Phuket Businesses Face Strict Enforcement Of Alcohol Act

[tracer]

Just remind me again what is actually achieved by restricting alcohol sales in the afternoon?

Simple, if they go and buy between 11 and 2 which is the opening time in the morning, most will be sleeping it off in the afternoon...

And note that's only for people without a place to sell it....

Makes sense though as otherwise the supply companies haven't got enough hours to deliver the booze...

Obviously question is why some bars are open during the same hours... (!!)

Anyone wants to get drunk, just go to a bar, there are enough cheap ones open....

I would find it a LOT more useful if they start checking those villages where nobody checks on people wearing the helmets , and secondly if someone with decent experience would be assigned to TEST the damned helmets and NOT give them a license to be sold if cheap spare parts are unavailable. Whats the use of buying a decent full face helmet if you cannot get a replacement for the see-through thing if it gets rusted away: STUPID CONSTRUCTION in my opinion!)

Also this morning some equally stupid lady (THAI) was driving a bike and I didn't trust it so I waited, yes, on the bloody phone. Anyone knows what law book says if you kill a Thai on motorbike and on the phone who is wrong.... Yes, I know, ME.

[tracer]

Anything to allow the BIB to shake down business owners for more bribes.

well, who else pays them?? Very few tourists around ....

Most of the ones back are the ones coming every year... Note I see very few one-off tourists sofar.

[EnhancePlus]

What I'd like to know is when they're going to start cracking down on those bug vendors. Geez, for the love of Buddha, leave them creatures alone

[tracer]

hello

is it only during public holiday,election days or 24/7 all year long

does anybody has the actual legal text for that law????

PLEASE ANSWER ME........

do restaurants are allowed to sell food or do we have to convert selling suits????

and employ illegal immigrants and pay the police to employ them......

Ok, answer to some questions:

If you have a bar etc and you order a certain amount, you get it. I don't know the amount, I haven't got a bar.

If the amount is NOT big enough you are not supposed to get booze.

NO, I do not have the text as reading THAI is difficult enough to not try reading law books...

Thai civil and commercial ones are worth buying as they are one page in THAI, other page in English.

NOT expensive either and worth their money.

As far as I know, if you are a restaurant+BAR and NOT a BAR + restaurant according to some... You can serve food, but you cannot serve beer without food. As we are farang we can always insist on supplying every customer with in those cases some french fries... Thai customers or ladies, you can supply with Plah Ja.. (G) or the fish or shrimp crackers.

I donot think you will have to sell suits! And note that there is never a legal obligation to EAT the supplied food.

Keep in mind that in the past one customer without food was enough to get fined!!!

[moskito]

no fun allowed I guess

THATS Abisiths Thailand

May be they should start BANNING ALCOHOL COMMERCIAL SPOTS IN TELEVISION but I guess the lobby is too strong, so lets hit on the small people.

I often was angry when I did shopping for the restaurant and cant buy beer in Lotus or Big C as an ADULT

And by the way. Does it mean we cant sale beer to customers in our restaurant between 2 and 5 o clock in the afternoon anymore?

If so I hope tourists stay away from Thaland in the future, there are other countries in this world where ADULTS can make their own decisions.

Wonder what the small shops in nearly every tourist temple sale in the future......

[sejati]

The law is just unclear. Maybe there's something lost in translation. I don't see how it can apply to pubs and bars when they are allowed to open legally until 1 or 2am (depending upon location). But TiT.

Afternoon sales restrictions are ridiculous but all this has been debated on this forum so many times you may as well just dig up an old thread and place all the posts on this one.

agree, afternoon restrictions are a bit silly. All one needs to do is go to a Tops, BigC, Foodland or where ever and buy "wholesale". Translated into English from the Thai wholesale mean, buy a case. There are no restrictions on booze if its a wholesale transaction. Plus you get the added benefit of not needing to think about the hours for a couple of days. Well maybe one day. Ha

[moskito]

All one needs to do is go to a Tops, BigC, Foodland or where ever and buy "wholesale". Translated into English from the Thai wholesale mean, buy a case. There are no restrictions on booze if its a wholesale transaction. Plus you get the added benefit of not needing to think about the hours for a couple of days. Well maybe one day. Ha

yeah right....and NOW you try to explain that to a cashier in one of the mentioned shops........

[robert00]

Sounds like another great idea to boost tourism.

