Long before dawn, the Yom River announced itself with a roar. Rolling out of Sukhothai and Phitsanulok with unusual speed, the water surged into Phichit and spilled past its banks, catching many residents mid-routine—boots half on, valuables halfway packed, and livestock tugged toward dry ground. What should have been a calm monsoon morning became a race against a river arriving early. The first sign came yesterday, August 8, in Rang Nok subdistrict of Sam Ngam district—the natural gateway where the Yom enters Phichit. From there, the water follows a well-worn path: past Pho Prathap Chang, through Bueng Na Rang, into Pho Thale, and onward until it swells the Chao Phraya River in Nakhon Sawan. This year, that path feels faster and fuller, the river’s shoulders broadening by the hour. By mid-morning, four districts in Phichit were seeing river levels climb with unnerving haste. In several low-lying pockets, the Yom didn’t…
THAI.NEWS - Thailand Breaking News
If paying your annual car tax used to feel like a road trip through red tape, Thailand just plotted a faster route. The Department of Land Transport (DLT) has teamed up with Krungthai Bank to launch a slick new way to pay your annual vehicle tax via the Pao Tang app—yes, the same one already sitting on millions of phones. Announced during the DLT’s 84th anniversary celebration on August 8, Deputy Transport Minister Surapong Piyachote called it a leap in public service innovation. Translation: less queuing, fewer forms, and a lot more convenience. Here’s the gist. Open Pao Tang. Tap to pay. You’re done. The official tax mark is then sent straight to your doorstep by Thai Post. While you wait for delivery, the app generates a temporary digital tax mark that’s valid for up to 15 days—perfect for those who like to be law-abiding without leaving the sofa. With…
The tide in Phang Nga carried a terrible secret this week. On August 8, near Ban Tha Yai pier in Mueang district, stunned locals spotted what at first looked like debris drifting close to shore. It wasn’t. Police and Kusoltham Foundation rescue workers soon confirmed the chilling truth: the body of a woman, unknown and unnamed, had surfaced despite what appears to have been a calculated attempt to keep her hidden beneath the water. Police Lieutenant Pheerawit Chaichanyut of Khok Kloi Police Station is leading the investigation, and the details are as stark as they are sobering. The victim, dressed in grey shorts and a brown round-neck T-shirt, showed no immediate signs that could identify her—no ID, no phone, and no personal effects. Officers estimate she had been dead for around two days before the discovery, the murky currents unwilling accomplices in a grim cover-up gone wrong. According to investigators,…
In the quiet pre-dawn hush of Kui Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khun, the calm was shattered at around 5 a.m. today, August 9, when a Bangkok-bound sleeper service suddenly lurched off script. Three sleeper carriages on special express train No. 38/46 slid off the rails as the locomotive eased into a curved section leading to Kui Buri station. Miraculously, the carriages didn’t overturn—but they did detach and derail, leaving 10 passengers with injuries and hundreds more rattled but safe. The express had set out on a long-haul journey from Su-ngai Kolok and Padang Besar, bound for Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal (Bang Sue) in Bangkok. As the train negotiated the bend approaching the station, sleeper cars numbered 10, 11, and 12 left the track. Railway staff moved swiftly to secure the scene, while passengers in the remaining nine carriages were evacuated with calm efficiency. Ten injured, most with minor wounds Emergency…
The cockpit door on Thailand’s domestic skies is firmly shut to foreign pilots—for now. But a looming court decision could crack it open again as early as the next high season, setting up a high-altitude tug-of-war between labor policy, airline capacity, and Thailand’s tourism ambitions. This turbulence traces back to last year’s travel surge, when seats to beach hubs like Phuket vanished faster than mango sticky rice at a night market. To keep fares in check and planes in the air, VietJet Thailand operated Bangkok–Phuket flights under a wet lease—industry-speak for borrowing both aircraft and crew, including foreign pilots. That move was greenlit by a December Cabinet resolution that temporarily relaxed restrictions on foreign flight crew, following a proposal from the Ministry of Labour. Then March arrived with legal headwinds. The Thai Pilots Association filed a case against the Ministry of Labour, asking the Administrative Court for a temporary injunction…
