More time needed to evaluate impact of 4am closing: Police chief
Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol said more time is needed before police can evaluate the impact of the 4am closing of pubs and bars.
Pointing out that the new rule had only come into effect on December 15, Torsak reiterated that it is still too soon to evaluate the impact.
The government has allowed pubs and bars in certain zones in Bangkok, Phuket, Chonburi, Chiang Mai and on Koh Samui in Surat Thani Province to remain open an additional two hours until 4 am as part of a pilot project to boost tourism.
Critics said the late closing hours would contribute to more road accidents caused by drunk driving.
Torsak said the evaluation should consider the overall picture and should not pick on certain “small cases”.
Torsak said some road accidents have occurred since the extension of closing hours but no violent incidents had so far been reported.
In the early hours of Saturday, the first morning when pubs were allowed to close at 4am, a Ghanaian tourist was arrested for drunk driving that caused the death of a worker and injured two others in Chiang Mai’s Muang district. The accident occurred at 3.55 am.
