A Bangkok Bar owner was making Japanese plum wine Friday evening when two officers walked in and charged him with two crimes: making changes to liquor and its packaging.
Pasakorn “Thep” Sangraksakiat said yesterday that he was fined THB10,000 (US$300) for making umeshu, aka Japanese plum wine, at his bar PrumPlum in Bangkok’s Sathorn area.
“My store was closed that day, and I and some staffers were making umeshu out of a lot of plums before they went to waste,” Pasakorn said in an online discussion with a community of Thai liquor producers called Surathai.
“Then the excise authorities came in and asked for our alcohol license, which was no problem. But then they saw the umeshu jars and asked me, ‘What is this?’ Even though I told them I wasn’t making it for sale at the bar, the authorities told me that I made too many jars and charged me.”
Pasakorn was charged with making changes to containers of liquor under the 2017 Excise Tax Act’s sections 157 and 158. He was assessed THB5,000 for each section – and fined a total of THB10,000. The jars of plum wine – amounting to 10 liters – were seized by the authorities.
Pasakorn defended himself, saying umeshu needs to be made in advance and in bulk since the plums are seasonal and have to age for months. “If you want to drink it throughout the year, you have to make it in bulk,” he said.
Pasakorn’s team have been outspoken critics of the restrictive liquor laws, posting frequently on social media about their abuses and attempts at reform.
His bar’s case received overwhelming interest as making umeshu at home has grown its popularity in the past few years, especially when people were stuck at home during the pandemic.
In Thailand, producing liquor for commercial purposes requires that the manufacturers have the capacity to produce at least 100,000 liters per year, which results in many small-scale entrepreneurs facing fines instead of profits.
Taopiphop Limjittrakorn, a beer activist-turned-MP who has been campaigning for reform of the laws, questioned their reasonableness.
“Do you think this law is strange? Right now there are many people getting fined for making liquor,” Taopiphop said.
“They don’t want to be underground, but authorities kick them back underground.”
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