Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Yuthavong said today the booze ban signed on July 20th by the PM preventing the sale of alcohol within 300m of universities & technical colleges would be indefinitely suspended to prevent confusion with the Section 44 order of 23 July.

The deputy PM confirmed there would be a six month study and in the meantime, law enforcement officers will use their own judgement and discretion when enforcing the new laws under Section 44 of the interim charter that included the sale of alcohol near both schools and universities, illegal street racing and illegally operated nightclubs..

As we know, the Section 44 order of July 23rd became law immediately and was extended to include any educational facility be it a school, college or university. It also dropped the 300m radius for the rather vague “near” which has also been reported and translated as “vicinity” too.

“There is still a point that we have to define, which is the word ‘vicinity,” Deputy Prime Minister said. “What does that mean? The committee is collecting opinions from relevant agencies to reach a clear understanding … It will take about six months.”

Agencies involved in working out the details include the Royal Thai Police, Ministry of Public Health, Excise Department, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Interior Affair, according to Saman Footrakul, director of the Alcohol Beverage Office.

In the days following the Section 44 order a string of bars near the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce were told to close early and two bars located close to Rangsit University were ordered shut.

The bid to crack down on underage drinking also seen a Pattaya nightclub closed for five years last week under the newly passed laws when more than 100 customers under the legal drinking age were found inside during a raid by local officials, police and military personnel.

It’s all been very much a case of good idea, poor execution with lots of backpedaling from the government in the past two weeks with talk now of drawing up new entertainment zones to clarify where alcohol can and can’t be sold over the next six months.

Plenty of time to lift a few rugs and sweep the whole mess under them in the hope everyone forgets this complete clusterfuck.





