NEWS: Students sold alcohol
By Troy Torres
(Tumon, Guam) Okkodo and Simon Sanchez High School students employed at the Dusit Thani Resort Guam were made to serve alcohol to banquet guests during major island functions at its convention center, according to some of the students and employees.
"The Red Ball and the Bank of Guam Christmas party were busy nights, so they had the students help to serve drinks, including alcohol," one of the employees recalled.
Guam law prohibits adults from having minors handle alcoholic beverages.
There were other busier-than-normal occasions at the convention center, when the students, ages 15 through 18, were made to serve beer, cocktails, scotch, whiskey, and wine, according to several sources. These included the Pink Ball, the Diwali Ball, and several other Christmas parties.
"It's funny because there's all these senators and big time people - even lawyers - who talk about the law all the time and there they were getting drinks served to them from minors, but I doubt they knew that," another employee said. "With all the pictures and the videos that people take at these things, I bet you there's footage of these students giving alcohol to all these customers there."
Public Law 30-156, also known as the Ramon Someros Oberiano Act, authored by then-Sen. Benjamin Cruz, prohibits employees under the age of 18 from serving alcoholic beverages. According to §3619 of Article 6, Chapter 3, Title 11 of the Guam Code:
"Any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years purchasing or consuming alcoholic beverages or in possession thereof shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor. This provision, with regards to possession of alcoholic beverages, does not apply to persons eighteen (18) to twenty (20) years of age who are performing paid work for and on behalf of a licensed establishment that provides alcohol. For purposes of this Section, 'provide' means various methods of distribution or retrieval, including, but not limited to, selling, serving, or transporting alcoholic beverages."
These accusations against the Dusit follow student and employee testimony to the Guam Department of Labor that the hotel has violated the Child Labor Law. In Kandit's first report on allegations of misconduct on the part of Dusit management, we brought you information regarding Okkodo students being made to work well past the time the law allows, and without the break periods required by law.
