Thailand delays bar curfew plan

Bar and club owners say the law threatens their livelihoods

Thailand has delayed the imposition of a new midnight curfew on bars and clubs until later this month.

The new measure had been due to come into effect from 1 March, but the law will now come in force in two weeks.

Thailand's government says the law is part of its campaign to curb juvenile crime and drug abuse.

But it has provoked an outcry from the entertainment industry which says it threatens livelihoods and will force many businesses to close

The only exceptions to the midnight closing time will be a few zones in the capital, Bangkok, and some resorts, where bars can stay open until 0200.

"Basically my business starts at midnight," said David Jacobson, a partner in Bangkok's long-running New York-style nightclub Q Bar.

"It probably means we won't be able to survive. We'll try, but I'm not too optimistic," he told news agency AFP.

Massage parlours

Mr Jacobson was quick to laud Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's efforts to clean up what the bar owner called Thailand's "reputation as the cheapest destination for sex and drugs and rock and roll".

But he said the premier had gone about the campaign the wrong way.

The new law will allow late night closures at the red-light district of Patpong, the New Petchaburi area known as RCA popular with Thai teens, and Ratchada Phisek which teems with massage parlours and karaoke bars.

At the end of March a new night time curfew aims to stop under-18s from being on the streets, between 2200 and 0400, without parental supervision.

Correspondents say it is unclear how strictly the measures will be enforced, in part because many young people work in night jobs.

The measures are being introduced after justice ministry figures showed an alarming rise in violent crime, particularly sex crimes, among young people in Thailand.

Reports said rape increased by 16% on the previous year in 2003, with gang rape rising by 70%.