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Sponsored How much is Thai health insurance?
Health insurance in Thailand is essential for expats and locals, providing financial protection and access to quality care. Costs depend on age, health, and coverage level, with basic plans being cheaper but limited and comprehensive plans offering more benefits at...
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Phuket punters sit for cops of coffee
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police Station’s very own coffee shop, The Seat, opened its doors on Monday, selling hot beverages, cakes – and earning extra cash for the city’s underpaid cops. The enterprise is a ‘police welfare project’ organized by station superintendent, Col Wanchai Ekpornpit. All profits from the shop will be shared by Phuket City Police officers, supplementing their…
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Phuket Open: All Thai teams out
KARON, PHUKET: All five Thai teams in the FIVB Phuket Thailand Open volleyball tournament have been eliminated from competition. Defending Phuket Thailand Open champions Jen Kessy-Boss and April Ross of the US opened defense of their title by defeating 32nd seeds Julaluk Radarong and Manerat Udomchavee of Thailand 21-15 and 21-13 today. More bad news for the Thais came when…
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Woman arrested for Phuket FantaSea jewel heist
PHUKET CITY: After analyzing DNA evidence, police on Monday arrested a cashier at Phuket FantaSea for the theft of more than two million baht’s worth of diamond jewelry from the souvenir shop safe in May. Police said a sample of 26-year-old Khuanrue-thai Chartnarong’s hair matched those found near the safe shortly after the robbery, which took place at Phuket FantaSea…
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Software police target Phuket businesses
PHUKET: As part of a nationwide investigation, Phuket businesses are being investigated closely by police for using illegal computer software. A Gazette source said a ‘high profile’ property investment firm was raided earlier this week. Police are said to have seized hardware and software, all allegedly unlicensed. The company was given a million baht fine, the source said. Following news…
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Patong nightspots under curfew scrutiny
PATONG, PHUKET: Following many reports that certain nightlife establishments in Patong are not closing by the mandatory 2am curfew, the Phuket’s governor and the island’s top police officer say the situation is being closely monitored. This follows a report in a local Thai language newspaper that three unspecified nightclubs were habitually operating until 6am. At a meeting at Phuket Provincial…
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New Swedish Honorary Consul for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: A doctor at Bangkok Hospital Phuket is the new go-to man in times of trouble for the Andaman region’s sizable Swedish community. Dr Sompoch Nipakanont, assistant director of Bangkok Hospital Phuket, was formally appointed as the new Swedish honorary consul on Monday. Swedish Ambassador to Thailand Lennard Linner presented a letter of appointment to Dr Sompoch from HM…
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Phuket Police crack down on loan sharks
PHUKET CITY: Police are cracking down on loan sharks who offer desperate people high interest loans, sometimes backed up with the threat of violence against those who fail to pay back their debts. Four men are accused of offering loans with interest above the legally permissible rates. They were paraded before a press conference at Phuket City Police Station yesterday. Phuket…
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Five Phuket teens accused of gang rape
PHUKET CITY: Five teenagers, including two girls, were arrested yesterday for allegedly gang raping a 14-year-old Thai-Japanese girl at a house in Phuket City last week. Police say the two girls held the victim down while the three boys raped her. All five suspects are 14 to16 years of age. Their faces covered with balaclavas, the youths were presented to…
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MV Doulos back in Phuket in mid-November
PHUKET CITY: On the next leg of its mission to bring books to readers around the globe, the world’s oldest passenger liner will make its fifth port-of-call in Phuket later this month. The MV Doulos, built in the US in 1914, will berth at the Phuket Deep Sea Port for a one-week stay starting on November 19. Built just two…
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Volleyball vixens smashing balls on the beach
KARON, PHUKET: A record number of teams are competing in the 4th Phuket Thailand Open women’s beach volleyball tournament, which began yesterday on Karon Beach. Heading the list of 70 teams competing in the US$190,000 event are April Ross and Jennifer Kessy-Boss, the 2009 Women’s Beach Volleyball World Champions. The US pair, currently ranked third in the world, return to…
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British tourist reported missing, possibly in Phuket
PHUKET: British tourist Jim Leonard Derry, 72, has been reported missing.Mr Derry arrived in Thailand on July 28. His last known address was in Central Road, Pattaya. However, he is known to be a keen fisherman and frequent visitor to Phuket.Anyone with information on Mr Derry’s whereabouts is asked to visit the British Honorary Consulate Office in the Plaza Del…
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Phuket Gov and consuls to talk through problems
PHUKET CITY: Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop has agreed to meet with the island’s honorary consuls every three months to discuss problems concerning tourists and expat residents. The move follows a proposal by the German ambassador to Thailand yesterday. German Ambassador Dr Hanns H. Schumacher met with the governor at 2pm at Phuket Provincial Hall. Dr Schumacher was accompanied by German Honorary…
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Snake bite saves man’s life
SRISAKET: A one-legged fisherman fought off two ten-foot pythons he caught in his net by biting them in the throat. Fifty-six-year-old Chachawan Chaowaphithikul said the snakes attacked him when he tried to free them from his net. Mr Chachawan said he placed the net in a brook near his house every day. When he went to check it on the…
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Phuket City CCTV plan hits a snag
PHUKET CITY: A new project at Phuket City Police Station has the worthy goal of providing disabled people with jobs and a salary. Nine disabled volunteers will work eight hour shifts watching monitors in the station’s CCTV control room, alerting officers when they spot traffic offenses, other crimes or suspicious vehicles. But there’s a snag: the control room is on…
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Wired: CCTV expansion in Cherng Talay
