Immigration Police sue Twitter user for making false claim

[webfact]

Immigration Police sue Twitter user for making false claim

By THE NATION

 

Pol Lt-General Sompong Chingduang

 

Immigration Police is suing a Twitter user for falsely claiming that foreigners are allowed to enter Thailand via Suvarnabhumi Airport without having to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

 

Immigration Police chief Pol Lt-General Sompong Chingduang said on Tuesday (September 15) that he has had the 2nd Immigration Police Division file a lawsuit against the Twitter user for spreading false information that may affect the operation of his department.

 

The Twitter user had tweeted that they had visited the airport on September 10 and seen that more than 80 per cent of incoming passengers were medical tourists and they were allowed to enter the country without undergoing quarantine, which is mandatory for everybody who lands in the country to curb the spread of Covid-19.

 

Pol Colonel Chuengron Rimphadee, deputy chief of the 2nd Immigration Police Division, said it was mandatory for all medical tourists to undergo quarantine at their specified hospitals.

 

“All travellers also have to inform immigration officials of their travel history and present a fit-to-fly document from the Thai embassy in their respective country upon arrival,” he said.

 

The deputy chief added that from April 4 to September 13, more than 49,000 Thais have returned home, while only 12,000 foreigners have entered the country between July 1 and September 13. Hence, he said, the claim that 80 per cent of incoming passengers are foreigners is wrong, as foreigners only accounted for 24 per cent of total arrivals.

 

“Of the 12,000 foreigners, 367 were medical tourists,” he said. “On September 10, our records show that 690 Thais and 479 foreigners entered the country, and only 10 said they were here for medical treatment.

 

“The social-media poster may not understand the immigration procedures or may have simply posted the comment for fun. However, messages like this can cause panic and affect people’s confidence in public health and immigration systems, therefore suing this person is necessary,” he added.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30394571

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-09-15

 

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[Puchaiyank]

Woooooo!  Big Bad Immigration Police!

[Justgrazing]

20 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

Immigration Police is suing a Twitter user for falsely claiming that foreigners are allowed to enter Thailand via Suvarnabhumi Airport without having to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine

The orange one .? He likes to twit abit .. 

[holy cow cm]

Beware as it looks like all the agencies are intently surfing all the internet media platforms to catch someone or everyone now. 

[PatOngo]

And what's this guys name?  .........  Big Mistake?

[Pottinger]

Under 5000 foreigners entering per month during the last three months - no wonder the tourism industry is on its knees and the TAT and government ministers are casting around for something - anything - to bringing back the revenue.

 

Desperate times indeed.

Edited September 15, 2020 by Pottinger

[RotBenz8888]

 

Big deal, with so much rubbish on Twitter, who would've believed that anyway? 

[JusticeGB]

At least this is a valid claim to pursue. However no airline would allow you to board without the proper documentation. 

[jacob29]

23 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said:

 

Big deal, with so much rubbish on Twitter, who would've believed that anyway? 

Plenty would have believed it, so yeah it's kind of a big deal. Freedom of speech is one thing, but this is on the level of yelling fire in a theater - when you incite fear or distrust in a target group.

[ThailandRyan]

Probably mixed domestic passengers up with international arrivals. You can not see who is in immigration or for that fact inside except from outside looking into the baggage carousels.

Edited September 15, 2020 by ThailandRyan

[Destiny1990]

I want to say something about it but oh no better not because i don't want to be sued.

[rkidlad]

14 hours ago, jacob29 said:

Plenty would have believed it, so yeah it's kind of a big deal. Freedom of speech is one thing, but this is on the level of yelling fire in a theater - when you incite fear or distrust in a target group.

Yes. Apparently thousands of foreigners landed at Suvarnaphumbi and were very disappointed to learn that they’d have to quarantine for two weeks. Themselves and the airlines had all seen the tweet and believed it. 
 

Shame. 

[Benmart]

18 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

The orange one .? He likes to twit abit .. 

This has no relevance to the story, except in your mind. Refocus abit, twit.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Benmart
Add words

[Srikcir]

Anyone who retreats the alleged false statement can also be sued.

"A retweet amounts to a further publication, as if the retweeter has made the statement himself."

https://www.taylorwessing.com/download/article_libel_myths_social_media.html

 

[Laughing Gravy]

I wonder if people can sue the police for saying they have tried their best to solve a case without any corruption.

[Russell17au]

Question 1: How did this person access the area at the airport to get the information that they twitted?

Question 2: How does this person know that 80% of the passengers were medical tourists?

The person that twitted this information has some very serious questions to answer and if they were found to be in a secured area without permission then they not only are answerable about the information they twitted but they are in big trouble about where they were to get this information

 

[hotchilli]

18 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

 

Big deal, with so much rubbish on Twitter, who would've believed that anyway? 

Immigration do, hence the prosecution.

[AgMech Cowboy]

18 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

The orange one .? He likes to twit abit .. 

You really are consumed by the "orange one". I think there are medical treatments for derangement.

[SupermarineS6B]

I don't like to say this but this whole mess has come from exactly the same place as this latest "Big Joke" came from........ "North East Asian"........  Laos, Cambodia and now Thailand...... 

[Bender Rodriguez]

sue, damn ... why not just add comment or say this is fake news...don't they have a regiment of anti fake news dudes paid to do just that, or is that all FAKE news itself

[khunjeff]

There are lots of ways to handle a situation like this. Best: ignore it. Second best: issue a dry press release explaining the actual facts. Third best: have a combative press conference explaining the actual facts. Worst: file a lawsuit.

[steven100]

many farangs on TV just went to the bathroom ...  lol

[jacob29]

8 hours ago, rkidlad said:

Yes. Apparently thousands of foreigners landed at Suvarnaphumbi and were very disappointed to learn that they’d have to quarantine for two weeks. Themselves and the airlines had all seen the tweet and believed it.

It's not aimed at foreigners, it's aimed at locals, and there are locals that are suspicious of foreigners giving them COVID, even when hardly any new foreigners have been allowed in for six months. This kind of tweet exacerbates this. Far less plausible tweets than this have done the rounds and been taken seriously by some.

[IAMHERE]

80% you say. Thai percentages are different than mathematical percentages, right? Therefore 80% could be 90% correct.

[mikebell]

23 hours ago, Laughing Gravy said:

I wonder if people can sue the police for saying they have tried their best to solve a case without any corruption.

Interesting idea - a bonanza for Thai lawyers/courts/judges - but the police will always win - they have guns.

[teacherclaire]

Always the BAD foreigners! Hang them! Kick them out! Stone them and only take their money when they're hanging upside down! 

 

  Problem solved. ( For him.)

[teacherclaire]

23 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

80% you say. Thai percentages are different than mathematical percentages, right? Therefore 80% could be 90% correct.

Well, 80 % + could also be 400 %. Thais have a little problem with numbers in general. 

 

 

[Advocatus Diaboli]

But the Police are right here. This is fake news. Easy to disprove. Best to stop this now before it gets worse. They could also sue Twitter, as the Law in the US now after the Presidents decree, Twitter can no longer hide behind putting out false tweets but removing posts that they do not agree with. That would be good to see.