Hua Hin Live
20 April 2012
FREE weekly issue 178
Weird News English Corner Classifieds You Are The Ref
all bar none
strict enforcement of licensing hours looms
hua hin, THAILAND Several bars in the centre of town were this week taken to task and fined for breaking the terms of their alcohol licences; police raided several establishments in the Soi Binthabaht and Soi 80 areas on Tuesday afternoon and a number of licensees were held at the police station for up to six hours. The penalties outlined in the 2008 Alcoholic Beverage Control Act for selling alcohol outside the times laid down are ‘imprisonment for the term of not exceeding six months or to a fine of not exceeding ten thousand Baht or both’; when this law was passed there was great confusion as to whether the hours stipulated related only to shops or also applied to bars, and it seems clear now what the answer is. The legal hours are well known to anyone who has visited a 7/11, Tesco Lotus or Villa Market, as there are prominent signs informing customers that alcohol cannot be sold between the hours of two and five o’clock in the afternoon, and between midnight and eleven o’clock in the morning. This is the first time that AWOL has heard of bars being punished for this however, and may indicate another drive by the authorities to enforce the act. It does appear though that any venue that has either a hotel or restaurant licence is exempt from these hours, but it would be advisable for anyone with an alcohol licence to check their status with either a lawyer or local police. Whenever this sort of action is taken it begs the question of the bar business community as to why they do not form an organisation that can help to advise members as well as act on their behalf and work with the police and other authorities to achieve a satisfactory outcome for all. So many foreigners enter the business and get caught out, and police time could be spent more efficiently on real criminals.
soi selakam
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