BMA officials to increase regular safety checks of nightlife venues

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt has ordered all district chiefs to conduct nightly inspections of entertainment venues and restaurants in their jurisdictions which provide live music and serve alcohol, to ensure that they are strictly complying with safety standards or close them immediately if they fail.

The sudden, tough measure follows the fatal fire in a pub in Chatuchak district late on Sunday evening, in which 30 customers lost their lives, mostly due to smoke inhalation, and about 70 others were injured, including about 25 who are in serious conditions in hospital.

Governor Chadchart told the officials that their responsibility should not be just to ensure that the venue operators are complying with the law, but to maintain public safety too.

He was referring to the ‘Rong Beer Na Ladprao’ pub, saying that the materials used for interior decoration were flammable instead of retardant.

At the special meeting of chiefs of all 50 district offices, the governor also instructed them to keep a close watch on a racket helping Chinese couples residing in Thailand to obtain Thai citizenships for their children born in Thailand, by arranging for Thai men to act as ‘fake’ fathers or to marry Chinese women, with the help of unscrupulous district officials and private hospital employees.

He claimed that there are about 1,000 cases of fake birth certificates involving Chinese children in five districts in Bangkok now being investigated.