You are dead right mate, you should see how little tourists are here in Chiangmai, the bars and restaurants are almost empty, only the Night Market gets a few custommers, but most stall holders are asleep on top of theyr goods.

Maybe in 5 or 10 years down the road Thailand will wake up, but I doubt it.

[hippyted]

hello

are all the business concerned about selling alcohol between 11 and 2 ,and 17 to 2 in the morning

i thought it was only the 7/11 and supermarket???

is it only seven eleven and supermarket?

are restaurant and bars concerned????

is it only during public holiday,election days or 24/7 all year long

does anybody has the actual legal text for that law????

PLEASE ANSWER ME........

do restaurants are allowed to sell food or do we have to convert selling suits????

and employ illegal immigrants and pay the police to employ them......

ARE WE ALLOWED TO DO BUSINESS IN THAILAND?????

or maybe we should get the F.... OUT of this country and try to do a living somewhere else??????

please answer me

thanks

def

Right i have a question for you,,???? how is it i can buy beer or what ever i want, in phuket or pattaya, as soon as the shop opens till it shuts,, no time limit?? but in Phitsanulok,, Baan clang,, you can only buy in licencing hours,, in the jungle they keep to the licencing laws ,, But in the lime light of ALL they flout these laws???? i just dont figure?????? lol lol lol I love THAILAND always surprises

[hippyted]

Maybe just maybe If there was less drinking and smoking there might be less trash and butts left behind, by non-caring smoking, drinking people, just maybe

HEY man you get thet everywhere, in the world just about???? you cant fix it

[cdnvic]

Just a note, when posting, please use a normal font. Over-size fonts are fine for headlines and headers but as text they are annoying to readers and make a mess of the page. Choose your words well and they will stand out without any additional formatting.

[hippyted]

Most would read thru this and not give it a 3rd thought, but it strikes me as funny as h@##. I have seen this methodology practiced at local mom-pop mkts in the village, and it tickles my funny bone that farang have figured out "thai way". Thanks for the belly shaking laff.

LOL this is nothing new for certain residents of the uk,,, they been doing it for years, remember when the uk was licenced,, pmsl ,, weve been doing that for years pal,, where thers a will ETC xxx such a sheltered life some people have

[hippyted]

yeah right....and NOW you try to explain that to a cashier in one of the mentioned shops........

to buy wholesale you got to go MAKRO,,,,, BUY THE PALLET

[Rooo]

yeah right....and NOW you try to explain that to a cashier in one of the mentioned shops........

Any purchace 10 Ltrs or more, Eg: 2 cases of beer ,allowed anytime .That is what the signs say in Tesco, Big C & Makro.Wholesale was never under the restriction.

[ppmacready]

Just remind me again what is actually achieved by restricting alcohol sales in the afternoon?

Less drunk teachers, Taxi drivers, Politicians etc

[montri69]

Wow! so much imagination and efforts just to get a bear. If you were not an alcoholic (read in a dictionnary what the definition is, it starts when you consume alcohol on a daily bases), you would probably jsut drink something else. Looks kind of much easier than all the cabaret you describe, don't you think so?

OK Mitrapaap, I got out my trusty dictionary and it reads as follows:

Alcoholic -1. of or containing alcohol, 2. caused by alcohol or liquor containing it, 3. suffering from alcoholism -(noun) - a person who has chronic alcoholism or who habitually drinks liquor to excess

My suggestions are; 1. don't drink so much before posting, 2. take a few English classes and learn to spell (i.e. , there is only 1 "N" in DICTIONARY and BASES are used in playing BASEBALL)

For the rest of you, if you don't like the way Thais run their own country, go home. It'll soon hit you why you left to come here in the first place.

JMHO

[EmU]

Ok, answer to some questions:

If you have a bar etc and you order a certain amount, you get it. I don't know the amount, I haven't got a bar.

If the amount is NOT big enough you are not supposed to get booze.

NO, I do not have the text as reading THAI is difficult enough to not try reading law books...

Thai civil and commercial ones are worth buying as they are one page in THAI, other page in English.

NOT expensive either and worth their money.

As far as I know, if you are a restaurant+BAR and NOT a BAR + restaurant according to some... You can serve food, but you cannot serve beer without food. As we are farang we can always insist on supplying every customer with in those cases some french fries... Thai customers or ladies, you can supply with Plah Ja.. (G) or the fish or shrimp crackers.

I donot think you will have to sell suits! And note that there is never a legal obligation to EAT the supplied food.