If you lead in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district, the message from the top could not be clearer: follow the rules, guard your reputation, and keep your trigger finger firmly under regulation. At a monthly gathering inside the district office’s community hall on August 8, District Chief Patcharapat Srithanyanon delivered a firm, no-nonsense briefing to village headmen and subdistrict chiefs—one that blended accountability with a call to honor the public trust. Presiding over the meeting with the unmistakable authority of his office, Patcharapat laid out expectations that left little room for ambiguity. Leaders, he said, must embody discipline, integrity, and the dignity of their roles. Their conduct is not merely personal—it reflects on the Ministry of Interior and the Department of Provincial Administration, and it shapes how communities perceive the entire machinery of local government. “The use of firearms in the course of your duties must strictly follow regulations and…
A disgruntled customer, a misleading online ad, and a rapid-fire police response: that’s the mix that sparked a high-profile raid at a resort in Bangkok’s Hathai Rat area today, August 9. Metropolitan Police Division 3 officers, acting on a complaint about a “bait-and-switch” sex booking, swooped in and arrested three Laotian women accused of peddling services online with photos that weren’t their own. The operation was headed by Police Major General Siam Bunsom, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, with investigative coordination from Pol. Maj. Gen. Noppasin Poolsawat and Pol. Maj. Gen. Kiattikun Sonthine, Commander of Metropolitan Police Division 3. Their team moved in after an undercover probe suggested a coordinated scheme trading on slick social media images, alluring descriptions, and quick contact via the Line app. How a complaint on X snowballed into a raid According to investigators, the case began when a customer reported booking through the social…
If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a luxury salon’s hum quietly purrs into a sudden silence, picture this: buzzing clippers frozen mid-fade, clients pausing mid-sip of herbal tea, and a phalanx of Tourist Police stepping through the door with the precision of a movie sting. That was the scene on Bangkok’s lively Ratchadaphisek Road, where an upscale Ratchada barbershop turned into the spotlight of a very real, very dramatic operation. By the time the cape dust settled, seven Chinese men were in handcuffs, accused of cutting hair without the proper paperwork in a profession authorities say is reserved for Thai nationals. The slick raid wasn’t a one-off. It was a carefully choreographed chapter in a nationwide crackdown directed by National Police Chief Police General Kittirat Phanphet and driven by Police Lieutenant General Saksira Phuek-am, Commander of the Tourist Police Bureau. The effort channels the muscle of the newly formed…
Sirens cut through the quiet in Pattaya just after midnight as Immigration Police and Pattaya City officers converged on a condominium for a high-stakes raid. By 12:30 a.m. on August 8, the door was down and a suspect was in cuffs: 24-year-old Malaysian national Tak Sun Chong, accused of secretly filming Thai women during sex and attempting to extort them with the footage. The sting followed a chilling complaint from a woman who told police she was lured through the WeChat app by a man posing as a friendly acquaintance. She said he invited her to his room; what she didn’t know, investigators allege, was that hidden cameras were rolling. According to police, the woman was later threatened: pay up or face humiliation online. The suspect allegedly warned he would upload the videos to pornographic websites if she refused. Her report triggered a joint operation that ended with officers seizing…
Sun, sea, and… sunglasses? Patong Beach, one of Phuket’s most famous stretches of sand, saw more than the usual surf-and-sand drama as immigration officers launched a high-profile sweep aimed at illegal beach vendors. The move followed weeks of complaints from residents and legal business owners who said unlicensed sellers were openly hawking goods and undercutting Thai vendors playing by the rules. Their message was clear: keep the beach beautiful, the competition fair, and the island’s image spotless. Leading the operation was Phuket Immigration Police Superintendent Colonel Kriangkrai Ariyaying, who assigned Deputy Superintendent Police Lieutenant Colonel Wisarut La-iat-ong, Superintendent Pol. Lt. Col. Wirot Srisapha, and the Phuket Immigration Investigation Unit to team up with the Phuket Tourist Police for a targeted sweep of the shoreline. If you picture a meticulous, methodical stroll along the sands at golden hour, you’re not far off—only this time the target wasn’t a sunset selfie, but…