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5 hidden healthcare costs in Thailand and how to avoid them
Thailand's healthcare system is affordable and supported by the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme, offering essential services to most citizens. However, hidden healthcare costs can surprise patients and lead to unexpected expenses. These include specialist fees, insurance gaps, emergency services,...
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Patong bag-snatchers nabbed “within minutes’
PHUKET: Police arrested two men on the streets of Patong early this morning after a spate of bag-snatch thefts were reported within minutes of each other. Theerayut Dalem, 22, and Sarawut Apichai, 19, both from Kantang, Trang, were arrested shortly after 3am, explained Col Jirapat Phochanaphan of the Patong Police. Mr Theerayut was arrested on the beach road at about…
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NFL Week 15: Cardinals grind out win over Chiefs
PHUKET: The Arizona Cardinals won their second straight game on Thursday night football by grinding out a 12-7 home win over a lackluster Kansas City Chiefs (7-6), but the win saw their quarterback Drew Stanton leave the game with a worrisome right knee injury. The injury came as a big setback for the Cardinals, now 11-3, who had the best…
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Phuket police rescue Cambodian kids from human-traffickers in Patong
PHUKET: A 10-year-old Cambodian boy and his 6-year-old sister are under close watch by welfare officers after being rescued from human traffickers by Patong Police on Thursday. “The children are now safe in one of our shelters. We will talk to them more on Monday about what is going on, and that may lead us to more suspects,” said Sirumporn…
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Girl remains in ICU after truck crashes into Phuket sinkhole
PHUKET: A 7-year-old girl remains in Vachira Phuket Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after the pick-up truck she was riding in crashed into a massive sinkhole in a road in northern Phuket on Thursday. The sinkhole first started to form last month when heavy rains washed away part of Rural Road 4008 off Thepkrasattri Road, near Bang Jo Prison in…
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Air traffic control failure disrupts flights over Britain
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Air traffic control failure disrupts flights over Britain Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Hundreds of flights to and from London were disrupted on Friday by a technical failure at England’s main air traffic control centre, which a senior government minister said was “simply unacceptable”. Flights in…
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Phuket jet-skis get green light
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong has revealed a raft of new rules for jet-ski operators to abide by when renting their jet-skis out to tourists at Phuket beaches. “Jet-ski operators who do not follow the rules will be punished,” Governor Nisit assured the media at a press conference held at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday. “The new rules will first be enforced…
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Officials move to revoke Phuket developers’ land titles
PHUKET: Officials are calling for 17 land title deeds to be revoked for about 5 billion baht worth of property deemed to be within Sirinath National Park. The call follows an investigation, first launched in 2012, into 379 plots suspected of encroaching on park land. “Of the plots we investigated, 17 had NorSor 3 or Chanote land documents that were…
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Phuket police search for B7mn vanishing cream fraud suspect
PHUKET: A total of 17 people yesterday filed a complaint to Phuket City Police against a woman who had allegedly disappeared with 7 million baht that was intended to pay for vanishing cream. Chonticha Jampa-ngern, 32, told police that she had invested an undisclosed sum with her friend Netwimon, 31, so that Ms Netwimon could start selling the beauty cream.…
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Hundred-strong task force begins Phuket park probe
PHUKET: A task force of 100 officers arrived in Phuket this morning to begin examining hundreds of land documents for more than 2,000 rai of land in Sirinath National Park for suspected encroachment. The national-level task force was created to look into the suspect Phuket plots by Nipon Chotiban, director-general of the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation…
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Phuket hit-and-run kills one
PHUKET: Police are trying to track down a pick-up truck driver involved in a hit-and-run accident that left one man dead and another injured in northern Phuket last night. Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers rushed to the scene, near Phuket International Airport, at about 8:30pm and found 31-year-old Soonthorn Payabal dead on the ground next to a motorbike. “Sarawut…
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Down at the dojo: Phuket martial arts club finds a new home
PHUKET: The Phuket Martial Arts & Buerki Judo Club group has found a new home at the FunStart Family Sports and Leisure Club, and is calling on the island’s youngsters to put down the video games and pick up the powerful martial arts of judo, jujitsu, aikido and aikijitsu. The judo club has been established on the island for years,…
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Phuket police hunt for suspects in drive-by motorbike shooting
PHUKET: Police are searching for two male suspects involved in a drive-by motorbike shooting that left one Phuket construction worker dead late Wednesday night. Vuthisak Pungsombut, 19, was driving a motorbike with his coworker Pongsak Sukjam, 44, riding pillion, back to the workers’ camp where they live after watching a football match at a nearby shop in Srisoonthorn, Lt Col…
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B420mn fund to help shore up rubber prices
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community B420mn fund to help shore up rubber prices The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The government and private rubber-business operators will jointly launch a 420-million-baht fund, with the aim of tackling the tumbling price of rubber. Pongsak Kerdvongbundit, honorary president of Thai Rubber Association, said private…
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Police corruption scandal: Brother claims Pattani fugitive abducted
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption scandal: Brother claims Pattani fugitive abducted The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The brother of a Pattani-based businessman who is missing after facing allegations of running a contraband-petrol trade in the South met Bangkok police yesterday to defend his sibling, saying he was framed…
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Koh Tao murder suspects appeal to Suu Kyi
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao murder suspects appeal to Suu Kyi The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two Myanmar men charged with murdering two British tourists in Thailand have written to Nobel Peace laureate and Myanmar opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi pleading for help, protesting their innocence and…
