Ministry rejects bar owners’ 2 am plea

PHUKET: Provincial Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi said today that he has received an emphatic “No” from the Ministry of the Interior in response to a petition by Patong bar owners to allow them to stay open later than 2 am. Gov Pongpayome told the Gazette that the Ministry, in a letter to him, pointed out that there are many other tourist areas in the country that cater mainly to foreigners – the argument put forward by the Patong bar owners for allowing them to stay open past the legal closing time of 2 am. If Patong’s wish were granted, the letter said, then other places such as Pattaya or Bangkok’s Khao San Rd would also want exemptions from the law. The Ministry added that it wanted Patong to follow Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s order to close no later than 2 am as part of efforts to curb Thailand’s narcotics problems. Offering a faint ray of hope, the Ministry letter said that if provinces could organize specific entertainment zones, it would reconsider the enforcement of closing times. Gov Pongpayome told the Gazette that, of the three districts on the island, only Kathu has so far taken any steps toward the creation of such a zone.