UPDATE: Police superintendent transferred to “inactive” post after pub raid

UPDATE

The saga continues around the pub that was raided in Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai province early yesterday morning.

The police superintendent of Chiang Rai’s city district police, Colonel Kittipong Sukwattanapun, has now been transferred to an “inactive” post in the operations centre of the provincial police headquarters. The transfer is punishment for his alleged failure to control the operations of the Par Club pub.

At the pub, a team of officials had found 325 people drinking underage, with some as young as 16 years old. The pub operator was initially charged with allowing people under 20 years old to use its services, operating past legal hours, and serving alcoholic drinks to underage people and related offences.

The pub had allegedly been operating until 4am, instead of 2am as required by law. The officials also discovered three fire exits locked, apparently to prevent customers from sneaking out without paying bills.

According to the transfer order, issued by the provincial police commander, Colonel Kittipong will lose his post in the Muang district police office. Officials have proposed that the provincial governor close the pub for five years.

Original Story

A team of officials has busted hundreds of teenagers in the northern Chiang Rai province drinking under Thailand’s legal age of 20. The officials raided a pub in the main city district early this morning and found 325 people drinking underage, with some as young as 16 years old.

Many of the youngsters dashed away on motorcycles when they saw the officials show up at around 2am. The team found the venue crowded with young customers drinking and dancing. The officials then delivered a major buzzkill to the teens by ordering staff at the pub to turn off the music and switch on the lights.

The pub operator was initially charged with allowing people under 20 years old to use its services, operating past legal hours, and serving alcoholic drinks to underage people and related offences.

The team of officials will now propose that the Chiang Rai governor revoke the operating licence of the pub, and order the closure of the venue for five years.

The officials that raided the pub were from the Department of Provincial Administration, and the Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection. The chief of the DPA’s law enforcement operations centre led the raid. The centre posted photos of the raid on its Facebook page today.

The centre said all three of the pub’s fire exit doors had been locked. The fire exit doors of another pub in Thailand, the Mountain B Pub in Chon Buri, had also been locked when a fire broke out there last month.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post