Asiatique restaurant fined Bt460,000 for showing beer bottles in menus

[northernphil]

Cheers ! Oh crap, imported Wolf Blass. Oh crap the girl is Burmese, oh crap and only 13 yo. One ,two, one two mind yer fingers CLANG

[SCARLETIBIS1]

I suppose the next stage would be to stop a shop or restaurant displaying the drinks in a glass fronted fridge.

The same as they do with cigarettes, where they are hidden in shuttered display cabinets.

I know Thais are weak but this is ridiculous.

Farangs are selective with what they drink. Unlike Thais they will not drink any crap that gets them drunk quickly and cheaply. Most have good taste ( with drinks anyway ) and like their own particular brands.

Thais call every spirit Whisky, They have no concept of the difference between Whisky / Rum / Brandy / Gin / Vodka / etc

Their height of sophistication is a bottle of Spy they call wine. So a choice is not important to them.

This maybe true of the Thais in your village in Nakon nowhere dear boy, but not all Thai's are rice picking peasants,

I have been to dinner with some of the boys who drink bottles of wine which are more than your pension or teachers salary so maybe less of the all encompassing generalisations about a population you obviously know very little off outside your little farang bwana bubble you live in

Hardly something to extoll, given crippling poverty in Thailand and elsewhere...

That's not the point, the poster was as making all encompassing derogatory comments about a whole nation of people so called his BS that's all

I certainly agree it is totally unfair to paint the whole society when it's clearly only 98% who drink the cheap booze, just like it's only 98% of the motorcycle shops who will rip you off or 98% of the drivers here who go thru the red lights or 98% who ............................................................................................................................................................

[kevin2852]

Toknarok, This is the text of the law and it deliberately makes no mention of where the said advertising can occur. It definitely does not seem to limit itself to Public advertising. If this is the guideline, then even having an empty beer carton in your garbage could be said to be actively advertising the product, this is really open and God knows where it will end.

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, BE 2551 (2008 CE). Under section 32 of the law, alcoholic beverages may not be advertised in a manner which directly or indirectly claims benefits or promotes its consumption, and may not show the product or its packaging. Under a declaration issued in order with the act, all advertisements must also be accompanied by one out of five predefined warning messages, lasting at least two seconds for video advertisements and occupying at least 25 percent of the advertisement area for print media.

[toenail]

... then the government can start fining all those restaurants that use professional photographs showing mouthwatering Thai cuisine dishes posted on their walls, menus, so the customer is drawn to mouth watering photo to find out when ordered the Thai dish of Geang Keow Wan Gai (Green Curry Chicken) or Massaman chicken curry or "fresh, jumbo" shrimp fried in garlic doesn't match the photo.-UH? The next day you go to another locally run Thai restaurant and they're using the same glossy photographs. You realize that the pics are not really of their food, just copies.

Ironically, a prositute or katoey in Pattaya that has attacked a farang gets fined 100 baht and let go; meanwhile this guy gets fined close to half million baht. If I lived in Bangkok, I'd make a point to patronize his bar. Not fair to be the "whipping boy" or did he fail to pay the mafia boys off??

[LuckyLew]

Must have pissed of the wrong people

Fine amount seems a little excessive

[Andre0720]

Showing something legal in Thailand... Fine is 460,000 bahts.

Selling something illegal, Ya Baa that is, in Phuket town some months ago, fine was 10,000 bahts.

Killing and injuring students by a jealous student in Phuket town some months ago, my Thai neighbour said that the fine was 6,000 bahts.

Way cheaper on the illegal side....

[lavender19]

I can understand the logic of prohibiting alcohol and cigarettes on television adverts, racing cars etc, but going to the extreme of prosecuting for displaying on restaurant menus is IMO ridiculous.

It isn't called ridiculous, it's called hypocrisy.

It's also called pathetic.

I started a thread not so long ago about the over the top heavy handed tactics applied at a a bar in a small seaside resort.

What a totally pathetic country this has become and still more sites being blocked on a daily basis.Welcome to little China. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/814754-how-to-promote-tourism-in-thailandnot/?PageSpeed=noscript

[Travelman868]

So you can't have logos in a menu, but it's ok to be seen from miles away?

Showing the brand is perfectly ok. It's showing what's termed a 'pack-shot' - product, glass with contents - that's illegal here.

There are lots of things that are illegal in Thailand but most of them boost the tourist trade.

[timendres]

So you can't have logos in a menu, but it's ok to be seen from miles away?

Well, that logo is not on a beer bottle, and Singha does have products other than beer (soda water and bottled water for instance).

