2am Closing may be approved for patong

[Life Is Good :O)]

2 am fun zones for adults?

BANGKOK (The Nation): Entertainment venues in designated areas across the country will be allowed to stay open an hour or two longer than those outside the zones if the Cabinet endorses a decision arrived at yesterday by a high-level government committee.

Deputy Prime Minister Purachai Piumsombun's committee in charge of combating vice at entertainment venues agreed yesterday to set different closing hours for night spots in different zones, according a source who attended the meeting.

Some areas would be zoned for adult-oriented entertainment.

Purachai's panel decided that, in designated zones, entertainment places with hostesses should be allowed to stay open until 2am, while those outside would have to close by midnight.

It was also agreed that massage parlours inside the zones should be allowed to operate from 4pm to midnight, opening two hours earlier than those outside the zones.

In Bangkok, the zones would cover the Patpong area and New Phetchaburi and Ratchadaphisek roads.

The panel believes that longer operating hours would encourage owners to shift their nightspots into the designated zones, said the source.

Yesterday's decision will be forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration on Tuesday (February 10).

The new rules, if endorsed, would be included in an Interior Ministry regulation to be imposed under the Entertainment Venue Act, which came into effect early last month. The new law sets no specific hours for entertainment venues.

Yesterday's decision appeared to be a compromise between the Interior Ministry, which previously proposed a midnight closure, and entertainment-venue operators, who want their businesses to stay open after the current closing time of 2am.

At a meeting early last month, the Cabinet resolved that the midnight-closure proposal submitted by Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Maleenont be referred to Purachai's panel for review.

Pracha cited the need to keep young people away from drugs and other vices as a reason for shutting bars at midnight.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the time questioned the rationale of a blanket closing time.

Purachai reportedly told those who attended yesterday's meeting not to speak about the decision. Pracha was absent from the session. He is on a trip to Europe and sent one of his advisers, Surapol Kiatchaiyakorn, on his behalf.

Drew

 

[Where is my vote!!!!!]

However,

This article fails to mention the specifics of the zoning to be introduced (see below) My feeling is that this is my second worst fear. The plan is not well though out, ambiguous and if enforced would lead to the ultimate demise of Thailands unique hedonistic nightlife:

Purachai's night vision:

Entertainment venues with female escorts: 9pm to 2am in designated zones; 9pm to midnight in other areas.

----note the 9pm opening time!!! that is three hours opening time???...I dont even go out eating until 9pm when Im on vacation??

Teahouses with female escorts: 6pm to midnight in all areas.

---how many teahouses are there in patong???

Massage parlours: 4pm to midnight in designated zones; 6pm to midnight elsewhere.

Karaoke lounges, pubs and discotheques: 6pm to 1am in designated zones; 6pm to midnight elsewhere


What would happen if Patong was classified as a zone and Karon or other areas werent?...zoning will serve only to concentrate entertainment venues in the zones, thereby making rent of space within the area extortionate and this will be reflected in an increas in bar prices, maybe even admission fees etc etc. In an already troubled country with a fragile tourist industry and worldwide terrerost fears...I see this move is crazy to say the least.

 

[wigi-lou]

Remark: Yesterday's decision will be forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration on Tuesday (February 10).

The situation is still unclear (as always with Thai politics), now the official closing time is 02 am but the music close around 03 am and if punters want stay in the bars, no problem either. Many bars close at 04-06 if they have customers, but no public music thought. (Not to mention the karaoke bars who stay open all night until 07 in the morning.)

So my guess is whatever happen regarding closing times, after a while it will be more relaxed again, but the police may be strict in the beginning to enforce the law.

We will see what happen on Feb 10 then. I had expected to find more news regarding the meeting yesterday but only the Nation wrote about it, nothing was said on Thai TV news yesterday.

 

[Michael H]

The story in the Nation was an unconfirmed "leak". There is nothing anywhere in todays papers confirming it. As far as I knew Patong was already in the Zone, but I am not sure if all the Bar Beers are, I'd be surprised if any of this has a major effect on Patong for the long term, if it does the bars and staff will all go on strike again !

 

[Pompal 09.]

as far as i remember nicke has confirmed that bangla road and all sois off it and beach road and ratuthit road are all already classed in the entertainment zone.
steve

 

[Irv S]

leaks often turn out to be correct. But 9pm opening people?...does this not shock anyone? I know that these things are often not enforced in Thailand but this time things are really gaining momentum

 

[Isha]

Yeah 9pm is nuts, but the classification of a venue should be good for a laugh, does anyone know of those categories listed on the article match what appears on licences today ? If not then they gotta reclassify many places, and that could be more than tricky and time consuming !