Keep in mind that in the past one customer without food was enough to get fined!!!

you cannot get a beer at MKrestaurants during the restricted hours no matter what you order.

[samuibeachcomber]

No the hardcore alcoholics think ahead and either have a fridge full of Lao Khao or get to 7Eleven 3 minutes before prohibition starts. I know that the clock in my local 7Eleven has been 12 minutes slow for about 2 years so I use that to my advantage. In unfamiliar minimarts that display the correct time try setting the time on your mobile back 10 minutes and insist on being served, it has worked!

Another alternative is make sure you have exactly the right notes and change for your 4 beers which you bag by yourself at the counter. Before the cashier has the time to explain the house rules say "yo no habla ingles?" slap the exact money down and walk out then look back to see the cashier going to the fridge to get the barcode!

Tescos is easy! Drink while shopping during prohibition and turn up at the checkout with a few empty cans of beer and a few full ones.

They'll tell you "you can't buy beer" and confiscate it and then spot the 3 empties and the one your drinking. This stumps them so the manager is called and you end up giving the exact money for what you've consumed which is kept out of the till and registered after prohibition ends.

If all else fails go local as granny don't give a sh!t about some dumb ass prohibition law!

Happy Drinking

spoken like a true pro.

[Tawai]

All one needs to do is go to a Tops, BigC, Foodland or where ever and buy "wholesale". Translated into English from the Thai wholesale mean, buy a case. There are no restrictions on booze if its a wholesale transaction. Plus you get the added benefit of not needing to think about the hours for a couple of days. Well maybe one day. Ha

yeah right....and NOW you try to explain that to a cashier in one of the mentioned shops........

Moskito, pls. refrain from posting under NO influence of knowledge.

There are CLEAR signs in any of the big retail shops that state:

Sales of alcoholic drinks are limited to the time from 11 - 14 and 17 - 22 o'clock. Except for wholesale purchases from more than 10 liters.

A week ago we been invited to dinner at a friends house. Wanted to bring some wine, went to Carefour only to realize that it was 10 past 14:00. O.k. the sign says more than 10 liters, so I pack another 15 bottles of beer and end of the problem. The 15 large bottles of beer been cheaper than one od the 2 bottles of Riesling.

My point: Now I have beer in my fridge I drink at home too, without it I would drink juice. So the law actually makes me drink more alcohol in this case

[rfukata]

it's in face of collusion and corruption by the government itself (blaming businesses) for breaching the alcohol act.

what ever the govt. does, it probably will not accomplish its goal due in part of corrupt and wrong doings by officials

- even their upcoming strategies on liquor packaging (graphic labeling) similar to the cigarette graphic labeling, will this

effectively curb underage and or adults from engaging in having an alcoholic beverage or a cigarette?

[grantbkk]

Fear not. This is probably the last fake social campaign of the year. The officials are required to pop off one more time in an attempt to fulfill their quota of BS press releases. There are so many crackdowns no one can really keep track of them all. This will be a non issue in the cities after the photo op for the government. Does anyone remember the crackdown on smoking. What a joke.

[hhiser]

Just remind me again what is actually achieved by restricting alcohol sales in the afternoon?

Limit the length of the daily lunch parties.

[NinjaGladiator]

No the hardcore alcoholics think ahead and either have a fridge full of Lao Khao or get to 7Eleven 3 minutes before prohibition starts. I know that the clock in my local 7Eleven has been 12 minutes slow for about 2 years so I use that to my advantage. In unfamiliar minimarts that display the correct time try setting the time on your mobile back 10 minutes and insist on being served, it has worked!

Another alternative is make sure you have exactly the right notes and change for your 4 beers which you bag by yourself at the counter. Before the cashier has the time to explain the house rules say "yo no habla ingles?" slap the exact money down and walk out then look back to see the cashier going to the fridge to get the barcode!

Tescos is easy! Drink while shopping during prohibition and turn up at the checkout with a few empty cans of beer and a few full ones.

They'll tell you "you can't buy beer" and confiscate it and then spot the 3 empties and the one your drinking. This stumps them so the manager is called and you end up giving the exact money for what you've consumed which is kept out of the till and registered after prohibition ends.

If all else fails go local as granny don't give a sh!t about some dumb ass prohibition law!

