The arrest took place at 6:10pm during a joint operation between Wichit Police and officials from the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO).
Pol Col Somsak Thongkliang, Chief of Wichit Police, led the raid at the Sunrise Smile Dental Clinic, located on the second floor of a plaza behind Central Festival Phuket.
Upon arrival, officers found several Thai and foreign clients waiting for treatment. Inside the clinic, they found a man later identified as Ling Tung, 35, a Taiwanese national, wearing medical scrubs and performing a teeth-cleaning procedure on a patient.
Police ordered him to stop and requested to see his dental licence and the clinic’s operating permit. He was unable to produce valid documentation, police reported.
According to police, the investigation began after the PPHO filed a complaint with Wichit Police following reports that a foreign dentist was operating illegally.
Initial questioning by the police said that Mr Ling claimed to be a qualified dentist in Taiwan but did not hold a Thai dental licence or work permit. He told officers he was in the process of applying for one.
He was taken into custody at Wichit Police Station for further legal proceedings.
Mr Ling faces four charges: operating a medical facility without a licence; operating a medical facility without permission; practising dentistry without a licence; and being a foreigner temporarily permitted to stay in Thailand but working without authorisation.
Pol Col Somsak reminded the public to seek treatment only from licensed medical facilities to avoid potential health and legal risks.