Drinking ban should start at different times on weekdays, weekends

Regarding this week’s Talking Point, “The public drinking clampdown”, the word “clampdown” is a bit harsh, as there should be some form of controls on public drinking. The timing of the ban, 10.30pm, is a bit early, though.

A one-hour extension should be fine and is not late. But the timing should be different on weekdays, eves of public holidays and weekends.

People are busy on weekdays and may control their drink because the next day is a working day. We should target drinkers on weekends and public holidays.

In my younger days, I went to the pub often. Drunken behaviour such as vomiting usually happened before closing time, which was about 1am or 2am. By this time, one must have drunk a lot to have lost control over oneself.

To ban drinking after such and such a time is not enough. People should be educated and warned not to drink in public after the stipulated time. If they persist, I support the idea of a stiffer penalty the second time around.