Zaad Posted October 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Alholk, Allegedly these rules were made to protect school children. I agree with this though as long as they keep this so called rule for kids under 18. Limbo, it was a gvnmt rule and she was more than happy to include my six pack with her 2 boxes of liquer if I paid her back. It doesn't even seem to be a rule (thais have told me this, can anybody confirm?) It's not even a law, it was just a request to the supermarkets asking for co-operation to protect the youngsters. Why protect a thirsty ugly man like myself? Cheers to that helpful lady though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaad Posted October 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Oh another thing I saw on tv last night regarding silly rules... It seems shops are no longer allowed to SHOW or EXPOSE their cigarettes to their customers. They are allowed to sell it but NOT to place it in front of a potential buyer's eye, in front or above the counter is a no-no... :: Shop owners were covering their cancer sticks with newspapers, brochures and what not to please the cops. What is happening????????? playing hide-and-seek over here? P.S. I don't even smoke, not the point, just bothers me to see such silliness taking place while people could certainly use their precious time more wisely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 there are weird laws all over, when I was in Indiana a few years ago they would not sell cold beer in the store, you could buy beer and you could buy ice , but no cold beer ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 << Allegedly these rules were made to protect school children. >> Who says so? In fact, it is not even a law! I got caught by it a year or so ago when I wanted to buy some Asahi beer in the local Tesco on my way home from work. They said it was a no-no and pointed to a sign on the wall. I walked over and read the sign, which was in both Thai and English. It stated that according to act such and such of the "Revolutionary Council" liquor sales were banned during blah blah blah hours. Revolutionary Council? I immediately wondered if there had been a military coup and I had somehow failed to hear about. But no, this idiotic government had decided to cut down on the drinking hours -- so they dragged out some arbitrary proclamation by a coup faction God knows how many years ago. This is not any act or law passed by the Thai legislature. It is simply a proclamation made by a handful of generals who had seized power by force of arms decades ago! This is the equivalent of Germany deciding to enforce an act proclaimed by Hitler or Italy announcing that Mussolini's laws are valid once again. TIT in the extreme ... Also, notice that the lunch hours are exempt. It's is perfectly all right to get sh*tfaced at lunch, between noon and 2 PM. You've got a couple of hours to get totally wasted in the middle of the day. Hey, can't interfere with the civil servants' and soldiers' long booze breaks during working hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun_Kong Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Zaad said:Oh another thing I saw on tv last night regarding silly rules... It seems shops are no longer allowed to SHOW or EXPOSE their cigarettes to their customers. They are allowed to sell it but NOT to place it in front of a potential buyer's eye, in front or above the counter is a no-no... :: Shop owners were covering their cancer sticks with newspapers, brochures and what not to please the cops. What is happening????????? playing hide-and-seek over here? P.S. I don't even smoke, not the point, just bothers me to see such silliness taking place while people could certainly use their precious time more wisely. According to the news, 7/11s have said that they will not follow this rule. Now, let's see, who was I reading is the major holder in the 7/11 parent corp??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 The "happy family" ciggies are out in plain view all of the time in the Seven Elevens. I notice the pics on the packs are getting even yuckier these days. Bet they'd sell well to collectors on eBay -- if eBay allows tobacco sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickfarang Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Happend to me a few times, maddening, isn't it? The alcahol and cigaretts things are the work of the same people who arranged the early bar closings and admonished us to carry our ID at all times and be back in our home sby 11 (I kid you not, this was on the evening news this year). Some might say that they want the working class to stay sharp and healthy so they can put in a good days' work. More likely, its just people who think they are obliged to tell others how to live their lives. It is within the nature of mankind to resent other people telling him how to live his life. It is also the nature of mankind to accept that some know better than him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Revolutionary Council? I immediately wondered if there had been a military coup and I had somehow failed to hear about. But no, this idiotic government had decided to cut down on the drinking hours -- so they dragged out some arbitrary proclamation by a coup faction God knows how many years ago. This is not any act or law passed by the Thai legislature. It is simply a proclamation made by a handful of generals who had seized power by force of arms decades ago! This is the equivalent of Germany deciding to enforce an act proclaimed by Hitler or Italy announcing that Mussolini's laws are valid once again. TIT in the extreme ... This is an interesting point. There was an article awhile back (which I wish I had kept) based on an interview with one of the drafters of the 1997 constitution; he said that the decrees promulgated by the revolutionary council (early 70's) are all unconstitutional. He also said - and you will see this in Article 5 of the Thai constitution - that laws which are contrary to the Thai constitution are unenforceable. What he said makes perfect sense. I suspect that many of the more ridiculous rules you see here are either (a) some official's arbitrary and self-serving "interpretation" of a law which has never been challenged in the constitutional court or ( a decree by the revolutionary council which is per se illegal. You ever notice that when we get into debates here about whether, for example, the police are allowed to force hundreds of people who happen to be in a particular bar to mandatory urine tests without any probable cause, someone will claim that we have to accept this because we are in Thailand and Thai law allows the police to do this, but no one is ever actually able to identify that law. You know, Section 123 of the Thai Penal Code or something like that. You never see that. Instead, they'll say they talked to "very reliable source" who confirmed it is the law. Usually no details about this "very reliable source" can be provided, and the one or two times that any information about this "reliable source" was provided, he was identified by occupation: police officer. Who relies on police officers to interpret the law? Even in Thailand that job is left to lawyers and ultimately judges. Actually, in Thailand it is particularly important that the job of interpreting the law be left to judges since the MiB are notorously corrupt and often have a financial incentive to interpret the law in a way that maximizes their ability to extort bribes. And the only time I have seen anything in print about this law, was an article in Farang magazine, where a police officer was quoted - he was quoted as saying the mandatory urine testing is probably unconstitutional and he was just "following orders". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Hi KK, Last time I checked in a 7/11 they had similar signs up here in Samui. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 I remember that after one coup -- the bloody one in 1976 with the Thammasat Massacre, I think -- the "revolutionary council" announced it was illegal for 3 or more people to congregate on the street at one time. Presumably, this was to allow them to break up any demonstrations against their rule. Will we see that one brought back? Maybe in the far south at least? Also, after one of the coups around that time -- when there were many of them -- the "powers that be" (copyright Trink) announced that everyone had to be at home and indoors by midnight. I happened to be in Bangkok from upcountry, and had naturally taken the opportunity to head for Patpong. The bars all began closing at 11.45 PM, so getting home was no problem. I liked to stay at the Opera Hotel, which would be called a motel in the US. Since I was hungry, I went into the detached coffee shop to order a bite to eat. The waiters warned me that I had better go to my room, or the police might arrest me. I replied that I was in the hotel, not out on the street. Made no difference, I had to be INSIDE my room after midnight. I ended up going to bed hungry. And folks complain about 1 AM closings nowadays??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.