Hefting kegs and emptying bottles, bar owners and brewers poured spoiled alcohol down a storm drain outside the Health Ministry today.
A week after demanding officials relax new and old rules limiting their livelihoods, a coalition of alcohol sellers gathered Monday at the Department of Disease Control to show their losses in dramatic fashion at a protest dubbed “Justice poured out.”
Like the name suggests, protesters rolled out a dozen or so unsold beer kegs they then literally poured down the drain.
Craft Beer Association leader Archirawas Wannasrisawas said they wanted to show that many batches of craft and draft beers have turned bad and been ruined by the ongoing sales restrictions, as they can not be kept for a long time.
Achirawas said that the more than 300 venues and 5,000 individuals in the metro Bangkok area affected by the bans are losing an estimated THB150 million per month.
The group suggested that, to curb COVID-19 infections, officials should allow bars to reopen and restaurants to be able to serve alcohol so long as patrons practice social distancing, don’t share glasses and don’t stand up to dance.
They have also been calling for reforms such as ending the advertising ban and extending legal selling hours.
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