BANGKOK: -- The Thai government has postponed the proposed alcohol ban during the Songkran festivals. The National Committee for Alcohol Consumption Control yesterday canned the no alcohol ban during the traditional Thai new year from April 13 to 15.

The committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, found that a alcohol sales ban during Songkran would further harm the tourism industry.

"The meeting decided the ban would have a bad impact on tourism, particularly on Songkran day, which draws over 150,000 foreign tourists," Maj Gen Sanan said.

Alcohol crackdown to start April 16


The Committee has become alarmed at the deterioration of family values and family unity. One of the main evils of this problem is alcoholic beverages. The new proposal will require bars, convenience stores and entertainment centers that serve alcohol to adjust their closing times as follows:

All bars, shops and entertainment centers will closed based on a sliding window. Mondays close at 1:00AM, Tuesday 12:00 Midnight, Wednesday 11:00PM, Thursday 10:00 PM and Fridays at 9:00PM. Saturdays, Sundays and all official holidays, alcoholic beverages will not be allowed to be sold.

"The sliding window will reduce the problems with sudden alcohol withdrawal and allow family members to be able to spend more time with each other. Saturdays and holiday closures will improve Thai tourism and family outings", says Boonlert Sukaparpraeng, consumption controller at the Department of Culture.

The sliding window could be different in various provinces allowing the creation of many jobs for coach and minibus companies to ferry foreigners around to the correct province to fit in with the well established pattern of Immigration decentralized offices, recently enforced by the Immigration Bureau.

Foreigners holding a valid work permit or residency will still be able to purchase alcohol in so called Mom'n'Pop shops during the prohibited hours.

"This is typical for the Democrat Party", says Somchai Duemlaukaeng, Deputy chairman at the Consumer Protection board. "Thai people has one of the highest alcohol consumption pattern in the world per capita". This will only increase the sales of Lao Khao in the provinces."

Massage parlour minimum age

On April 16, another controversial law is being enforced. After that date, massage parlors can no longer employ anyone under the age of 40, and are required to register all employees as such. This will minimize the request by customers for "extra services" which can cause problems with marriages and minor wives.

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