[gyrosman]

Ok, Hilton, Holiday Day Inn, Chang advertising department, Leo and all of those who show alcohol products for consummation beware the Thai. alcohol commission needs a pay raise. So then, all posters and banners and 7-11 coolers need to block the site of the alcohol product they are selling.Does this include the Thai whiskey signs at all of the Little corner shops will be patrolled and fine equally.

Tourist complain that sometimes their bill get's padded, this restaurant now has the most expensive beer in Thailand to date.

Fix crime not improper advertising material. Watch out F-1 fans next time you have a beer in a pub.

[ggt]

I love Thailand...never a dull moment...always dreaming up something to harass and shakedown foreigners...that is why I love living here...I love the attention...

[pacceka]

Oh, I get it. A packshot. Same as a syringe a spoon and a baggie out trumps just a baggie. We are visual creatures, and the law wants to limit the subliminal exposure when it comes to alcohol. Cool. Seems reasonable.

[steven100]

The story is total BS .... I don't believe it for one second ... maybe they got a taking too & a slap on the wrist ..

Why do they continue to make this crap up ????

[MobileContent]

The owners of Asiatique had close links to the Thaksin group. Would they be on the Yellow side they would not have been fined at all.

Never mind in the next election they can find the yellow linked companies and get their money back.

TIT

[wow64]

I am always shocked to see images of alcohol on a menu.

Was sitting in a gogo bar watching some youngs girls bouncing around when a very young girl handed me a menu... I was discusted it had images of beer bottle for everyone to see.

Sent from my c64

[Lupatria]

Drumroll please!

Ladies and Gentlemen and in my next trick you will see all the leaflets with pictures of half naked "massage girls" disappear from the streets.

[mathias67]

When I am INSIDE a restaurant, a bar or a pub I already made my mind up about what I drink!

I am not going "Ooooohhhh delicious orange- juice....oh...wait...there is a picture of a beer! Guess, I have to change my mind and get sloshed!"

You can almost feel the intelligence level in this country sink on a daily base!

I have never in my life heard of anything so stupid it is unblievable and I hope the appeal for this case is won by the owner. You can get stopped for drunk driving and not even get 10% of that fine. Oh well more money for the pockets of the crooked police

[kannot]

When I am INSIDE a restaurant, a bar or a pub I already made my mind up about what I drink!

I am not going "Ooooohhhh delicious orange- juice....oh...wait...there is a picture of a beer! Guess, I have to change my mind and get sloshed!"

You can almost feel the intelligence level in this country sink on a daily base!

There's intelligence?

[SOTIRIOS]

...ridiculous...and more....much more....

[Happy Grumpy]

So is this business run/owned/funded by non-Thais?

[Usual Suspect]

On average.. unheared-of stories like this are cropping up each week..Does anyone in power here actually sit down & try estimate the one-way income this country recieves from it's ex-pat population each month/year..??

Nah..Thought not!

The lifestyle we know here in the LoS is a changing for us folks..& not for the best I fear!

[DavisH]

This is truly bizarre. You can go to just about any restaurant and drink from branded classes (with the bottle sitting right next to you). But the restaurant can't display said bottles/glasses in menus (which I've also seen on numerous occasions. Sounds like someone had an axe to grind.

[orange31]

I suppose the next stage would be to stop a shop or restaurant displaying the drinks in a glass fronted fridge.

The same as they do with cigarettes, where they are hidden in shuttered display cabinets.

I know Thais are weak but this is ridiculous.

Farangs are selective with what they drink. Unlike Thais they will not drink any crap that gets them drunk quickly and cheaply. Most have good taste ( with drinks anyway ) and like their own particular brands.

Thais call every spirit Whisky, They have no concept of the difference between Whisky / Rum / Brandy / Gin / Vodka / etc

Their height of sophistication is a bottle of Spy they call wine. So a choice is not important to them.

This maybe true of the Thais in your village in Nakon nowhere dear boy, but not all Thai's are rice picking peasants,

I have been to dinner with some of the boys who drink bottles of wine which are more than your pension or teachers salary so maybe less of the all encompassing generalisations about a population you obviously know very little off outside your little farang bwana bubble you live in

Hardly something to extoll, given crippling poverty in Thailand and elsewhere...

That's not the point, the poster was as making all encompassing derogatory comments about a whole nation of people so called his BS that's all

The majority of Thai people fit into his description, the minority fit into yours - so you're both right, but his generalization is more fitting stereotypically.

