Confusion over police orders to shutdown the night fun by midnight certainly wasn’t helped by its first night of effect yesterday.
Venues throughout the capital made good on their promise to close by midnight last night, but for those whose experience of Bangkok after dark is circumscribed by Sukhumvit Road and its tributaries, Thursday evening was a night like any other.
While high-profile venues such Sathon Road’s Ku De Ta and bars and clubs elsewhere shuttered as ordered by police, lower Sukhumvit Road and surrounding areas received a late reprieve from the police, two promoters said today.
“Phone calls went out from Thonglor police station at 8pm last night saying everything is back to 2am,” said one event organizer who did not want to be identified. “So they only enforced 2am.”
There was no visible heightening of the police presence on Sukhumvit Road, and none visited at least two venues, Glow on Soi Sukhumvit 22 and Soi Sukhumvit 23’s Overground.
Owners and organizers had been trying to make sense of police instructions they either received Tuesday or heard second-hand that they would need to shut down early for at least two weeks.
In recent months the police have been hounded by the army, which has gone after illegal operations such as gambling and brothels seen as a once-reliable source of income for the cops. With soldiers breathing down their collars, police have stepped up efforts to be seen as proactive against vice, so speculation remains that these instructions may be more ad-hoc than they appear.
Photo: Markus Grossalber
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