Underage youths get their drinks in Paceville is the title of an investigative piece which appears in today's (12 December 2010) edition of the Sunday Times.

While not exactly earth-shattering in its revelations, it does confirm yet again that

1. people under the age of 17 are being allowed into places of entertainment which are restricted to patrons aged 17+
2. people under the age of 17 are being served alcoholic drinks
3. smoking in these indoor public places is the norm

To their credit, the reporters covering the assignment tried to lodge a report at the St Julian's police station but the officer on duty turned them away.

So here I must ask, why is the Sunday Times refusing to publish the names of the night spots which were violating the law, especially as minors were involved and no action was taken by the police?

Is the national newspaper morally correct in withholding the names of law-breakers while having no compunction in pointing out the inertia of the police force in dealing with the matter?

I posed the question to the Sunday Times, via the comments section of the article's web page. However, neither my remark nor an answer to it had appeared by the time I wrote this post.