Pattaya’s Blossom Club raided after allegedly opening after Midnight and acting against the Covid-19 restrictions.

Pattaya-

  A team of roughly fifty Pattaya Police officers raided the Blossom club in South Pattaya last night around 3:30 AM as the place was allegedly opened after the legal closing hours of Midnight currently defined by the Emergency Decree to control Covid-19 in Thailand.

  The club was crowded with more than fifty customers, many without masks, allegedly partying, drinking, dancing closely, and not socially distancing. Most of the guests were local females and tomboys.

  The club owner, whose name was not given, was taken to the Banglamung District Office while the customers were released since none of them were under the age of 18 and did not possess any drugs, according to the police investigation result. 

  Pornchai Sang-Iad, District Chief of Banglamung, said that the officials had conducted a nightclub patrol yesterday, August 8, following a report from a tip-off stating that some clubs were operating after the legal closing time of Midnight and did not properly abide by the Covid-19 restrictions.

A video of the raid can be found by clicking here.

  “The patrol began at Walking street. All of the bars were very cooperative in following the social distancing rules. So far, we only found one club open after Midnight, the Blossom Club.” said the district chief.

  Initially, the owner of Blossom club was charged for allegedly selling liquor after legal operating hours and violating the order of the Communicable Disease Control Committee of Chonburi Province. He is now under the custody of Pattaya Police Station for further investigation.

  Pornchai added: “Owners of entertainment venues in Banglamung District should cooperate and follow the measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 by closing their clubs at the stated time of Midnight as required by law.”

The Pattaya News notes that club owners in Pattaya have been asking local officials for weeks to allow them to open later, as they did before the Covid-19 Coronavirus situation. Pattaya is a special administrative zone which, under normal circumstances, allows the city to operate and sell alcohol later than most of the country along with other benefits. The  status of Pattaya as a special administrative zone traditionally allows many areas of the city to be open until 2:00 AM. However, under the Emergency Decree, the closure time of Midnight, ordered by the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, takes precedence over the administrative zone status.

Local officials have stated they understand the pain nightlife owners have gone through but their hands are tied in terms of extending the closing time as it would be a decision the CCSA would have to make. The CCSA, meanwhile, has stated that they are not considering extending the closure time at this moment.

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