Transcript of the above video:

There was a tragic fire here in Thailand. It has been described as a pub or a brewery, but basically it was a facility, it was a bar, it was an entertainment venue but as we will get into, that term has specific legal connotation, but yeah, it was a tragic fire. I haven't reported very much on it because frankly, again we try to keep things in tune with like legal news as well as immigration, expat stuff and I don't like to chase the algorithm, and chase headlines. If it pertains to legality, the legal system in Thailand, I'll get on it but I don't really want to chase those things. There are news organizations that do that and this has been all over the news. That said, there is a legal component to this, so let's go ahead and jump in. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent posting on X from Khaosod English, that is @KhaosodEnglish on X. Quoting directly: "Interior Ministry says Lat Phrao Brewery operated illegally as Wrong Type of Business." I think we are going to see a lot of this more and more as we are seeing these continued crackdowns on nominee situations, as we're now seeing promulgated regulations on deportation from Thailand - especially as it pertains to foreigners working in Thailand - and now in the aftermath of this fire where again it will probably stimulate momentum within the policy making circles here in Thailand on the issue of entertainment licensing I think we are seeing a possible change in the way for example bars, restaurants, etc., are governed here in Thailand. 

Quoting directly: "The Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry has said the Na Lat Phrao Brewery was operating it legally because it was registered as a restaurant despite allegedly functioning as an entertainment venue. Speaking at Government House on Tuesday morning, Interior Ministry Permanent Secretary Arsit Sampantharat said an entertainment venue is defined by key elements such as live music, alcohol sales and dancing." Well the live music and dancing, fine, but alcohol? Again, you can be a restaurant, and have an alcohol license. Quoting further: "If a business has these characteristics but is not licensed as an entertainment venue, it is considered to be operating unlawfully." Quoting further and quoting directly: "The operation of this brewery appears to fall within that category and may therefore be in violation of the law he said. Asked whether authorities would launch inspections of other restaurants operating in a similar manner, Arsit said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had already instructed officials to tighten enforcement. In Bangkok, oversight of entertainment venues falls under the Metropolitan Police, while Provincial Governors are responsible for enforcement outside the capital. Responding to questions about whether the law should be strengthened to close loopholes exploited by a restaurant operators, Arsit said business owners often seek to take advantage of legal gaps." I am getting kind of tired of that attitude though. The law is what it is. I am tired of this being viewed as like a game of cat and mouse. We are free people. Make relevant laws that deal with public health and safety; I get it. But this is not a game of "oh, we are trying to catch you all the time." People just want to do business. 

Now that said, it looks to me like public health code issues and fire code issues were probably more at issue here than getting into the whole difference between a restaurant and an entertainment establishment. That said, we will likely have to be dealing with this in the future, that is why I am bringing it up now. Quoting further: "He urged the public to report suspected violations to the Interior Ministry so authorities could investigate and take legal action against offenders. The comments came after a deadly fire at the Na Lat Phrao Brewery that killed 29 people and injured many others." As previously noted, this is likely to spark some activity and some action from relevant government officials. Now exactly how this plays out hard to tell.

But long story short and the thing to understand is it looks like entertainment licensing is going to be something that will be considered more important in the future and it looks like there's going to be heightened scrutiny associated with already existing venues to ascertain whether or not they're in line with the law. Now the problem I have with this is the notion that they are closing gaps, and they get to be all vague and then just come up with “well because we say so” type of “legislation” or “regulation”.

That being said, entertainment licensing has always been there. So if a place is not in line with the law, there may be a violation and there may be consequences associated with that. For those who are looking to set up types of business in Thailand, be it food and beverage restaurants, dance clubs, entertainment venues, it may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.