[cookee68]

Same goes for you, you know the rules, but it bit you on your arse this time, hence why they did not wish to accept a out of court settlement, good job

[Lorn]

Asiatique fined THB460,000 for beer images

By Coconuts Bangkok

BANGKOK: -- A new sudsy salvo in the war on booze opened with a Japanese restaurant at a popular riverside mall in hot water over some seductive images of foamy head printed in its menu.

Kacha Kacha Japanese restaurant at Asiatique was ordered to pay a THB460,000 fine for printing images of the beer it sells there after authorities deemed it a violation of the Alcohol Control Act.

A restaurant executive who goes by “Ozawa Curry” on Facebook, shared the court ruling against his restaurant on Wednesday as a warning to other business owners.

Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/04/20/asiatique-fined-thb460000-beer-images

-- Coconuts Bangkok 2015-04-20

No one seems to have paid attention to the photo. The issue isn't drinks being displayed inside the menu in the drinks section with prices- the menu has beer on the inside covers. I think if that is a specific brand then it is obviously promoting it above other drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) which is clearly against the spirit of the law.

[wow64]

Asiatique fined THB460,000 for beer images

By Coconuts Bangkok

BANGKOK: -- A new sudsy salvo in the war on booze opened with a Japanese restaurant at a popular riverside mall in hot water over some seductive images of foamy head printed in its menu.

Kacha Kacha Japanese restaurant at Asiatique was ordered to pay a THB460,000 fine for printing images of the beer it sells there after authorities deemed it a violation of the Alcohol Control Act.

A restaurant executive who goes by “Ozawa Curry” on Facebook, shared the court ruling against his restaurant on Wednesday as a warning to other business owners.

Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/04/20/asiatique-fined-thb460000-beer-images

-- Coconuts Bangkok 2015-04-20

No one seems to have paid attention to the photo. The issue isn't drinks being displayed inside the menu in the drinks section with prices- the menu has beer on the inside covers. I think if that is a specific brand then it is obviously promoting it above other drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) which is clearly against the spirit of the law.

Oh my eyes my eyes.. what have I just seen?

Feel like I need to take a shower after seeing an exposed beer.

This is disgusting.... wont somebody think of the children?

[German Viking]

I suppose the next stage would be to stop a shop or restaurant displaying the drinks in a glass fronted fridge.

The same as they do with cigarettes, where they are hidden in shuttered display cabinets.

I know Thais are weak but this is ridiculous.

Farangs are selective with what they drink. Unlike Thais they will not drink any crap that gets them drunk quickly and cheaply. Most have good taste ( with drinks anyway ) and like their own particular brands.

Thais call every spirit Whisky, They have no concept of the difference between Whisky / Rum / Brandy / Gin / Vodka / etc

Their height of sophistication is a bottle of Spy they call wine. So a choice is not important to them.

This maybe true of the Thais in your village in Nakon nowhere dear boy, but not all Thai's are rice picking peasants,

I have been to dinner with some of the boys who drink bottles of wine which are more than your pension or teachers salary so maybe less of the all encompassing generalisations about a population you obviously know very little off outside your little farang bwana bubble you live in

To drink expensive wine means not, that they having any idea, what they drinking about.

It's often more to display their status, to show that they can afford it.

And this differs from farangistan how ? Wine tasting /drinking the world over has snobbery attached to it, so please don't single out Thais alone in this regard and the vast majority of self proclaimed farang wine experts don't know what they are drinking half the time either and yes its been proven in blind tests

If you had read the post I gave answer to, properly, then you had probably realized, that I gave only answer to this post and nothing singled out, without any national touch like you.

[German Viking]

Nice glass of red with ice of course ha ha ha

Ice in wine you a real gourmet.

[Beetlejuice]

I can understand the logic of prohibiting alcohol and cigarettes on television adverts, racing cars etc, but going to the extreme of prosecuting for displaying on restaurant menus is IMO ridiculous.

I agree.

If this is the law, than should the supermarkets be fined for displaying alcoholic drinks on their shelves? As I cannot see any difference between having alcohol openly displayed in stores and displayed on signs or ads.

[German Viking]

Hello, I am not one to complain, but you know - if you don't like the way the Thais run their own country, go home!

All this criticism of a country which is actually trying. Don't like their efforts? Volunteer to help. Yes - that means for no money. But no, you wouldn't do that - too much danger of not being able to complain.

Let's think: Aussies - 'king' punches, Yanks - shoot to kill policies, Brits - 'superior' attitude ...

Sod off home if you do not like the fact these people are trying to make a change.

Thank you.

I'm real disappointed, you forgot the germans and not to mention Costas at all.