KRABI — A concert organised by Singha Corp in an academic venue in Muang district on Saturday night was found to have violated the 2008 Alcoholic Beverage Control Act as beer was sold on the premises, the director of the Disease Control Department's Office of Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco Consumption Control Committee said Sunday.
Dr Saman Futrakul was commenting after he led a team of police and officials from Krabi provincial health office and the Excise Department to inspect the Khon Hua Jai Singha (Singha at Heart) Concert featuring the legendary rock duo Asanee and Wasant Chotikul, which was organised at a stadium of the Institute of Physical Education, Krabi Campus.
Dr Saman said the inspection was carried out after he received a complaint that alcoholic beverages were sold at the event despite the fact that it took place inside a government facility.
The team found more than 100 employees of Singha Corp selling cans of beer and tap beer to revellers, including a 16-year-old, with the company’s logo and advertising messages being displayed on electronic LED signs and other sales equipment.
“The company did not receive permission to sell [beer] and this practice was clearly illegal,” Dr Saman said. “Officials from the Excise Department confirmed they did not issue a permit to them.”
He said he was collecting evidence to file a police complaint against Singha Corp.
The campus’s rector, Sompong Chatawithee, had previously refused the company’s request to use the campus stadium for the concert, but local government agencies appealed to him to grant permission. Mr Sompong then allowed the organiser to use the venue but on the condition that it must not sell alcoholic beverages on the premises, Dr Saman said.
The concert aimed to raise funds for Muang Krabi municipality, Muang Krabi police station and the provincial football association, Dr Saman said, but it should have been held in line with the law. The event also took place when entertainment venues had been asked to refrain from organising festive activities during the national mourning period following the death of the Supreme Patriarch.
An executive from Singha Corp who declined to be named said Sunday the event was organised by other organisations and Singha Corp was one of the sponsors which helped provide tables and chairs arranged in a way similar to a "beer garden".
He said the venue was a public space rented for the staging of entertainment and this was the fifth year that such an event had been held. He admitted that Singha had a booth to sell beer but denied the allegation that company staff had walked around selling alcoholic beverages as the waitresses involved were hired by the organiser.