Bali Hai Pier, Pattaya-
Pattaya Police raided a restaurant on Bali Hai Pier around 10:30 P.M. last night for allegedly selling shisha (also known as baraku or hookah pipes) which is highly illegal in Thailand.
The restaurant in question, Khun Keng Kitchen, is directly next door to the currently shuttered Sky Mountain which was previously raided for a variety of offenses over the past several months six times, including shisha. It was unclear if the two venues were connected but Pattaya police said they were looking into this.
You can read more about the Sky Mountain raids here:
Last night’s raids were personally led by Pattaya City Police Chief Kunlachart Kunlachai who stated that Pattaya police received a tip from a “concerned citizen” that the restaurant was selling shisha against Thai law. This concerned citizen claimed they were reporting the incident because they cared about people’s health and the potential spread of Covid-19.
According to Chief Kunlachart, upon arriving at the restaurant they found multiple foreigners and Thais smoking shisha and drinking alcohol with loud music playing. Additionally, he stated that Covid19 rules like social distancing and make wearing were not being followed.
Pattaya police shut off the music and ordered the customers to leave, who were not arrested. However, staff and management from the venue were arrested and taken to the Pattaya City Police Station for processing and legal action. Their names were not immediately released.
Chief Kunlachart added that legal action would be taken against the venue as well. Shisha is illegal in Thailand with government officials claiming it is because the government cares about people’s health and the ban is for health related reasons. Critics, however, allege the ban has nothing to do with health but rather is due to shisha having no taxes and being imported illegally, as well as cutting into the profitable cigarette industry owned by prominent individuals and groups.
