Phuketon Wednesday. This arrest was the culmination of a long-running investigation by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into stock manipulation and colluding in fraud. The CIB, led by Pol Maj Gen Montri Khetkhan, were working with the FBI in this investigation. The suspect was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court in the US on December 27, 2022, as he was on red and black notices issued by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). This case related to the share manipulation of two companies, Hometown International and E-Waste Corp, which were traded on the OTC Link Alternative Trading System. The investigation has revealed that the accused were business partners…
Activists and academics are urging the Thai government to raise the monthly allowance for senior citizens from 600 to 1,000 baht to a universal pension of 3,000 baht. The current allowance is barely enough for seniors to survive with many finding supplementary income, said Nuken Inthachan, a representative from the Four Regions Slum Network, during an event organized by the Thailand Consumers Council and Thai PBS. Theepakorn Jithitikulchai from the Faculty of Economics at Thammasat University said the pension should be given universally, not just to the poor, or else those who are erroneously left out of the program will suffer. In order to fund this pension, he suggests that the government cease offering tax deductions to the top 20% wealthiest people, and instead start collecting from those left out of the tax database. Mr. Theepakorn believes that the 3,000 baht per person per month could even expand to 6,000…
Reservations for prominent BEV brands are forecasting high growth in the EV market in 2023, and consumer confidence is helping Thai EV, battery, and charging station production. After booking almost 4,000 Tesla models on the first day of the Telsa website accepting bookings last month, Thais are talking about battery electric cars (BEVs). BEVs are popular in Thailand before Tesla’s marketing. Last year, Thailand sold over 12,500 BEVs, a 212.5% increase from 2021. 24,000 BEVs were sold this year, up 92.0% over last year. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that a basic BEV had an average driving range of 349 km per charge in 2022, up 44% from 243 km in 2017. Fast charge technology allows direct current charging to 80% in under an hour. The Energy Ministry’s Energy Policy and Planning Office reported 944 charging stations nationwide. The Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand (EVAT) reports 2,572 charger plugs…
A Mirror Foundation report says that more than 250 young people went missing last year, 25% higher than the number in 2021. This was the most in the last four years. Pol Maj Gen Saruti Khwaengsopha, commander of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD), revealed the report on Thursday during a missing people media briefing. The report said that 157 of them were middle school students whose friends or sexual desires led them to do it. Some left because of problems with their families. Most of the cases the foundation got were about women who had been sexually abused or who had joined a trafficking ring. The foundation received 70 reports from Bangkok, which accounted for the majority of missing persons cases. Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan (both with 17 cases), Pathum Thani (16), Chon Buri, and Nakorn Pathom also reported cases (both 9). According to the report, 61% of the missing…
On Monday, the first day a new system that deducts points from drivers’ driving records was implemented, police detained 540 motorists who had broken traffic laws. Every driver who obtains a license will receive 12 points at the beginning of the year, which they will gradually lose if they breach the law under the “demerit system.” A police spokeswoman, Pol Maj Gen Atchayon Kraithong, stated that 503 of the people who were fined on Monday only lost one point, while the others lost two points. He claimed that some people received the two-point penalty since it was discovered that they had broken many rules. According to the police, 233 of those detained did not have their tax stickers visible, proving they had not renewed their annual car tax. According to Pol Maj Gen Atchayon, 81 persons lost points for failing to display their license plates, while 63 were fined for…
Controversial former massage parlour tycoon Chuvit Kamolvisit has submitted clear evidence of Immigration Bureau (IB) officers helping Chinese nationals to run criminal enterprises in Thailand. On Thursday, deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn said that some officers had even set up foundations with their headquarters in a chicken coop to arrange visas for Chinese nationals. Pol Gen Surachate reported that the investigative committee had found clear proof of offenses such as the renewal of visas through foundations, visa applications through schools, and falsification of signatures of a deputy governor. Some officers had allegedly used houses or the chicken coop as offices for the foundations set up for this purpose. In response to this evidence, the National Police Chief has ordered drastic action against all of the officers involved, who range from commanders to station heads to officers at the operational level. He expects to summon them to hear…