The deadline was announced by Phuket Vice Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrabam yesterday (Aug 2) through a report by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket) posted online at 5:51pm.
Vice Governor Anupap gave no explanation as to why the venue operators were given four days to explain why the venue was open so late.
The announcement appears to be in response to posts online by local residents pointing out that the pub was open all Monday night, and playing music loudly all night long, “as if nothing had happened”.
Phuket City Police have yet to release any official statements regarding their investigation into the incident.
The incident happened in the car park of the Nai Mueang Phuket pub and karaoke bar located opposite Phuket Customs House on Phuket Rd, barely 200 metres from Phuket Immigration.
Official reports are still not naming the venue, instead referring to the location as a “popular entertainment venue”.
Initial reports said police were called to the venue at 5:50am, but official reports later said the shooting happened at about 5am.
Vice Governor Anupap gave no explanation as to why police were not questioning the venue regarding staying open late. Depending on the entertainment licence the venue operates under, the venue should have closed at either midnight or 1am.
Mr Anupap said the deadline was only for following up on enforcing an “administrative order”, a phrase commonly used when officials are deciding on whether or not to take action against an entertainment venue for late trading.
Mr Anupap noted that the man shot dead, Traitaewit ‘Got’ Chindamaikul, 27, a resident of Phuket Town, had attacked a group with a sword after an altercation with a woman at the pub. One person had suffered serious injury to a finger, he said.
In response pub security guard Chaiwat ‘Od’ Chuwong, 35, pulled out his Glock 9mm handgun and shot Mr Traitaewit once in the chest, killing him.
Mr Chaiwat was waiting for police at the scene and immediately surrendered the handgun used in the shooting.
Mr Anupap, according to the report by PR Phuket, was yesterday purely focussed on the venue trading beyond official closing times.
“Provincial officials have been ordered to examine in depth whether the venue has complied with the law or not, including looking at the matter of keeping order according to the government’s policy,” he said.
“The owner of the venue is to present various relevant evidence regarding whether it is operating in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, which must be clarified by August 4, 2022, no later than 4:30pm,” he added.
“After which the province will consider how much weight it has to suspend the license or if it can order the venue closed for a number of days, or if there are multiple counts of offenses, there may be a revocation of the license, which will be based on the weight of the surrounding witnesses to report further,” Mr Anupap said.
Mr Anupap continued, “The opening [times] of various entertainment venues in the province is a stimulus for the province’s economy, and for Thailand’s, but the operator must abide according to the rules and regulations, such as when they can open and when they must close.
“Let’s take care of the overall picture in order to create a livable city and continue to support travel,” he said.
Mr Anupap then diverted his focus away from the venue of the shooting to talk generally about other venues that play loud music throughout the night, and are open near local schools.
“For the part that has enquiries about entertainment venues that are open near young children’s schools, we have checked to a certain extent and then we’ll take another look at how they’re related,” he said.
“There is also a consideration in this matter and we will draw [conclusions] from the relevant evidence, Mr Anupap concluded.