Buddhist Monk Arrested In Bhutan Under New Smoking Law
January 30th, 2011 - 9:10 pm ICT by GDBy Gina Gomez
Thimphu, Jan 30, (THAINDIAN NEWS) In its bid to become the very first smoke-free country all across the globe, the Himalayan nation of Bhutan is known to have implemented few strict guidelines to ensure that the citizen refrain from smoking after the habit was banned in the year 2005. After the stringent anti-smoking regulations were put to affect, the Bhutanese authorities made its very first arrest under the law recently when it took into custody a Buddhist monk. According to reports, the monk was detained by the cops after as many as 72 packets of chewing tobacco were recovered from him.
An officer who is associated with the Narcotic Drug and Law enforcement Unit of Bhutan has revealed on condition of anonymity that the Buddhist monk has been slammed with charges of consuming and smuggling contraband tobacco, which is fourth-degree felony in the nation. The officer further added that the monk might go on to face a prison term of five years as the charge is a fourth-degree felony. As per the new anti-smoking law that was implemented across Bhutan earlier this month, police officials can enter any home if they smell tobacco while shopkeepers who are found to be guilty of selling tobacco might be put behind bars.
Authorities have stated that the monk who has arrested is a student at a monastic school but his identity has been kept under the wraps. It has been reported that the Buddhist monk purchased the tobacco for his personal use from the town of Jaigoan along the borders of India.
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