What began as a test ride and a negotiation over repair costs quickly spiraled into a viral street brawl that had Phuket buzzing. Kathu District Chief Akkaraphon Sutthirak stepped forward yesterday, August 14, to clear up the confusion around an August 10 scuffle outside the Rolling Stone All Tour motorcycle rental shop on Phra Metta Road in Patong. The short version: one foreign visitor wanted to try a Honda X-ADV 750cc, the owner agreed, the bike was crashed, and a dispute over compensation exploded into an on-the-street confrontation that ended with complaints filed on both sides. But the fuller picture that Akkaraphon painted is more precise — and, in some ways, more human. Akkaraphon didn’t pinpoint exact nationalities, but said the group of foreigners involved were Middle Eastern. He also pushed back on sensational early reports that claimed nearly 20 foreigners were involved in the clash. According to his account,…
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In a moment that could have played out as a tense crime story, a small grocery shop in Pathum Thani instead delivered viral comedy — and a gentle lesson in human kindness. The scene: a Burmese man quietly slipping a bucket of snacks out the door while the shop owner’s husband watches. The subplot: the husband, Sumalee Wongintawang’s beau, remains so unflappable that TikTok users fell in love with his chill energy. The clip was posted on Tuesday, August 12 by shop owner Sumalee Wongintawang on her TikTok account, @su.pananchita995, with the rib-tickling caption: “#GoodHusbandIsNewHusband #ThisIsMyHusbandLol.” The caption teased him for being unusually calm while a theft unfolded in broad daylight — and viewers agreed, flooding the comments with laughs, praise and practical takes. In the short video, you can see the man standing near the counter, watching as a customer-turned-thief carries a bucket of snacks out of the shop.…
Thailand’s budget showdown took a decidedly local turn this week as opposition MPs zeroed in on one eyebrow-raising line item: a 41 million baht allocation for a central agricultural market in Phayao. The debate unfolded during the second reading of the sprawling 2026 fiscal budget bill — a whopping 3.78 trillion baht package — and focused on Section 14, which parcels out 62 billion baht to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. A modest market or a million-baht mystery? At first glance, 41 million baht may not seem headline-grabbing within a multi-trillion-baht bill. But for lawmakers like Lamphun’s Witwisit Pansuanpluk of the People’s Party, that sum raises big questions about priorities, planning and transparency. Witwisit flagged the funding for the Marketing Organisation for Farmers (Or Tor Kor) — earmarked for a new central market in Phayao — noting that it represents nearly half of the organisation’s total marketing budget for…
A quiet condominium complex in Phraekasa, Samut Prakan, turned into the scene of a tragic drama on the evening of August 14 when 29-year-old Pitiwat was found dead in his fourth-floor unit after apparently taking his own life during a video call with his girlfriend. The girlfriend, 34-year-old Janejira, contacted officers at the Mueang Samut Prakan Police Station in a panic after the call went horribly wrong. According to police reports, the unit’s door was locked and officers were forced to force entry. Inside, they discovered Pitiwat hanging from the balcony iron grills, having used an electric cable from a plug socket. Janejira told officers that she and a friend were on a video call with Pitiwat when everything seemed normal. He spoke cheerfully at first, giving no outward sign of distress. Then he briefly stepped out of the camera’s frame. When he reappeared, he held the plug and—despite desperate…
What started as a late-night joyride down a quiet Pattaya soi turned into a chaotic crash and a furious crowd scene on the evening of August 14. Residents of Soi Bongkot 8 in Bang Lamung district woke to sirens and shouting after a British man performing repeated wheelies lost control and collided with a Thai motorcyclist, leaving the 49-year-old woman in critical condition and sparking an immediate, angry response from bystanders. Rescue teams from the Sawang Borriboon Thammasathan Foundation arrived at the scene at around 11pm to a tense tableau: a Honda motorcycle overturned on the asphalt, its rider—identified as 49-year-old Churairat Phetraksa—lying nearby with a severe head injury and multiple abrasions. Emergency medics moved quickly to stabilise her while also contending with an enraged crowd. The other rider, described only as a British national, was found sitting beside his electric off-road motorcycle with visible injuries. Witnesses told rescuers those…
