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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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Disgraced tycoon Boonkeng shot in Bangkok
BANGKOK (Phuket Gazette/Kom Chad Luek): Disgraced businessman Boonkeng Srisansuchart, evicted in 2004 from land in the Panturat Hills along the bypass road, was wounded in a gun attack in Bangkok on Saturday morning.An associate of his, Nimit Pokaphol, a former civil servant in the Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO), was killed in the attack by a round from a .22…
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Indonesian property giant buys 123 rai at Bang Tao
BANG TAO: A 123-rai plot of land next to the beach at the northern end of Bang Tao Bay has been sold by Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels (HSH) to Indonesian property giant PT Jakarta Setiabudi Internasional Tbk (JSI).JSI bought the land through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cayman Islands-based Durham Holdings, for just under 865 million baht – about 7 million baht…
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Blues festival program announced
KARON: The organizers of the Phuket International Blues Festival have announced the program for the event, which will be hosted by the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa on December 16 and 17.The festival will be officially opened by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura at 6:25 pm, with the first band, Blue On Blue from Bangkok, taking the stage five minutes…
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Alcohol sale rules tightened
PHUKET: The hours when alcohol may be sold in shops and supermarkets are to be shortened with effect from January 1, 2006, the Phuket Provincial Excise Office has announced, after receiving orders from Minister of Finance Thanong Bidaya.From New Year’s Day, sales of alcohol in retail outlets will be allowed only between 11 am and 2 pm, and between 5…
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Minimum daily wage may rise by B3
PHUKET: Phuket’s minimum daily wage, currently 178 baht, could rise to 181 baht, matching Bangkok, if the Phuket Provincial Labor Committee gets its way.At a meeting yesterday, the committee – which comprises five provincial officials, five employers and five employees – approved the three-baht increase in principle.Suthep Therdkiatkajorn, an official with the Phuket Provincial Labor Office, said that the proposal…
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Deadline set for Laguna triathlon registration
CHERNG TALAY: The number of participants registered for this year’s Thai Airways International Laguna Phuket Triathlon on December 4, has far exceeded expectations. As a result the organizers have announced that registration for both the individual and the team relay events will close on Friday, November 18 at 5 pm. They warned that no entries received after that deadline will…
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More work ordered on tsunami aid theft case
PHUKET: Orders for police to conduct further investigations into the disappearance of 2.05 million baht of tsunami aid money from Phuket Provincial Hall nine months ago have finally arrived in Phuket.The Special Public Prosecutor in the Phuket State Attorney’s Office, Bantoon Thongtan, told the Gazette yesterday that he had just received, from the Regional Director of Prosecutions in Surat Thani,…
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Free concert to feature top Japanese acts
PHUKET: In a bid to lure more Japanese visitors to Phuket this high season, “Sawasdee Phuket”, a free concert to be held in Patong on Saturday, November 19, will feature singers famous in Japan.The concert is scheduled to take place from 5 pm to 1 am at the soccer field on Thaweewong Rd.Performers will include Ai Kawasaki, Ryota Mitsunaha, Asuka…
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Additional tsunami anniversary events announced
PHUKET: The provincial government has announced more of its schedule for the upcoming tsunami anniversary, which is to run from December 24 to January 21.December 26: 10 am-11 am: simultaneous memorial ceremonies to take place at Patong Beach, Kamala Beach and Mai Khao Cemetery. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, along with members of the Thai government and VIP guests, will lay…
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Dutchman rams gunmen into power pole
PHUKET (Gazette, Kom Chad Luek): A Dutchman turned the tables on two men who allegedly fired a gun at him as he drove his pickup along Chao Fa West Rd yesterday morning, chasing them down and ramming their motorbike into a power pole.One of the two men was killed, the other seriously injured.Pol Lt Col Jessada Sangsuree of the Chalong…
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Dog pound to have December grand opening
PHUKET: Sunart Wongchawalit, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office, has told the Gazette that, rather than closing down the controversial Mid Road Dog Shelter in Thalang, it is to have a grand opening in December.At a meeting on August 31, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura stated that a decision would be reached by the end of September whether or not to…
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Fatal crash on Kata Hill
KATA: One motorcycle rider was killed and several motorists were injured when a water truck careened into traffic and overturned by Ban Kata School on Kata Hill, at around 2 pm on November 10.The K-Tech construction company lorry collided with two cars and a motorcycle, trapping the bike and its rider, Kittipong Aiyarak, under it. The injured man was rushed…
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Red tape mix-up stalls tsunami aid theft case
PHUKET: Nine months after 2.05 million baht in tsunami aid money went missing from a strongbox at Phuket Provincial Hall, the investigation into the theft has apparently stalled temporarily due to poor communication between the police and the regional court now in charge of the case. The Region 8 Prosecutor’s Office in Surat Thani says it approved a request by…
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Surin Beach gets facelift, Nai Yang muddles on
PHUKET: In an effort to beautify the Surin and Nai Yang beach fronts for the high season, 100 police volunteers and three local government officials helped to clear the illegal stalls at both beaches yesterday.Cherng Talay OrBorTor (Tambon Administration Organization) Chief Administative Officer Suwat Pakobporn explained to the Gazette that it is provincial government policy to remove illegal stalls and…
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Call for stricter building law enforcement
PHUKET: Provincial government officials and the Phuket Real Estate Club today made a joint call for stricter enforcement of building regulations to be applied across the island.At the weekly meeting of the heads of provincial government offices at Phuket Provincial Hall this morning, Chaloerm Rakmak of the provincial office of the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning,…
