Clarification of drink laws

[hocuspocus]

I am sure we have all heard of the tightening up of the drink laws but there are still one or two things that I need to clarify.

Firstly I know it is illegal to buy alcohol between the hours of 2pm and 5pm but is it illegal to drink alcohol between the hours of 2pm and 5pm.

I know they would have difficulty stopping you drinking in your own home but we had previously bought alcohol from a Mama's and Papa's store before 2pm

and later we were drinking it in the lounge of a local hotel in Chiang Mai. I understood that it was ok to drink in hotels all day. My friend who I was drinking with

is a resident of the hotel we were drinking in but we did not buy the alcohol in the Hotel as they do not sell alcohol. While we were drinking beer between the

hours of 2pm and 5pm an Army officer strolled though the lounge, he looked like he was off duty but he had his uniform on. He did not say anything to us but

had a quiet word with the manager of the hotel and then she mentioned this to us. I know the laws on alcohol are constantly changing and are difficult to keep

up with as are many laws in Thailand. But can anyone tell me if it is illegal to drink in this situation.Thailand is a very busy holiday location and if I was on holiday anywhere else in the world, part of my holiday would be sat by the pool in the afternoon drinking a few beers. Thanks in advance.

[CharlieH]

Like many Laws in Thailand, its dependent entirely on who is enforcing them and what they think, not what anyone else thinks or even knows.

On the day, at the time, and whose in front of you is all that is going to matter.

[jdinasia]

It's not illegal to drink but the hotel may ask you to move elsewhere to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

[Chivas]

Becoming ludicrous in the extreme (not you OP)....

[Beechboy]

This Pruyut seems to becoming a modern day oliver Cromwell (apologies to non-English who might not understand the reference) in as much as it his prerogative to dictate how others should lead their lives. What pedestal does he put himself on?

The job of government is the opposite of this and more to do with providing a safe, secure environment for its' citizens to live their three score years and ten the best way they see fit without harm or hindrance to others. IE. it is not the drinking that is the problem with the majority but more the consequence of drinking amongst the minority that is the problem. Address this with properly applied policing and law-making, rather than using a sledge hammer to crack a nut and inconveniencing the majority of law abiders in such clumsy ways.

The first thing this Draconian nonsense will hit is the vulnerable tourist trade, so street bars and the booze industry in general will not be the only ones to lose out.

[hocuspocus]

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This Pruyut seems to becoming a modern day oliver Cromwell (apologies to non-English who might not understand the reference) in as much as it his prerogative to dictate how others should lead their lives. What pedestal does he put himself on?

The job of government is the opposite of this and more to do with providing a safe, secure environment for its' citizens to live their three score years and ten the best way they see fit without harm or hindrance to others. IE. it is not the drinking that is the problem with the majority but more the consequence of drinking amongst the minority that is the problem. Address this with properly applied policing and law-making, rather than using a sledge hammer to crack a nut and inconveniencing the majority of law abiders in such clumsy ways.

The first thing this Draconian nonsense will hit is the vulnerable tourist trade, so street bars and the booze industry in general will not be the only ones to lose out.

I do not doubt that on the whole things are a lot more stable in Thailand at the moment but Prayut has got a lot of things on his plate but I do remember him saying that he wanted to make the population happy and by banning alcohol during the hours that he is enforcing is certainly not making me happy and it will not make many of the tourists that come here happy either. If the worry is that he does not want underage children buying alcohol when leaving school then why not as well make sure that the many of thousands of children driving their motorcycles in and out of school are old enough to drive, have licenses and wear helmets.

I can buy alcohol in bulk and drink as much as I like at home and also it is a lot cheaper to drink at home but by restricting bar opening times as much as he is will definitely lead to bar closures and Thais losing their low paid jobs.

[patrick1968]

land of smile ....??