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: A construction company has built a new office for Cherng Talay Traffic Police entirely free of charge. Wasi Construction Company spent 400,000 baht on the new building, which includes a CCTV control room for monitoring the 17 CCTV cameras in tambon Cherng Talay. A second room will be used as a ‘one stop service’ center for the…
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Phuket gets ready for Loy Kratong
PHUKET CITY: Scissors are busy clipping banana leaves at resorts and schools around the island as Phuket prepares for the Loy Kratong Festival that takes place at dusk today. The Buddhist festival, held annually on the full moon of the twelfth month, is celebrated throughout Thailand. In addition to venerating the teachings of the Buddha, the ritual act of floating…
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Berlin Air deal a boost for Phuket tourism
PHUKET CITY: More good news for the Phuket tourism industry came earlier this week when it was announced that German carrier Berlin Air has entered into a codeshare agreement with Bangkok Air. A codeshare agreement enables two airlines to sell seats on the same flight. In this case, Air Berlin customers will benefit from a wider choice of flights and…
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Phuket FC take on Thai champs tonight
PHUKET CITY: The Sea Dragons of Phuket will face a stiff challenge this afternoon when they kick off against 2009 Thailand Premier League winners Muang Thong United.The home side will bolster their line-up for the friendly match with former Thailand internationals Sarayud Chuaykhamdee and Somjed Sattabud.Muay Thai star Saenchai Sor Kingstar is also expected to play for the visitors.Phuket FC has been…
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Phuket is not it for Michael Jackson fans
PHUKET: Despite the much anticipated worldwide release of Michal Jackson’s posthumous movie This Is It on October 28, fans in Phuket have been disappointed to learn that the movie is not currently being shown in Phuket cinemas. The Gazette has learned that unlike cinemas in Bangkok, none of Phuket’s cinemas have the necessary projection equipment to show the movie in…
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Phuket students enraged over red shirts
PHUKET CITY: Following protests by students, the director of Phuket Rajabhat University has canceled a controversial red shirt fund-raiser that was scheduled to take place at the university yesterday. Rajabhat Phuket President Dr Prapa Gayee announced the decision this afternoon after around 40 student protesters confronted university staff. “It appears we will have to cancel this and all other political…
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Phuketians turn out for mass show of national pride
RAWAI, PHUKET: Thousands of flag-waving Phuketians braved the threat of rain yesterday evening to join the nationally-televised singing of the Thai National Anthem at Phromthep Cape. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and his wife Thaisika led the stirring rendition, with about 10,000 people and a school band lending support. Yachts and a Royal Thai Navy vessel Bang Prakong from the Navy…
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Snake fever: Another Phuket resident attacked
PHUKET: A 12-foot python attacked a Phuket-based jewelry designer when he returned home to find the aggressive snake outside his front door on Wednesday night. Expat resident Daniel Clark said he and a friend fought with the snake for about two hours, fending it off until they were able to wrestle it to a nearby clearing at Ao Chalong Country…
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Team Thailand lift Phuket Kata Group Cup
PHUKET CITY: Bryan Robson made a winning start to his career as Team Thailand boss, his side storming back from two goals down to lift the Red Bull Phuket Kata Group Cup trophy after a nail-biting sudden death penalty shootout.With the game level at 2-2 after 90 minutes, Robson’s side successfully converted all seven of their penalty kicks to lead…
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Used car dealer mugged by thugs
PHUKET CITY: The owner of a used car dealership in Phuket Town was robbed at gunpoint on Sakdidet Rd yesterday morning. Phuket City Police received a report of the mugging at 10:30 am yesterday. Officers led by Superintendent Col Wanchai Ekpornpit responded to the call. The victim, 36-year-old used car dealer Surachai Hiab, told investigators he was washing a car…
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Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll: Vegetable Fest
PHUKET CITY: With this year’s Phuket Vegetarian Festival behind us, the Gazette asks readers what, if anything, should be done by authorities to guide the event’s future development. Have your say by clicking here and casting your vote!
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Iguana starts fight on Soi Crocodile, tourist stabbed
PHUKET: A Syrian tourist was stabbed in Patong on Tuesday night after an argument over an iguana turned ugly. Four Thai men were later arrested and charged for the stabbing and face charges of assault and grievous bodily harm.According to Patong police, four iguana handlers ganged up on Mohammed Imed Arab, 20, after he got into an argument with one…
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Phuket retailers to charge for plastic bags
PHUKET CITY: In a bid to deal with Phuket’s waste management crisis, the island’s top retailers have agreed to start charging customers for plastic bags from December. In a meeting with government officials at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday, the retailers’ representatives agreed to the move, saying they are prepared to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the issue.…
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Phuket firm charged with encroachment
PHUKET CITY: The state prosecutor’s office has charged the owner of a Phuket company with conspiracy to encroach on state land on Yao Yai Island in Phang Nga Bay. The defendant was identified as Chaiyapon Phoojareorn, owner and manager of Ji Liang Phuket Fishing Co Ltd. Mr Chaiyapon was yesterday formally charged in the Region 4 Criminal Court in Bangkok…
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Snake shock at Phuket hospital, man bitten
PHUKET: A large python was captured at Vachira Phuket Hospital this morning, biting one of its captors during the struggle. A staff member of the hospital’s X-Ray unit was shocked to discover the snake in an enclosed grassy area of the hospital at 9am and called in Phuket’s snake catchers. A team of five snake men, including Environmental Health officer Umnaj…
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Sailor influx prompts Phuket ladyboy crackdown
PHUKET: In advance of the arrival of two more US Navy ships full of marines ready for R&R in Phuket this week, Kathu Police are cracking down on criminal gangs of ladyboys.Kathu Police Commander Grissak Songmoonnark said last time a large contingent of US Navy sailors were in Phuket around 80 ladyboys were arrested for petty crime.About half of them…
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