THAI.NEWS - Thailand Breaking News

Phnom Penh Pushes Back: Cambodian Official Calls Thai Media Reports “Off the Mark” When a flurry of social-media-ready headlines suggested Thai travellers were being grilled at Phnom Penh’s Techo International Airport, Cambodia’s civil aviation office decided it was time to step in and clear the air. On January 7, Sin Chanserivutha, spokesperson for Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, called the Thai media reports inaccurate and unreflective of the country’s famed hospitality. “Let’s be clear,” Sin said, in effect: casual travellers with verified travel histories should expect a normal, courteous exit from Cambodia — not an interrogation. The tougher checks, he explained, are reserved for a very specific profile of arrival: passengers entering Cambodia who lack prior travel records. Those travellers may undergo routine security steps, including basic questioning and the requirement to have a local sponsor — standard measures designed to keep borders orderly, not to make tourists feel…

It started like so many modern-day stories do: a few friendly messages on Facebook, a promise of grilled pork, and a seemingly harmless plan to meet. But what unfolded in Trat province on New Year’s Day reminded everyone that online charm can sometimes mask real-world risk. A 19-year-old mother and her three-year-old son were found abandoned at a playground in Nong Samed in the early hours of January 1, after a meeting with a man she had known online for just three days. Local rescue workers from the Sawang Boon Rescue Foundation were first on the scene after a passerby spotted the duo and called for help. They escorted the mother—identified only as “A” in reports—to Mueang Trat Police Station, where officers coordinated with Chamrak and Ban Tha Luean authorities to reunite her with relatives waiting at a nearby convenience store. How a casual meetup went horribly wrong According to…

On the chilly morning of December 30, what began as a routine trip on Bangkok’s BTS turned into a social-media storm for one long-time commuter. Zaw Htun Lat, a Myanmar national who has relied on his Rabbit Card for years to zip around the Thai capital, says BTS staff confiscated his stored-value card after he handed over his passport. The card, he says, was blocked on the spot and taken away — with staff telling him a change in terms and conditions meant he could no longer use it. He was promised a refund of the remaining balance “within a week.” That might have been a one-off inconvenience, if not for what happened next. Zaw posted the incident on Facebook, and the comments soon revealed a pattern: other Myanmar citizens reported similar experiences. The tale spread quickly, transformed into a chorus of frustration and questions about fairness, logic, and basic…

When a routine patrol turned into a roadside showdown, the sleepy stretch of highway in Chon Buri suddenly felt like the opening scene of a police procedural — only this one came with bodycam footage and a very public dispute between two officers from different provinces. On New Year’s Day, a traffic incident escalated into a clash of rank, rights and responsibility after a pickup truck from Rayong collided with a foreign motorist’s vehicle. The footage, shared by the officer involved in the investigation, identified him as Police Sergeant Saeb from Phanat Nikhom Police Station. The other man — wearing a white shirt stamped with the Royal Thai Police insignia and claiming to be a captain from Mueang Rayong Police Station — refused to follow basic post-crash protocol. Here’s what the camera (and the reporting officer) captured: Sergeant Saeb arrived on scene to find the Rayong officer arguing loudly with…

On the morning of January 6 in Samut Prakan, a small dormitory in Bang Chalong held a quiet, solemn scene: 43-year-old container truck driver Aphinan lay motionless on a mattress, and just outside the door his faithful dog, Jao Pao, kept a silent vigil. What started as an ordinary day at the truck yard turned into a mystery that left co-workers and local rescuers asking how a healthy man could be found dead without a single visible injury. The discovery Police from Bang Phli Police Station and rescue workers from the Poh Teck Tung Foundation were called to the worker dormitory after concerned colleagues noticed something was wrong. Inside the small room, they found Aphinan on his side. Jao Pao, his pet and likely constant companion, refused to leave the threshold—lying in wait as if guarding his owner’s last moments. Investigators noted there were no obvious signs of trauma or…