"drinkers"

THE MAN accused of leading Sunday’s attack on students and teachers sitting an exam near a monk ordination ceremony has made a tearful apology and said alcohol was partly responsible for his behaviour.

A raid on a Bangkok nightclub early Friday morning uncovered 40 patrons under age 20, while 92 patrons tested positive for substance abuse, 26 of them under the legal drinking age.

While a manhunt was launched for the four men who attacked two drinkers seated outside a grocery shop on Saturday night in Samut Sakhon’s Mueang district, police on Monday summoned the store owner and the targeted customers to give testimony.

The Thai Health Promotion Foundation expressed concern yesterday that the new alcohol excise-tax structure would drive drinkers to consume more cheap white liquor at the expense of their health.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed concern about drinking among Thais, saying that the habit yielded more disadvantages than good.

As a long-term supporter of the Thai brewing industry, I find it necessary to vent my outrage yet again at the atrocities perpetrated  against the nation’s beer drinkers.