Boonlua Chatree
The head of Chonburi’s Provincial Police academy, who
owns a large stake in an unlicensed Third Road bar, says he will
complain to the Prime Minister’s Office that frequent Pattaya Police
raids for illegal alcohol sales and loud music are unfair and hurting
his income.
Col. Panom Charoenporn, commander of the Khao Noi Academy, maintains his
bar should be allowed to continue to operate.
Openly admitting the Lan La entertainment venue on
3rd Road is operating without proper licenses, Col. Panom Charoenporn,
commander of the Khao Noi Academy, nonetheless maintains the bar should
be allowed to continue to sell alcohol and stage musical performances
without being “unfairly” subjected to established entertainment laws by
local police brethren.
Maj. Suparuk Yooprai, a crime suppression
investigator at the Pattaya Police Station, obviously sees it
differently. He said authorities have received multiple complaints about
Lan La and that officers who inspected the bar found it was illegally
selling alcohol and providing entertainment. Management, however, could
not provide any licenses allowing them to do so.
“Officers will raid this entertainment location
anytime they see fit, because of its non-licensed operations,” Suparuk
said.
Panom - who said he owns 25 percent of Lan La - began
his protests for special treatment after majority owner Somrak Thungkrai,
29, was arrested during a Nov. 23 midnight raid. Police shut down the
bar and then returned several times over the following days, each time
closing the bar for operating illegally.
Neglecting the fact the bar doesn’t have a license to
open at all, the police academy head claims the raids were unfair
because they occurred during legal operating hours. He said he will take
his case to Parliament, to court and even the Prime Minister’s Office to
get the treatment he believes he deserves.
Panom claims he applied for a license for Lan La, but
Pattaya City Hall denied it because the bar is located outside the
allowed zone for entertainment venues. He maintains, however, that the
city has no jurisdiction over businesses outside that zone and that he
is being persecuted.
“Everyone can claim the raids were done based on
complaints, but they should be done based on the law and not carried out
as they were,” Panom said.
