Vice-Governor shuts Timber Hut

PHUKET TOWN: One of Phuket’s oldest and most popular nighttime venues, the Timber Hut pub on Yaowarat Rd, has been ordered to close for 30 days because a Vice-Governor saw people dancing there. Vice-Governor Manit Wattanasen told the Gazette that he went to the pub on Saturday to meet a friend, and saw people dancing. “Muang District is in my area of responsibility and Governor Pongpayome assigned me to oversee these entertainment venues,” he said. “The Timber Hut doesn’t have a discotheque license, but on Saturday, when I went to the pub, I saw a lot of people dancing. I called Phuket Town Police to check the license and found it wasn’t the right kind. “The police also told me that they had received a petition from neighbors around there about noise [from the pub].”