News Forum - Officials bust hundreds of Chiang Rai teens drinking underage

[Thaiger]

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 […]

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[KaptainRob]

Quote

The centre said all three of the pub’s fire exit doors had been locked.

You'd think people would learn *shakes head* this guy's out of business for 5 years at least!

[Shade_Wilder]

The idea that the police "just happened to find" a club with 325+ underage drinkers beggars belief.

If 325+ underage kids were drinking in a club, then you can bet your left arm that thousands and thousands were aware of it long in advance, including the cops themselves.

Police work sometimes requires prevention; one has to suspect that the reason it was allowed to go ahead until 2 AM in the first place were pay-offs.

It is both sad and terrifying to see kids' lives threatened by the need for a pay-off, but TIT.

[Ramanathan.P]

Things will not change. It will surface again. Only way is just seal the pub and close it permanently by cancelling all the permits and blacklisting the owners from acquiring any form of business license in the future. 

[Pinetree]

The hypocrisy on here is reeking.  Like we all never had a drink or got drunk under age, like it never happens in the west, like teens dont get their first taste of booze until they are of age.  Do me a favour.  Nothing unusual about this at all. 

[Davelee]

Young dumb and full of

[Bill_Koomers]

"Shut down the pub for 5 yrs."

Then by sheer coincidence a pub is opened across the street, by one of the official's "cousins." 

[JED1]

Interesting, so you need to be at least 20 years old to legally drink in Thailand. I guess that means that all of the 18/19 year old backpackers that come to visit have to drink softies?

[GKThai]

On 9/3/2022 at 3:41 PM, Shade_Wilder said:

Police work sometimes requires prevention; one has to suspect that the reason it was allowed to go ahead until 2 AM in the first place were pay-offs.

No, 2am is the legal closing time, so up to that point, they were allowed to be open. The closing time issue was because they were open until 4am.

[Nivram]

I didn't have my first alcoholic drink until I was18 years old and I never got drunk.

So speak for yourself and don't include me in your "we" comment.

 

Edited September 5, 2022 by Nivram
spelling

[Giltee]

I get it. The police superintendent gets transferred to an inactive post on same pay, less to do, kind of like a working holiday. There must be a lot of inactive posts in Thailand because it happens a lot.