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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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Downpours prompt flood and landslide warnings
PHUKET: Strong winds and heavy rain along the coasts of the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand have prompted the Meteorological Department to issue warnings of the possibility of flooding and landslides.Vichit Phuangsombat, Director of the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), which is near Phuket International Airport, today told the Gazette, “The heaviest recorded rainfall in Thailand yesterday was…
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Incumbent wins Pa Khlok poll
PA KHLOK: Panya Sumphaorat from Pa Khlok Gao Na (Progress) Party yesterday won the Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) presidential election, polling 2,540 votes to beat his rival by just 186 votes.K. Panya, who was President of the OrBorTor in the term leading up to the election, beat Sa-ard Kongnam, from the Pa Khlok Pattana (Development) Party, who scored…
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Burmese sought over stabbing murder
KATHU: A Burmese worker is being sought by police after the corpse of a motorbike taxi driver was found last week by villagers near Talay Keeree village, in the foothills around Kathu.The body, with 15 stab wounds in it, was identified as that of 45-year-old Narongsak Bunyalertnimit from Phatthalung, a van driver with the Take-A-Trip travel agency, who worked as…
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Death by aromatherapy
BANGKOK: A woman in Bang-wa District died of asphyxiation after turning her bathroom into a makeshift sauna and aromatherapy chamber in an attempt to shed unwanted flab. Tanakrit Kianthong, a grilled pork vendor, told police he returned home on July 3 to find his wife Pattaporn, 43, lying dead on the floor of the second-story bathroom of the couple’s three-story…
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Push to get tourists to shop till they drop
PHUKET CITY: As part of a drive to get tourists to do more shopping while in Phuket, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will stage an exhibition of Phuket batik designs on July 30 and 31 on the second floor of the Big C supercenter.Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the local office of the TAT, said that Thailand currently receives income…
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15 minutes of fame evaporates
PHUKET: Bangkok-based film company Hub Ho Hin has canceled all roles offered to Phuket residents for the movie Jaew (Operation Maid), starring Pornchita “Benz” na Songkhla, because a decision has been made to film location shots in Chiang Mai instead of Phuket. Jarunee “Maew” Boonsake, second assistant director on the movie, explained, “The director, Yongyuth Thongkongtoon, has decided to shoot…
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Hotels president slams oil pipeline plan
NAI YANG: Vichit Na Ranong, a former senator and current President of the Thai Hotels Association, yesterday spoke out against the oil pipeline slated to be built in Phang Nga, saying, “It will ruin all tourism here and we will never get it back.”Speaking at the opening of the new convention facilities at his Pearl Village Hotel in Nai Yang,…
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Government plans marina at Chalong
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has announced that Phuket province plans to build a marina in Chalong Bay. The announcement was made during a seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, attended by about 80 participants from both government and private sectors. Panjit Pissawong, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Commercial Office, told the Gazette that Chalong Bay is the most…
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TAT boss raps Phuket’s failings
BANGKOK: Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that the goal of Phuket becoming a truly ‘world-class’ destination is a pipe dream unless a variety of problems are dealt with.These, she said, include high-volume, low-paying tourists; poor service in all sectors of the hospitality industry; and a crumbling natural environment.Speaking with the…
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“Cyber Paradise’ training begins
PATONG: The Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) yesterday launched a two-week seminar with the aim of training software programmers in Thailand to develop open source software for Thai small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).Forty programmers from Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen assembled at the Patong Merlin Hotel, where software developer David Jones explained how to develop the commerce-focused open-source software OFBiz.Mr Jones is…
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Giant Buddha gets go-ahead
KARON: Construction of the controversial Mingmongkol Buddha image atop Nakkerd Hill will resume next month, now that the Royal Forest Department (RFD) has issued a paper authorizing work on the project to continue.The authorization stipulates that the project remain in compliance with the original plan and that steps be taken to minimize further erosion at the project site.Work on the…
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Kathu elections won uncontested
KATHU: Prasert Kaokijpaisarn and his 12-member Kathu Pattana (Development) Party won all seats for both Kathu municipality electorates, including the key position of Mayor. It would have been a surprise if they hadn’t – Kathu Pattana was the only party to stand for election. Of the 10,892 Kathu residents eligible to vote, 4,426 (40.64%) turned out for the poll on…
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Korean telecoms giant enters Phuket IT market
PHUKET: South Korea’s largest fixed-line telecommunications provider, KT Corp, has entered the Thai IT market with a 98-million-baht deal to install 5,000 ADSL ports, providing broadband Internet access, in Phuket. The contract is part of the TOT’s expansion of Internet services, a key component of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry’s push to make Phuket an “ICT City”. Speaking…
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Fishy business: two arrested
THA CHAT CHAI: Local police and fishery officials seized more than 1,000 protected tropical fish as they were about to be transported off the island by truck on Friday morning. Acting on a tip off, Tha Chat Chai Police and officials from the Phuket Provincial Fishery Office (PPFO) stopped a blue pick-up at the Tha Chat Chai checkpoint. The vehicle…
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American found dead in Patong hotel
PATONG: Police are investigating the death of 43-year-old American Chris John Beyer, who was found dead at the Expat Hotel on Thursday with his hands bound and a black garbage bag over his head. Housekeepers discovered the body about two days after noting a rank odor in room 120, where Mr Beyer had been staying since July 9. Expat Hotel…
