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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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Roads claim 15 more lives
PHUKET: Fifteen people were killed on Phuket’s roads between January 20 and February 20, according to the latest statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. All of the victims died while riding motorcycles, Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn, of the Phuket Provincial Health Office, reported. In the same period, 1,024 people were hurt in crashes involving motorbikes. Another 80 people were…
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Heated views at zoning seminar
PHUKET: What might have been a dry discussion of the technicalities of zoning in Phuket turned into a wide-ranging and sometimes emotional discussion of Phuket’s ills when 150 people attended a Phuket Gazette-Nation seminar on Saturday. On stage to lead discussion of “Can Zoning Save Phuket?” at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort were Dr Sommai Prijasila, Head of the Foreign…
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Appeal over missing dive instructor
KATA: The wife and friends of dive instructor David Wiewel, 57, have issued an appeal for anyone who has seen the Dutchman since 8 am on Friday (March 26) to get in touch with them. Mr Wiewel left his home at 121/1, Koktanod Rd, Kata, at that time and was last seen walking toward Kata Noi. He left behind his…
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Hotel unions examine service charge issue
PHUKET CITY: For members of local hotel labor unions, the question of who gets service charges was high on the agenda at a recent international meeting of labor officials in Phuket. Regional representatives of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) gathered at the ST Hotel on March 27-28 to discuss collective…
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Songkran water battles to be zoned
PHUKET (The Nation): Revelers will have to watch out where they hurl water during Songkran next month because local authorities plan to designate specific areas for their antics. “We will ensure that the revelers have fun while observing laws and safety rules,” Phuket police chief Pol Maj Gen Veerayuth Sittimalic said. The proposed free-for-all zones are Saphan Hin in Phuket…
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First round of zoning hearings completed
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Public Works and Town and Country Planning Office (PWTCPO), which is responsible for drawing up a comprehensive set of island-wide zoning regulations by October 1, has completed a first round of public hearings in each of Phuket’s three districts to gauge public opinion on zoning issues. The zoning is intended to curb the unregulated development that…
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Direct Phuket-Pattaya flights take off
PHUKET: Bangkok Airways will launch direct Phuket-Pattaya flights on Sunday (March 28) – part of a general aviation expansion that also sees Hong Kong-based airlines Cathay Pacific and Dragonair getting access to some domestic routes within Thailand. Bangkok Airways’ Sales Executive in Phuket, Julalak Atiwattananon, told the Gazette that, starting March 28, the new Phuket-Pattaya service will fly on Sundays,…
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Phuket Seminars to focus on quality-of-life issues
PHUKET: In connection with a Nation Multimedia Group (NMG) editorial board meeting to be held in Phuket this weekend, The Nation newspaper and the Phuket Gazette will present an English-language seminar entitled: “Can zoning save Phuket?” Focused on provincial planning, zoning, environmental and other issues critical for tourism, property development and day-to-day living on the island, the seminar will be…
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Police seek witnesses to double fatality
RAWAI: Police are keen to interview anyone who may have witnessed a collision between a car and a motorbike that killed a British tourist and his Thai girlfriend on Wiset Rd, Rawai, on Sunday night. Killed were Briton Scott Tristan Watkins, 33, and Sasithorn Kaewyai, also 33, from Buri Ram. The following day, the driver of the Mitsubishi Pajero involved…
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New base for anti-smuggling operations
AO MAKHAM: The new Customs House and pier at the Ao Makham Deep Sea Port, officially opened yesterday, is expected to play a major role in the protection of the area around the port from various maritime perils, including smuggling and environmental problems. The Customs Department will base five vessels there to intercept fuel-oil smugglers and drug runners. Anti-smuggling operations…
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Police appeal over headless corpse
KAMALA: Police have appealed for information to help them identify a badly decomposed, headless body that was found washed up on seaside rocks at Laem Son on Sunday. Pol Capt Serm Kwannimit, of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that the body was discovered by local villagers at about 4:30 pm. He said that police believe the victim was probably…
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Mayoral candidate disqualified
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Election Commission (PEC) has barred Thanapong Kho-udom, leader of the Pattana Baan Rao (“Develop Our Home”) Party from running for Mayor of Phuket City in elections due to be held on April 4. Kittipong Thiengkunagrit, Director of the PEC, told the Gazette that electoral rules state that a mayoral candidate must have lived within municipal boundaries…
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Piglet deaths “not from bird ‘flu’
PHUKET CITY: The deaths of 60 piglets on a single farm recently from respiratory infection were the result of hog cholera, not avian ‘flu, according to the island’s top livestock official. The Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO), Sunart Wongchawalit, told the Gazette that the piglets died after contracting hog cholera, also known as swine ‘flu. The deaths…
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Democrats in landslide victory
PHUKET TOWN: The ruling Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party’s attempt to become a force in provincial politics in Phuket received a stinging setback in yesterday’s elections for the presidency of the Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), with the TRT candidate coming last by a long way. The winner, after vote-counting ended at about 4 am today, was Democrat candidate and former…
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Dugong not out of the woods yet
PHUKET TOWN: The health of the young female dugong rescued by staff of the Phuket Marine Biology Center (PMBC) on March 5 has improved, but the animal is still far from a complete recovery. The young animal, little more than an infant, was found stranded at the edge of Klong Pa Khlock, exhausted, bruised all over and with a large…
