Pubs face closure for breaking NCPO directives
Nine Bangkok pubs face being shuttered for five years, and the owners of three more venues have been given 15 days to explain themselves or face the same fate, a senior police said on Tuesday.
The pubs are accused of violating the law and National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) directives 22/2558 and 46/2559.
Deputy city police commissioner Maj-General Panurat Lakboon spoke on Tuesday after a meeting of a police committee to screen businesses facing possible shuttering as per the NCPO directives.
Panurat, who heads the committee, said the panel discussed 12 pubs that were found during police raids late last year to be operating illegally by allowing entry to persons under 20, selling alcohol drinks to persons under 20 or allowing drug abuse on the premises. These wrongdoings are also violations of NCPO directives, and are punishable with a one-year jail term and/or a Bt20,000 fine.
A list of nine pubs recommended for closure would be forwarded for the consideration of the national police chief or an authorised deputy chief, Panurat said.
They are: Vampire Karaoke 105 (Pathumwan precinct jurisdiction); Jeab Karaoke (Bangkok Noi precinct); Monti Carlo (Chokchai precinct); More (Bang Yi Rua precinct); Club Friday (Lak Song precinct); The Fix Bar (Prawet precinct); Nong Neung Karaoke and Moodies Bar (both under Rat Burana precinct) and Sura Bar Party By Mao Santi (Pasi Charoen precinct).
Three other venues –Seheha (Wang Thong Lang precinct), De-Cree48 (under Bang Yi Rua precinct) and Bangkok Yai Bar (Bangkok Noi precinct) – would be given a chance to provide explanations within 15 days. A police meeting on March 6 would decide their fates, he added.