Asia’s tourism map is being redrawn, and Thailand—the perennial favourite—suddenly feels a little less like the centre of the sun and more like one of several bright stars in an increasingly crowded constellation. As Vietnam and South Korea roll out expanded visa-free entry and targeted incentives, travellers are recalibrating their itineraries, and industry insiders warn that Thailand may see a slowdown through the remainder of 2025. At the heart of the shift are two simple moves: easier access and sharper value. South Korea has opened visa-free entry for Chinese tour groups starting in September—timed perfectly ahead of China’s October Golden Week—while Vietnam has added visa-free access for 12 more markets (including Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland), bringing its total to 39 visa-free countries. The result? A fresh wave of visitors choosing newer, often cheaper options elsewhere in Southeast Asia. “Visa-free counts, but perception sells,” says Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, President of the…
In the small hours of August 15, a quiet night in Kap Choeng district was shattered by gunfire — and by a string of questions that left locals and officials alike scrambling for answers. Soldiers from the 2nd Army Area reported hearing a burst of around ten shots near Ban Khuean Kaeo Temple at roughly 12:45 a.m., followed by two more shots about nine minutes later. What unfolded was a tense search for a missing serviceman and an urgent effort to help two civilians caught in the crossfire. When troops checked personnel and weapons at Infantry Company 1623, they discovered Private Ratthapoom Thepsiri had left his post without permission — taking an M16 rifle and ammunition with him. That discovery transformed a mysterious night-time rattle into a full-scale manhunt as police patrol units and soldiers converged on the scene, questioned witnesses, and scoured the surrounding areas. Officials at the scene…
In a development that reads like a short, sharp episode from a crime drama, Phuket immigration officers arrested a 27-year-old Russian national on August 14 after he fled Bangkok and attempted to lay low on the island. The man — whose name has not been released — was taken into custody by the Phuket Provincial Immigration Bureau after an arrest warrant was issued by the Phra Khanong Criminal Court in Bangkok on July 31. The charge: illegal possession of firearms. According to officials, the Bangkok warrant stems from earlier allegations that the man possessed firearms without the required permits. Rather than face the charges, investigators say he left the capital and headed south to Phuket, perhaps hoping the island’s tourist bustle would help him disappear. That plan didn’t pan out. Officers located and detained him, though he continues to deny the allegations in both the original case and during today’s…
What should have been a routine condominium evening in Bangkok’s bustling Rama 9 neighborhood turned ugly after a confrontation over a simple rule: no smoking in designated non-smoking areas. A video posted to the Facebook page รู้ทันจีน News (translated as “See Through China”) on Monday, August 11, shows the aftermath of that encounter — a Japanese resident left injured after confronting a group of foreign men who were allegedly ignoring the building’s rules. The footage is blunt and unnerving. The injured man stands behind a Thai security guard on the condominium’s ground level while a man in a black shirt stalks forward, finger pointed and eyes narrowed, clearly confronting him. A woman filming the scene can be heard shouting in English for the group to stop, just before police arrive. At one tense moment, one of the group appears to lunge toward a nearby food stall sign, allegedly trying to…
Phuket’s roads were the stage for a small but dramatic moment on August 12, when a foreign cyclist’s lane change nearly escalated into a headline-making collision. The incident — captured on a pickup truck dashcam — was shared by driver Pusana Ai Senrit in the Facebook group ขับรถแบบนี้ต้องประจาน ภูเก็ต (“Drivers like this must be exposed, Phuket”), and it quickly set off a flurry of alarmed and often scathing reactions from local netizens. The video shows a man cycling along the left shoulder of what has been reported as Bypass Road. He looks over his shoulder twice, then starts a slow, lateral migration across lanes, moving from the far left all the way to the right. Pusana, driving in the right lane, jams on the brakes and averts a collision by the skin of his teeth. His caption — unforgiving, direct and a little dramatic — read: “Uncle, you nearly lost…