If a bar beer serves food then what is it ? Do girls have to be on the payroll to be classed as service girls ? I see no mention of "male" escorts etc so does that mean all the Gay bars are exempt ! etc etc etc

There is not enough meat on the bones of that article to implement anything, there isnt even a timetable, and if Zoning is the predicted solution that is in effect no change to what has been talked about for 2 yrs so far.

I think this one has a bit of mileage left in it until it makes it into something concrete (if ever), what a total shambles of a decision making process, all they are doing (including the media) is giving put mixed messages and mis information about what the current status is. So far all that is being done is talk, having read some articles in B Post, Nation, Foreign Media and Pattaya Mail, you would think this was all done and implemented a month ago, but nothing has changed in the country in terms of what is happening day to day.

Monsieur Thaksin could once more throw a spanner in the works of all of this as he did on 13th Jan, depends how he wants to milk the PR of this and who he wants to appeal to. He has pissed off alot of people with this chicken thing, and needs to calm things down for his own PR. All he needs is a shut down of tourist resorts by protesting bar/night club staff to splash all over the press.

 

[luv2wsh]

Yes, Bangla road and the part of the beach road and rat-u-thit that are located between Bangla and Sawatdirak road, thus, not all beach and rat-u-thit road. The zone is 100m radie from these border lines.

Sawatdirak was not included as I can remember but may be within the 100m from beach road and rat-u-thit, maybe a part of Soi Seapearl may be outside the zoning area.

I remember Chairat was very angry about this, at that time he was running Pasha disco and also Safari Pub & Disco (still do) and both of them were outside the zoning area, which were no good for him.

I don't know how about Bangkok but I think neither Nana plaza or Soi Cowboy is within a zone, only Patpong, but I may be wrong.

 

[sbinlb]

Cowboy and NEP are obviously entertainment zones anyway and already have the infrastructure around them to support them. Therefore they should have been included by default in the zoning classification. This is what leads me to believe that the social crackdown is aimed at sex tourism but that also the average tourist will suffer from the proposals.

In all honesty I think the Thai Rak Thai party dont know what they are doing and havent thought things out correctly about the long term implications. They do a temporary fix of the problem without dealing with the route of it and end up making even more mess ups!

 

[Billy bob]

No they are not in the zone, nor is this against sex tourism for Farang.
What is not clear is if this would apply to existing licences or new ones, take a look of this link for more insight into the real reasons and the Zones. As u can see there as been nothing new proposed since this was put together in 2001. I am beginning to see that article in the Nation as nothing much more than a re-hash, would prefer to wait & see what is announced formally.


http://www.bkk-gui.de/zon_eng_t.html

 

[Ted M P]

Well the day has passed and no news once more (surprise surprise) But this little snippet appeared, which may prove to be quite interesting



Thailand slaps night-time curfew on youths to prevent violent crime

Published on Feb 10, 2004


BANGKOK, Feb 10 (AFP) - Thailand on Tuesday ordered a nationwide night-time curfew for all youths under 18 in an effort to curb mounting criminal violence, including a spate of gang rapes.

The 10:00 pm to 4:00 am curfew will be enforced from March 29, under last year's Youth Protection Act which is aimed at preventing youths from roaming red-light districts and engaging in violent crime.

"It's not about punishment, but this measure is aimed at safeguarding underaged youths as it is unreasonable for them to aimlessly wander around late at night," Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkanjana told reporters.

Thawatchai Thaikaeow from the Youth Observation and Protection Department, which will enforce the curfew along with police, said going out without parents after 10:00 pm was among the legislation's list of 16 "inappropriate behaviours" for young students.

"But this rule is to be applied to all youths because most crimes including gang rape, shootings and motorcycle races are committed after 10:00 pm, after they have consumed alcoholic drinks," Thawatchai said.

For first-time curfew violators, parents would be informed by authorities and asked to collect their children, while bail and juvenile detention could be considered for multiple offenders, he added.

Deputy Education Minister Sirikorn Maneerin indicated that rather than being strictly enforced across the entire country, the curfew could be a tool for authorities to deal with trouble-makers in night-life districts.

"The measure is not a blanket ban on youths going out at night, but if they have to go out then their parents should be informed," he said.

The curfew was debated over the past week following the release of justice ministry figures which showed an alarming rise in violent crime, particularly sex crimes, among Thailand's young people.