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New bird ‘flu measures in place
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Livestock office (PPLO) has re-introduced strict measures to protect the island from avian influenza, following new outbreaks in the Northern and Central Thai provinces of Ayudhaya, Ang Thong, Pathum Thani, Sukhothai, Uttaradit, Nakhon Sawan, Suphan Buri and Chiang Rai. The regulations went into effect on Tuesday. Dr Weerapab Termkiatpaisarn, Deputy Chief of the PPLO, said that…
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Phummisak offers Chao Fa City as ICEC site
PHUKET: In what appears to be an attempt to break the deadlock over where to site the International Exhibition and Convention Center (ICEC), Phummisak Hongsyok has offered to earmark 200 rai of his recently announced Chao Fa City development for it.K. Phummisak, former Mayor of Phuket City and Managing Director of Anuphas & Sons, which owns the land where Chao…
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Pa Khlok candidates deny big party links
THALANG: Leaders of the two parties running in the Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) elections to be held on July 25 have denied links with major national parties. The upcoming elections will be the first time that Pa Khlok residents will have an opportunity to vote directly for who they want as President. There are 40 candidates contesting 18…
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Thai Airways extends discount period
BANGKOK: Thai Airways (THAI) has announced that it is extending its “Smile around Thailand” discount fares campaign until September 30 due to keen interest from the travelers. Viset Sontichai, THAI’s District Sales Manager for Upper Southern Thailand, told the Gazette that the price of the tickets is at least 20% cheaper than standard fares. There are, however, conditions attached. Passengers…
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Mystery over Yakuza gangster’s death
KARON: The January 6 death of known Yakuza gangster, Kenji Maehama, 30, (as reported in the Gazette Online the following day) is being investigated by Japanese crime fighters to determine whether he was murdered.Mr Kenji arrived on Phuket with his stepfather and two friends on January 5, staying at the Phuket Arcadia Beach Resort. The following day Mr Kenji reportedly…
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Taking candy from baby
BANGKOK: A daughter delivered her father’s safe, containing over 2 million baht in cash and valuables, to swindlers who called her and told her that her father owed them a lot of money. Rapipat Surapipit, 57, Personnel Manager of Plaza Athenee Hotel in Bangkok, told police that his daughter (name and age unreported) was at home with the family’s 24-year-old…
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Enraged jealousy of a jilted janitor
PATHUM THANI: On the morning of June 4, a group of secondary school teachers sat at some school desks chatting at the Suan Gularb Secondary School in Tambon Pheut-udom, as hundreds of students sat doing their work. The situation is common – and even passes for education – in countless government schools across the country. What wasn’t common was when…
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Provincial governors “should levy taxes’
BANGKOK: Former Phuket Governor Chadej Insawang, now Secretary of the newly-formed Mahachon Party, which will contest national elections in February, has advocated sweeping devolution of tax-raising powers from Bangkok to the provinces. Speaking with the Gazette in an exclusive intereview, K. Chadej said, “Giving provincial governers the responsibility to set budgets for essential services rather than [only] administer them will…
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Phummisak reveals plan for new town
PHUKET: Phummisak Hongsyok, having stepped down as mayor of one town – Phuket City – is now planning to build his own town: a community glorying in the name of Chao Fah City. The new town will rise on 1,510 rai of currently empty land between the Prince of Songkhla University campus and Kwang Rd. K. Phummisak, Managing Director of…
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CAT slashes international call rates
PHUKET: The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) has announced a promotion whereby it has slashed to six baht a minute its charges on international calls to 30 countries, regardless of what time of the day the call is made. The discounted rates apply to calls to: the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Belgium,…
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Top brass check police stations
PHUKET CITY: Officers at Phuket City Police Station yesterday found themselves under the scrutiny of Pol Maj Gen Ronnarong Yungyouen, the Deputy Commissioner of Police Region 8, and five other senior officers from Region 8 headquarters in Surat Thani, who were in Phuket to assess the performance of police stations on the island. The inspection tour, which reached Phuket on…
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Stray dog round-up suspended
THALANG: The mass round-up of Phuket’s stray dogs – which began on June 18 – has been suspended amid problems including budget overspending, escaping dogs, and a small number of the 200-plus strays at the pound being “liberated” by their former neighborhood feeders. Veterinarian Dr Weerapab Termkiatpaisarn, the head of round-up program at Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO), told the…
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Yanui remains confirmed as missing dive instructor
RAWAI: Autopsy results have confirmed that the skeletal remains recovered at Yanui beach on June 10 are those of missing Dutch dive instructor David Wiewel, who disappeared on March 26 after leaving his Kata home to take a walk. Supatra Wiewel, wife of the deceased, told the Gazette that the bones had been cremated in Phuket after the Police Department’s…
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Investigators check 400 rai of land
Phuket City: Police from Bangkok and Phuket, and officials from the Land Development Department (LDD) today examined 14 plots of land in the Punturat Hills, next to the bypass road, that are suspected of having illegal land documents.The 14 plots, totalling about 400 rai, purportedly belong to members of the Srisansuchart family and their associates. The papers name the owners…
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Massive operation to suppress gang violence
PHUKET CITY: Police arrested 100 youngsters at the weekend in a citywide crackdown on teenage gang violence and law-breaking. More than 200 officers from the Phuket City police and Bangkok-based Patrol and Special Operations Division set up some 20 checkpoints around the city, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette. “We have received complaints…
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