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Govt denies secret prisons, tightens security at US Embassy
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt denies secret prisons, tightens security at US Embassy The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Government figures yesterday denied the existence of secret prisons or the torture of suspected foreign terrorists here while being sceptical of a security alert issued by the US Embassy in Thailand.…
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Hong Kong protesters defiant as officials clear main protest site
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hong Kong protesters defiant as officials clear main protest site Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Hong Kong police arrested pro-democracy activists and cleared most of the main protest site on Thursday, marking an end to more than two months of street demonstrations in the Chinese-controlled city,…
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Laguna Phuket launches initiative to help struggling beach vendors
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket has announced the launch of a beach vendor support center to assist those who lost their jobs as a result of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) beach cleanup campaign earlier this year. The “Local Vendors Support Center” will comprise shops from which vendors and other service providers, including masseuse and tour-desk operators, can continue…
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Uber gains legal traction in Phuket
PHUKET: The Department of Land Transportation (DLT) came to terms with Uber this week, making it clear that the taxi-booking firm was legal, but that any promotion of illegal taxi drivers in Phuket or elsewhere in Thailand was banned. “We are not banning the use of the Uber application, but we are banning the use of black-plate vehicles, because they…
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Phuket’s Le Meridien plays down “private beach’ accusations by villagers
PHUKET: Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort today denied accusations by local villagers that it is claiming the beach at Karon Noi Bay for itself, and explained that the sun-loungers and umbrellas on the beach in front of the resort are provided free for hotel guests. Local villagers led by Aroonsri Klanma, village chief of Karon Moo 1, filed a complaint…
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Phuket Finance: Russian ruble does the slide
PHUKET: I have been asked a lot recently about the dramatic moves in the Russian currency, the ruble. What effect will it have on tourism to Phuket? What effect will it have on the real estate market? The obvious thing that is certain is that if the Russian currency remains weak Phuket will be more expensive for Russians who are…
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Opinion: Make transparency in ‘martial law raid’ Phuket’s blanket of safety
PHUKET: The recent joint police and military raid on the home of a prominent resident of Srisoonthorn has resulted in an order from Phuket’s governor for an investigation into why such heavy-handed tactics were required in what is ostensibly a case of alleged check fraud. While the December 3 raid failed in its goal to bring Mr Padungsak Songyot into…
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Phuket truck slams into Patong Hill power pole after brakes fail
PHUKET: A six-wheeled truck loaded with cinder blocks slammed into a Phuket power pole on Patong Hill after the vehicle’s brakes failed this morning. Police arrived at the scene at about 10am. No one was injured in the accident, police officers told the Phuket Gazette. The driver told police that he was delivering the cinder blocks from Phuket Ka Cement…
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Bus ban ignored: Phuket tour bus plunges down Patong Hill
PHUKET: A Phuket tour bus carrying Chinese tourists plunged down Patong Hill yesterday afternoon, obliterating a police box before crashing into a temple wall. The driver Pirom Joppromraj, 49, told police that the brakes failed as he descended the steep slope into Patong at about 5:15pm – during big vehicle restricted hours. A Patong Hill bus ban was put in…
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Opinion: Time to forge a new future for Phuket
Bhuritt Maswongssa is the vice president of Marketing at the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA). Originally from Yala, he moved to Phuket in 1985. Vice chairman of the Patong Resort Hotel; a law graduate from both Ngee Ann College in Singapore and Ramkhamhaeng University in Thailand; and a master’s graduate in business from Phuket Rajabhat University; Mr Bhuritt is a force…
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Video Report: Phuket’s HomeWorks re-opens amid promises of safe shelves
PHUKET: HomeWorks, the busy home-improvement store on Phuket’s bypass road, re-opened to shoppers today amid promises that the shelves had been inspected and were safe to use. A shelf collapse at the store on Sunday resulted in a family of three, including an 11-year-old girl, being rushed to hospital with injuries after they were pummeled by falling paint buckets (story…
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Phuket Cricket: Laguna notch up win in season opener
PHUKET: Laguna opened their account in the new Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) senior league by outfoxing Thalang in the opening match of the season, played at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) last Sunday. As is tradition, the first match of the season was between last season’s finalists. Laguna, who had a disappointing T20 season, were looking to make amends after…
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Phuket dope peddler nabbed in Patong sewing shop sting
PHUKET: Police arrested a 54-year-old man in Phuket yesterday for possession of 1.5 kilograms of kratom*, which he sold through his sewing shop on Nanai Road. Undercover officers entered the no-name shop in Patong at about 5:30pm and asked Prasert Chookong if he had any kratom for sale. Mr Prasert obliged, and was promptly arrested. “We bought 20 fresh kratom…
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CIA tortured, misled, US report finds, drawing calls for action
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community CIA tortured, misled, US report finds, drawing calls for action Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The CIA misled the White House and public about its torture of detainees after the Sept. 11 attacks and acted more brutally and pervasively than it acknowledged, a U.S. Senate report…
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NRC pushing PM direct-election plan
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC pushing PM direct-election plan The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Despite concern and opposition, the National Reform Council (NRC) panel on political reform insisted again yesterday that a direct election of the prime minister would help reduce vote-buying. It added, however, that a winner in…
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