Truck overturns carrying 2,560 crates of beer in central Thailand

A beer delivery truck overturned on the Rangsit – Pathum Thani Road in central Thailand last night, strewing 30 tonnes of booze across the busy road. A forklift was needed to clear up the mounds of bottles and broken glass.

Around 61,440 small bottles of a leopard-themed beer, which shall not be named due to Thailand’s archaic and strictly enforced anti-alcohol-advertising laws, were sadly obliterated when the 22-wheel truck lost control and turned over in Pathum Thani province’s Mueang district.

The 28 year old truck driver Kittipong Pansuk and his 4 year old son Chakkrit Pansuk were both injured in the crash. Volunteers from the Ruam Katanyu Foundation took them for treatment at Krung Siam St. Carlos Hospital.

Officers from Pak Klong Rangsit Police Station were called to the scene to record evidence. Police said that once the driver has recovered he will be taken to the station for further questioning. He may face prosecution or be liable to pay a fine for causing traffic jams or damage to the road, said police.

Thai media did not estimate the damages lost in beer.

In August, a tow truck carrying 1.5 million baht’s worth of beer overturned as it went round a sharp turn on a road in Khon Kaen province in northeast Thailand. The driver was instantly killed in the accident.

Posting photos of alcohol logos online is illegal in Thailand under Section 32 of the Alcohol Beverage Control Act 2008…

• No person shall advertise or display, directly or indirectly, the name or trademark of any alcoholic beverage in a manner showing the properties thereof or inducing another person to drink.
• Advertisements or public relations provided by the manufacturer of any kind of alcoholic beverage shall only be made for giving information thereof or giving social creative knowledge without displaying any illustration of such alcoholic beverage or its package, except for the display of a symbol of such alcoholic beverage or that of its manufacturer as prescribed by the Ministerial Regulation.
• The provisions of paragraph one and paragraph two shall not apply to any advertisement broadcast from outside of the Kingdom.

Sharing pictures of alcohol logos on social media in Thailand is punishable by up to one-year imprisonment, a fine between 50,000 to 500,000 baht, or both.