ZONE:

Thailand's new Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Maleenond, who is on an even tougher social order crusade originally started by his predecessor, has announced that he agrees with city police's plan to dust off an old law passed by one of Thailand's past military regimes to ban people under 18 from staying outside their homes after 10pm without their parents accompanying them, reports The Bangkok Post.

While Mr Wanmuhamadnoor Matha has been appointed the new Interior Minister in October, Mr Pracha has been assigned to take over the year-old social order campaign started by the former Interior Minister Dr Purachai Piemsomboon who is now the Justice Minister.

Mr Pracha is said to crack whip even harder than Dr Purachai, who is famed for starting a campaign cracking down on drugs, vice, banning anyone under 20 from entry, prohibiting the sale of alcohol after midnight and implementing the 2am closing time for nightclubs and bars.

Mr Pracha believed the law would give the Interior Ministry's social order policy more bite as it would discourage them all the more to go out at night and added that the youths should stay at home and help their parents with housework or use their precious time to study rather than dancing, drinking and hanging out in entertainment venues.

Since his appointment, several karaoke bars and massage parlours had been shut for operating without a licence after he imposed a Strike 3 policy to revoke the operating licenses from establishments that persist in breaking the rules.

Many who lobbied for Dr Purachai's removal are probably regretting their involvement as the new interior minister has been springing surprise visits on nightspots.

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Last week, the governors of Lopburi and Pathum Thani provinces were chided for not turning up after they were informed of the 3am raids conducted unannounced by Mr Pracha at nightspots under their jurisdiction. The governors could now face disciplinary action.

Mr Pracha, who has strong support from Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said he would focus his efforts on cracking down on venues that flout closing hours, promote drugs and allow obscene performances.

While crackdown was not gay specific, gay go-go bars, saunas and dance clubs including DJ Station, which had been ordered to close for a few weeks last year as a result of a police raid, have seen their share of police raids for drugs and underaged patrons in recent weeks.

Sceptics, including ordinary citizens who thought the social order campaign started by Dr Purachai a year ago was a non-starter now have second thoughts.

While critics are concerned that the rigidly enforced code will seriously affect the incomes of tourist-industry workers and the tourism industry as a whole, Dr Purachai dismissed their concerns saying that tourists were more interested in Thailand's natural beauty than its nightlife and believes the long-term benefits will outweigh the short-term costs.

Currently, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Bangkok alone has an estimated 3,000 registered nightspots, although some newspaper reports say that if unregistered ones are included, the number could be as high as 8,000.