CHIANG MAI — A cafe and chicken rice shop in Chiang Mai were badly damaged after a pickup truck crashed into them before dawn, leaving the owner facing an estimated repair bill of nearly 1 million baht.

Warakorn Saengsuphon, 37, known as "Pop", arrived to open Thong Phan Bai Coffee and the nearby Mei Jong Chicken Rice branch No. 2 on Somphot 700 Pi Road in Mae Hia, Mueang Chiang Mai district, on Saturday morning and was shocked to discover that a pickup truck had smashed into both businesses.

The impact severely damaged the shops, including their doors, metal roller shutters, glass, walls and ceilings. Coffee-making equipment and glass display cabinets were also damaged, leaving both businesses unable to open. Warakorn estimated the total damage at nearly 1 million baht.

Police said they received a report at about 1:30 am of a pickup truck crashing into the shops. Officers who arrived at the scene found a grey Ford pickup with extensive front-end damage and a burst tyre. The driver, a 48-year-old man from Mueang Lampang district, sustained minor injuries. Police took him in for questioning to establish the cause of the crash and documented the scene before towing the pickup to Mueang Chiang Mai Police Station.

Warakorn said nobody had been at the shops when the crash occurred. After closing for the day, he had returned home in San Phak Wan subdistrict and only discovered the damage when he returned early the next morning to open the businesses. Both shops will have to remain closed for an extended period while repairs are carried out.

CHONBURI — 8 August 2026. A village chief has urged police to quickly track down a man who allegedly exposed himself in front of a schoolgirl in a residential soi in Chonburi, warning that the behaviour could escalate into a more serious incident.

CCTV footage from a soi in Samet subdistrict, Mueang Chonburi district, shows a man riding a motorcycle into the alley before stopping and allegedly engaging in an indecent act in front of a schoolgirl who was walking past.

The girl appeared shocked by what she saw and immediately ran away from the area. The man then reportedly continued riding around the soi before leaving towards the main road.

At 3pm on 8 August, reporters visited the area around Sukhumvit Ang Sila Soi 9 in Samet subdistrict and met Charan Sunhuat, chief of Village 8, who took them to the reported scene.

Charan said CCTV footage showed the man riding his motorcycle into the soi and stopping before allegedly exposing himself in front of the schoolgirl. After seeing him, the girl became frightened and ran away. The man reportedly remained in the area for a while, riding around the soi before eventually leaving for the main road.

The village chief urged parents, particularly those whose children travel home alone after school, to take extra precautions and avoid allowing children to walk alone through isolated areas. He expressed concern that the man could return and repeat the behaviour or that the situation could escalate into something more serious.

Charan also urged police to examine CCTV footage along nearby routes to identify and locate the man so that he can be questioned and face any appropriate legal action before another incident occurs involving children or other residents.

A cement mixer truck turning into a factory struck a motorcycle, killing a 17-year-old rider and critically injuring his 9-year-old brother. Police from Bang Nam Priao Station in Chachoengsao Province responded to the accident at a cement plant in Sala Daeng Subdistrict at 12:30 p.m. on August 8, 2025. At the scene, officers found the body of a 17-year-old boy near a blue-and-black Honda Wave motorcycle without license plates, which had fallen into a roadside ditch. A Hino cement truck with Chachoengsao registration stood nearby. The injured boy, 9 years old, had severe head lacerations and was rushed to Bang Nam Priao Hospital.

The 51-year-old cement truck driver, Khrao, told police he had been turning his signal light on for some time before entering the plant and did not see the motorcycle following behind him. He was unaware the truck had struck the children until after the accident. When the family arrived at the scene and saw the body, they collapsed in tears.

Authorities are investigating the exact cause of the accident to determine further legal action.

Uthai Thani — On August 8, 2025, MP Chada Thai-Setthe of Uthai Thani's District 2 presided over the funeral of Nai Sakkarin Wichajarn, a government employee at Huay Kha Kaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Lan Sak District, who was fatally attacked by a tiger on the night of August 5. Sakkarin died while performing public relations duties for tourists camping at the sanctuary to experience nature and wildlife. At the time of the attack, he was supervising visitors near a multi-purpose pavilion.

The funeral drew officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Conservation Area Management Office 12 in Nakhon Sawan, Huay Kha Kaeng conservation staff, and government leaders from Uthai Thani Province, along with over 500 local residents. The atmosphere was filled with profound grief and mourning.

MP Chada presented 100,000 baht to Nai Sakkarin's wife, Pun Panardee Chamniewit, to be set aside as an educational fund for their 13-year-old son currently studying in school.

Bangkok police have dismantled a Vietnamese call center gang linked to an international money laundering network. Investigators traced financial flows from a drug trafficking case into the cross-border criminal operation and conducted raids that arrested four Vietnamese suspects, seizing gold bars, jewelry, new iPhones, and other valuable assets. The gang operated a systematic money-conversion scheme, turning fraud proceeds into gold and smartphones before transferring them abroad.

During the investigation, officers discovered the gang had divided responsibilities and were staying together at a hotel in the Nawamin area. Police raided the location and arrested three Vietnamese nationals: Hien, 29; Lam, 40; and Nguyen, 33. They face charges including international organized crime fraud and money laundering related to an ice-smuggling case involving packages sent to Japan.

During questioning, suspect Hien admitted she was hired to purchase gold bars and collect mobile phones on orders from a woman named "Hoa" via Telegram, earning 15 US dollars per day. She confessed to making three trips to Thailand for this purpose, with the most recent assignment on July 31 requiring her to buy 17 baht of gold bars using advance wire transfer receipts as proof of purchase before handing the gold to designated contacts in Bangkok.

The case began with victims of a call center scam who were impersonated by gang members posing as telecom employees and police officers from Ranong police station. The scammers claimed the victims' ID card information had been used for money laundering accounts and presented fake court orders, threatening victims to transfer money to "prove their innocence." One victim transferred 200,000 baht into the gang's dummy account before discovering the fraud.

On August 8, Deputy Transport Minister Sompech Bunyamani visited Songkhla Province to monitor progress on the Uthapao Canal dredging project and assess the Port Authority's readiness to execute waterway maintenance work. The initiative aims to enhance drainage capacity ahead of the monsoon season, improve safety for waterway users, and protect residents and economic zones from flooding. The Port Authority is currently conducting dredging work with a 1.55 million baht budget and a target of removing 45,000 cubic meters of material. Three additional projects worth approximately 85 million baht are planned for fiscal 2027, including major dredging operations along coastal channels associated with the Uthapao Canal and two other key waterways, each requiring removal of 300,000 cubic meters of material. Sompech directed the Port Authority to accelerate preparations and prioritize clearing shallow sections that obstruct water flow, while coordinating with Songkhla Province and relevant agencies to align operations with the region's flood prevention and water management plan. He emphasized that flood preparedness requires advance action, not crisis response, and that efficient waterways also support local transportation, livelihoods, and economic activity.