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Obstructive bureaucrats slammed
PHUKET CITY: The President of the recently formed Phuket Real Estate Club (PREC) yesterday slammed bureaucrats for constantly putting obstacles in the way of the booming property market. Announcing that the club plans to stage a public seminar on April 3 at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to address problems faced by those in real estate development, Phummisak Hongsyok, former…
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Broken leg foils car thief’s escape
PHUKET CITY: A man suspected of stealing two cars and electrical equipment in a wave of thefts tried to escape through a third-floor window at Phuket City Police Station today and ended up in Wachira Hospital with a broken leg. The man specialized in robbing the homes of foreigners, police said. Pol Capt Akanit Danpitaksat, Sub-Inspector of Investigation at Phuket…
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Bird ‘flu saves prawn farmers
PHUKET CITY: With the appearance of avian ‘flu in Thailand, many consumers have made a switch to fish, seafood and the other “white” meat – pork. Fish, and prawns in particular, have become shoppers’ favorites. Before bird ‘flu, prawn prices were depressed because of caps on imports imposed by the US and Europe, resulting in huge surpluses. For prawn farmers…
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Gazette launches private home delivery
PHUKET: In response to increasing demand from readers for home delivery, as well as pressure from advertisers for paid (vs ‘give-away’) circulation, the Phuket Gazette has today launched a “Phuket Special Delivery” subscription. Available to readers in Phuket Province only, the new service promises direct, hand delivery to homes and offices virtually anywhere on the island – “every Saturday morning,…
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Autopsy finds Russian girl was electrocuted
PHUKET: Police have resumed their inquiry into the death of a 10-year-old Russian girl beside the pool at the Dusit Laguna Resort Hotel, after an autopsy by the Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM) in Bangkok established that she was electrocuted. It is almost two months since Ksenia Drashinskiy died in mysterious circumstances while on vacation with her parents at the…
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Makeover for Immigration office
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Immigration Office (PIO) is to be redecorated as a prelude to a proposed full-scale redevelopment that could add an IT crime center and make Phuket an Immigration center for other southern provinces. The new Superintendent of the PIO, Pol Col Witawat Buranasompop, told the Gazette that the new look for the Immigration ofice should be complete…
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Resort guards arrested
CHERNG TALAY: Two former security guards from Banyan Tree Resort Phuket have been released on bail by the Phuket Provincial Court after being charged with attempted murder. Over police objections, the court released the two men the same day they were taken into custody – March 4. Pol Lt Col Suwat Kaewprom, Deputy Superintendent of Cherng Talay Police Station, named…
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Chuan leads Democrat vote drive
PHUKET CITY: Former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and other Democrat Party leaders went walkabout and attended a rally at Saphan Hin on Saturday to support Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr’s bid to win the presidency of Phuket’s Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor). Among others in attendance at the walkabout and rally were current Democrat Party leader Banyat Banthadtan and senior members Trairong Suwankiri and…
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Stranded dugong recovering after rescue
CAPE PANWA: A sick dugong was rescued by the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) on Friday, given medication and food, and is making its first steps toward recovery. A fisherman saw the animal, a young female, stranded in Klong Pa Khlock, Baan Para, close to where the klong meets the sea. He contacted the PMBC who came and retrieved the…
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Two more held for gang slaying
PHUKET TOWN: Two more teenagers believed involved in the execution-style murder of a 15-year-old on January 17 were arrested on Monday in Ranong. The victim, Khajornkiat Tongdeesuk, was tied up, gagged and beaten before being taken to Naamsai beach on Koh Sireh where his killer fired a shotgun into his head. Police believe the slaying was part of a war…
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Curb resort guards, mob urges police
CHERNG TALAY: An argument between locals and security guards at the Banyan Tree Phuket resort led to about 100 villagers staging a protest outside the Cherng Talay Police Station last night. The crowd protested for six hours, calling on police to have the guards removed from their jobs, said Pol Lt Col Suwat Kaewprom, Deputy Superintendent of Cheng Talay Police…
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Wind stops as Langkawi regatta starts
LANGKAWI (Gazette, Asian Yachting): Yesterday’s first day of racing in the BMW-Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2004 suffered from a syndrome known all too well to organizers and competitors in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta – fickle winds. For the Racing, Premier Cruising and Sports Boats classes, two windward-leeward courses were planned, but after the first lap of the first race,…
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B145m reservoir budget “a done deal’
THALANG: The head of the Phuket office of the Royal Irrigation Project (PRIP) is “100% confident” that the 145-million-baht budget for the purchase of land to create a reservoir at Klong Bang Neaw Dum will be approved by Bangkok by the end of March. The project, which is intended to provide a second major supply of water on the island,…
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Press freedom under siege, says IFJ
BRUSSELS: The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today written to Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra calling on his government to stop political interference in the media, and reiterating a call to introduce new rules to prevent conflicts of interest over media ownership. The letter follows a spate of incidents threatening independent media in Thailand. The IFJ, the Brussels-based global…
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Police warned they must reform
PHUKET CITY: Police in Phuket were told yesterday that they must make big changes to the way they work and the way they are perceived by the public, or face having massive and humiliating change imposed on them. Speaking to a meeting of officers at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, Pol Lt Gen Somsak Buppasuwan, commander of Police Region 8…
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