Thailand's Government is to curb the coming New Year cheer with restricted alcohol sales at food shops and restaurants between 11am and 2pm, and 5pm to midnight, between 29 December 2003 and 4 January 2004.
If you plan to celebrate the new coming year, then start planning well ahead. An unprecedented clampdown on liquor sales during the this "New Year Celebration" is threatening your fun. Party people better start stockpiling their liquor, Thai police advises.
The government of Thailand says it wants to reduce accidents over this festive period. Last year 562 people were killed and about 32,000 injured, mainly on the country's roads in Thailand.
The sale of all alcohol will be restricted at most food shops and restaurants - from 11am to 2pm, and 5pm to midnight, between 29 December 2003 and 4 January 2004. Some entertainment venues will be exempt from the clampdown, a representative of the Thai Police said, shop or restaurant owners caught violating the new rules will face up to two years in prison or a Bt4,000 (US$ 100) fine. Thai convenience stores, notorious for breaching liquor bans, will be very closely watched.
If people want longer hours of fun, they can either go to entertainment places, which will be allowed to stay open until 2am or they can simply celebrate at home and drink as much as they want, Thong Lor police station chief Colonel Somchai Into said.
Police in Thailand has been instructed to invoke a law from the year 1972, introduced by the Thai coup-makers to enforce the new liquor and alcohol sale rules, he added.
We have received instructions from Thailand's National Police Commission to launch very strict surveillance of alcohol sales during this year's "New Year Period", the Police Colonel said.
People found drinking alcohol in public places, such as in parks or by the road, between 1am to 5pm will be dispersed and told to go home, said Somporn. Those who resist will be charged with creating a public disturbance.
It's not that the Thai government wants to kill the joy of the "New Year Celebration", said Somchai, we just want to make sure that alcohol and booze is not sold in a chaotic way. People that want to drink should stay at home, and not drive around looking to buy more booze.
Convenience store and supermarket owners said those new announced measures were easier said than done, particularly over the Christmas and New Year period.
People celebrate all day and all night long during this period, said one shop owner in Bang Na. You just can't tell them when to start and when to stop the celebration. How many policemen will Thailand need to enforce these new rules?, he asked.