The figures reportedly showed the incidence of rape increased 16 per cent year on year to 630 cases in 2003, gang rape shot up 70 per cent to 184 cases, and eloping with a minor rose 23 per cent to 585 cases.

Over the past few weeks there have been several high-profile cases of gang rape case, where both the victims and perpetrators were college students.

 

[prettyBoy]

The IDIOTS strike again:
CABINET DECISION: Anger over midnight closing time

Published on Feb 11, 2004


The Cabinet yesterday endorsed a new regulation for a midnight closing time for most entertainment venues, while allowing nightspots in designated zones to stay open two hours longer.

After a brief discussion on the proposed regulation, the Cabinet agreed to an earlier decision by a government committee which called for different closing hours for nightspots in different zones, Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Maleenont told reporters yesterday.

Owners of night entertainment venues yesterday denounced the decision, labelling it a death sentence for businesses and bad news for tourism.

Deputy Prime Minister Purachai Piumsombun’s committee in charge of combating vice at entertainment venues proposed the different closing times on Friday. The new closing times come into effect on March 1.

All entertainment venues outside the designated areas, including food shops selling liquor and music, will now have to close at midnight instead of the current 2am.

In the designated zones, nightclubs and bars can stay open until 2am, while pubs and discotheques are required to close at 1am.

Shops selling khao tom (rice porridge) can stay open all night as they are not covered by the new law, Pracha said.

However, the shops must comply with relevant laws, such as the smoking ban at all food outlets.

In Bangkok, the zones designated for entertainment venues cover the Patpong area and New Phetchaburi and Ratchadaphisek Roads. The Interior Ministry regulation will be imposed under the Entertainment Venue Act, which came into effect early last month but sets no specific hours for entertainment venues.

Pracha voiced concern, however, that entertainmentvenue operators could take legal action against the Cabinet for breach of their constitutional rights.

But Purachai told the Cabinet he had no such worry, he said.

The deputy interior minister said that personally he believed the same service hours should be applied to all night entertainment venues to allow easier supervision and enforcement for authorities. But the ministry was ready to follow the decision.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told the Cabinet yesterday that efficiency of enforcement rather than a possible violation of the Charter should be the main concern, the source said.

Somyos Suthangkoon, who heads an association of entertainmentvenue operators, said the early closing time would have a severe impact on most nightspots.

Allowing nightclubs and bars to stay open for only three hours a day was “strange”, compared to eight hours for massage parlours. “Everybody knows massage parlours is the front for what,” Somyos added.

Praphan Pumchaosuan, leader of entertainmentplace owners in the Patpong area, said yesterday that shorter service hours would drive away foreign tourists.

The new regulation will take effect in all provinces, except Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Samut Prakan and Uttaradit, where the zones for entertainment places have yet to be designated, deputy government spokeswoman Sansanee Nakapong said yesterday. In the four provinces, the current opening hours will be retained.

Praphan Pumchaosuan, leader of bar owners in Patpong, said yesterday shorter service hours would drive away foreign tourists.

The new rules will take effect nationwide, except in Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Samut Prakan and Uttaradit, where entertainment zones have yet to be designated.

Samatcha Hunsara,

Piyanart Srivalo

The Nation

 

[shawshank]

If this is enforced it is gonna be Game Over for alot of folks !

 

[SUGAR CANE]

aint that a bit contradictory???whats the difference between a bar and a pub?whats the difference between a discoteque and a nightclub???
cetrtainly nothing where i come form.
steve

 

[Naguru]

good point..I wonder what the differences are?...Maybe ambiguity creeping in again. However I am aware that there are specific guidelines being produced so that everyone is aware of which entertainment venue is under which category!

 

[ErrrGrrr]

TO CHUCKY 66

Sounds like a few baht in a officials pocket and you could choose which category you are in. Looks like it's up to a bit of favourtism for thai's then falang owners, or am i just an old sceptic.

 

[Danika]

I see increased bribery in the coming months and favouritism given to thais over farangs...YUP!

 

[gato25]

I was there last August and remember that Safari was open until the early morning
hours. Actually we used to go there after the other discos closed. All this is going
to change March 1 ? Coming back to play March 31st !!

Kris

 

[angelshan]

Nothing offical yet, but we were told by the police last night, that its 2am closing for Patong, in the zone that is.

 

[Ryan Stanford]

As I believe it, Safari is not included in the patong zone, however it may be allowed some bending of the rules. Is it farang or part farang owned or thai does anyone know?