A week after junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said “le no” to a proposed ban on alcohol sales this holiday season, an anti-alcohol official is pressing him to change his mind.
Samarn Futrakul, director of the Office of Alcoholic Drinks Control Committee, announced yesterday he petitioned Prayuth over the public health benefits of ending the year on a dry note.
Citing data and examples from New Zealand and the U.S. state of Kansas, Samarn said the ban on public sales of alcohol could significantly reduce road fatalities and sexual assaults, according to Thai PBS.
Admirable goals indeed, but with a sagging economy in need of that year-end surge – and this not being Kansas – there’s unlikely to be a last-minute reversal.
Photo: Geoff Carter
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