Happy Drinking

I think Jarapa is making the point that heavy drinkers can and will still get their beer, because it is important to them and they need it. So the only people effected by these laws are the occassional drinker, who didn't give it much thought, just simply decided to knock off work early one friday aft. meet up with some friends and go for a few bevvys, They got the 1st in OK (it was 1:55) 2:45 comes around and they call for another to be told "sorry no can do" shock horror, "what a stupid rule", meanwhile back at the whino's house he's comfortably sat back downing his 4th bottle of Low-cow. As I said earlier they promoted the campaign saying it was to stop underage drinking, if people break the rule about selling to under aged, they'll continue to break the law and sell to under aged after 2pm, IT'S A JOKE!!

[Jonathanpattaya]

So why are they not enforced uniformly and fairly from the time they come into effect? They introduce a new law, and banning the sales of alcohol and tobacco should find no dissent amongst adults anywhere, with a huge fanfare and photo ops for all manner of major and minor politicians. Then it is just allowed to drift with patchy enforcement until it is virtually ignored often with official connivance (bribes). Then, usually coinciding with a new boy on the block be it governor or police chief, it suddenly gets resurrected and with another major fanfare they announce a crackdown and strict enforcement of the law. Then, after a suitable period, it is allowed to drift again, most likely as the new boy gets his "just rewards" from local businesses. Wash and repeat this cycle ad nauseum.

Also how about enforcing the laws equally, for example we all know about the ban on sales of alcohol between 2pm and 5pm (unless you want to buy a serious amount then it's okay). But we all know just as well that this is only applied to big concerns like Teso-Lotus and if you really want to buy a bottle of whisky during that time a local corner mom'n'pop store will gladly help you out.

btw does anyone know if the 2-5pm ban will also affect bars and gogos because it hasn't up till now?

Yes, but don't confuse the making of laws with the enforcement of them.

As for that being done uniformly is yet another good question!

[SiriusBlack1]

As always, the problem in Thailand is corruption.

Because corruption is rife at all levels, laws are designed to be hard to comply with, so as to generate bribes.

Because everyone is in violation of the law at all times, respect for the rule of law breaks down.

And because the laws are literally made to be broken, a cloud of uncertainty hangs over the enforcement environment at all times.

[ivowatson]

you cannot get a beer at MKrestaurants during the restricted hours no matter what you order.

Ever tried ordering 10 Ltrs of beer?

[Wombat6]

We have all discussed the ridiculous ban on alcohol sales between 2pm-5pm and election days etc.....I always believed Thailand was trying to encourage Tourists but maybe I was dreaming. Perhaps the authorities could have a crackdown on kids riding motorcycles when they are under age (most can't afford booze) and to have a law that only people over the age of 20 can legally buy alcohol is a bit archaic....18 year olds can be in the armed forces and defend/fight for thir countries but not drink??? come on Thailand, get real. There are thousands of under 20's travelling the world so why would they want to visit Thailand if they can't have a drink and enjoy themselves legally.

[hhiser]

are all the business concerned about selling alcohol between 11 and 2 ,and 17 to 2 in the morning

i thought it was only the 7/11 and supermarket???

is it only seven eleven and supermarket?

are restaurant and bars concerned????

is it only during public holiday,election days or 24/7 all year long

does anybody has the actual legal text for that law????

PLEASE ANSWER ME........

do restaurants are allowed to sell food or do we have to convert selling suits????

and employ illegal immigrants and pay the police to employ them......

ARE WE ALLOWED TO DO BUSINESS IN THAILAND?????

or maybe we should get the F.... OUT of this country and try to do a living somewhere else??????

please answer me

If you really want to know

http://www.stopdrinknetwork.com/uploadcont...-Th-54-1772.pdf

I have skimmed through most of it, and it does not look like the act itself is prohibiting sales alcohol beverages at the specified time. It is the ministry created by the act which is prohibiting the sale. 

[moskito]

yeah right....and NOW you try to explain that to a cashier in one of the mentioned shops........

to buy wholesale you got to go MAKRO,,,,, BUY THE PALLET

THANKS for the TIP, I do that in the meantime. The restriction was the reason why I changed to MAKRO...a shop like LOTUS or Big C becomes worthless to me. I need to buy the most things in one place and will not change only for beer to another. Mostly in mentioned shops Farang working as Managers, if the fail to educate their staff........

[moskito]

Just remind me again what is actually achieved by restricting alcohol sales in the afternoon?

Less drunk teachers, Taxi drivers, Politicians etc

AND more tea money for the police who check the restaurants and other places