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Tour of Siam draws 150 top cyclists
PHUKET: Twenty-six teams have confirmed that they will compete in the 870-kilometer Bangkok-to-Phuket Tour of Siam 2006 bicycle race, to be held from January 15 to January 21. The event is being organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale and the Asia Cycling Federation. More than 150 international entrants are to participate, from South Africa, Australia, Denmark, Japan, USA, Singapore, the…
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Award for Phuket from vegetarian mag
SAN FRANCISCO: Phuket during the Vegetarian Festival has been named as one of the “10 Best Veg Destinations in the World” by the San-Francisco-based VegNews magazine.In its third annual Veggie Awards, the magazine also singles out places, tours or events in Morocco, Italy, the UK, Mexico, Kenya, Maine in the US, the US Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Costa Rica.Of the…
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Top Condé Nast award for Phuket
NEW YORK CITY: Phuket Island has received the “Top Island in Asia 2005” award from New York-based Condé Nast Traveler magazine in its 18th annual Readers’ Choice Award. Bangkok won the “Best Asian City” award.Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket Office said, “We sent representatives from Thailand to the event. It is the first time Phuket…
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Four nabbed in B50m heroin bust
PHUKET: Three foreign men and a Thai woman were arrested yesterday on charges of attempting to smuggle 40 kilograms of heroin out of Thailand in a yacht.The arrests are understood to be the culmination of a four-month international operation involving police from Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Norway and the US.Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) Deputy Commissioner Pol Maj…
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Nation V event “a huge success’
KARON: Nearly 2,000 people, mostly from Thailand, Singapore, Japan and the US, joined the first day and night of Asia’s largest gay and lesbian party, the three-day Nation V, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel yesterday.The event features nine parties, each with a different theme, with 18 DJs from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the USA, Malaysia and Australia manning the turntables.Events…
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Gambling tops arrest statistics again
PHUKET: September statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that gambling again topped the list, with 137 people arrested for the offense. Twenty-two cases involved the sale of underground lottery numbers.Four murders were reported during the month with two cases solved, resulting in the arrests of two people. One case of attempted murder was also solved, leading to the arrests…
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19 die on Phuket roads in September
PHUKET: Official figures from Ruampaet and Phuket International private hospitals and Wachira Phuket, Thalang and Patong government hospitals show that 19 people died on Phuket’s roads in September – seven more than in August.Eighteen people died in motorcycle crashes and one was killed in a car crash, whereas in August, 11 died in motorcycle collisions and one in a car…
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Tsunami ceremonies program unveiled
PHUKET: Beach locations in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi have been chosen for the holding of official tsunami anniversary commemoration ceremonies on the morning of December 26. Thailand is offering free flights and accommodation for two nights to relatives of those who died or went missing in the tsunami, and to those who were injured in the tsunami, so that…
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Soi Dog Foundation “now official’
PHUKET: The Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) announced on October 31 that it has been granted official foundation status in Thailand. Margot Homburg Park, President of the SDF, said that it was a huge breakthrough for the charity, and that the move would allow it to expand its operations in Phuket. She added that she looked forward to working closely with…
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Phuket Carnival kicks off in Patong
PHUKET: The celebration to launch Phuket’s tourism high season starts today and runs through November 3, from 9 am to midnight daily. Previously known as the Patong Carnival, it has been revamped and dubbed Phuket Carnival 2005.The annual parade, from near Phuket Simon Cabaret, along Prachanukhro Rd to Thaweewong Rd and then north to Soi Bangla, takes place from 4…
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Travel deal “should boost Chinese tourist numbers’
PHUKET: Nineteen Chinese tour operators yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to sell 25 standardized travel packages to Chinese tourists. The MOU, signed at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, will be effective for six months starting today.Prapan Yukumyat, President of the Phuket Office of the Thai-China Tourism Association, told the Gazette that since the year 2000 the number of…
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Austrian in bizarre suicide
PATONG: An Austrian tourist died of knife wounds to the chest at around midnight on Saturday. Police say that he purposely inflicted the wounds on himself.The dead man was named as Wolfgang Rodlauer, 36, a ski instructor. Pol Lt Col Prathung Pholmana of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette that Mr Rodlauer was seen walking about the streets of Patong…
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Rough justice for knicker nicker
SAMUT PRAKAN: Stealing women’s underwear might be considered nothing but a prank in some countries, but it is a serious crime in Samut Prakan’s Muang District, where residents of Tambon Bangpoomai took the law into their own hands and nearly beat to death a man after he was caught pilfering panties. Yoybangpoo District Police reported the man’s arrest, which occurred…
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The Poodle Poo incident on Soi Green Soda
KARON: The owner of two Karon beer bars has filed a complaint with the Chalong Police against a neighbor who, she says, threw dog excreta at her. Yindee Sutipakdi, 39, filed the complaint against 22-year-old Piyathida Muangbang, after the latter drove up to her home on a motorcycle and hurled a bag containing poodle poo at her. The two women…
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Not so sty-lish behavior
KHON KAEN: A man accused by villagers of having sex with a neighbor’s pig has agreed to pay the owner 500 baht in compensation. Sa-ngad Hapanna, 39, a resident of Baan Tonnoi in Muang district, filed a complaint with the village headman after neighbors alerted her the night before that they saw the man having sex with one of her…
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