American expat charged with defamation after leaving multiple negative reviews online

[ChipButty]

11 minutes ago, IamNoone88 said:

He will think twice about making any further reviews. 

He wont be able to where he's going

[Don Mega]

4 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

He wont be able to where he's going

I eagerly await his review !

[Captain Monday]

13 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Only in Thailand could this happen. No cease and desist orders necessary or blocking him and having the posts removed.  Not like tbe rest of the world.

Not true. In Japan a right-wing female politician is being sued for liking a tweet criticizing a rape survivor.

Some people are too stupid to live overseas nobody in their right mind living in Thailand would post a negative review on Trip Advsor trashing a local business. Read the rebuttals sounds like an idiot too cheap to understand what corkage is. He should have been ejected from the facility. Then he could have gone to drink store bought alcohol for free on the gutter stoop front of a minimart with the rest of the dross.

[ballpoint]

7 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

He wont be able to where he's going

I don't know.  I can't wait to see the review of his prison cell.

At least he "booked" this stay online.  Multiple times.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by ballpoint

[brucegoniners]

Sooooo, now you can’t even post negative reviews without facing arrest? How else are people going to find out a business is ????? What’s the point of reviews if they only allow for positive ones and prosecute those who post negative ones? I’ll certainly make a note and never stay at this place. 

[Don Mega]

5 minutes ago, brucegoniners said:

Sooooo, now you can’t even post negative reviews without facing arrest? How else are people going to find out a business is ????? What’s the point of reviews if they only allow for positive ones and prosecute those who post negative ones? I’ll certainly make a note and never stay at this place. 

You can write a bad review but personal attacks on the staff and accusing the place of "modern day slavery"..... well that will get you into the doo doo real quick.

 

[cheshiremusicman]

14 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

For goodness sake. Taking outside alcohol into a restaurant anywhere in the world is a no no unless you ask for permission.

Sorry, I disagree. I see lots of people - mostly Thai's doing this all the time in restaurants here in Hua-Hin nd I've not come across one restaurant that has not allowed people to do this if they pay a corkage charge. I am talking about independent restaurants NOT those associated with hotels.

[mrjon]

sounds like a room full of creepy democrats to me

[aroiaroi]

I'm suprised the hotel took the bait.
Bad business decision, and bad for the tourism industry.

I very much doubt the customer gets jail time. He is probably chortling on his Chang beer as we speak as he refreshes his browser tabs every 5 minutes, watching the fallout.
 

 

 

 

 

[rexall]

14 hours ago, Damual Travesty said:

Well, this is going to really help kick off the rapid return of tourists to Thailand.

The guy's first and only mistake was being ignorant of the defamation laws in Thailand. He was being a jerk, but that is really beside the point.

I am no lawyer, but I believe that in the U.S. defamation is determined based upon the accuracy of the statements, not whether or not the guy is a jerk and being unreasonable or even vindictive. Being vindictive may be nasty and unpleasant, but it is not illegal, and not  a valid basis for a lawsuit.  

If Thailand, the resort and the guy can't find a way to "kiss and make up," when he returns to the U.S., they will learn the real meaning of the word "vindictive."  If his complaint about the corkage fee was transparently stupid, adding being arrested, threatened with imprisonment, fine and lawsuit will be seen sympathetically, at least in America.  He can spend his days posting and posting and posting "American Jailed for Leaving Negative Review About Thailand Resort!"

It may be a nice, satisfying wet dream for the resort to imagine that they can flex their muscles and exact revenge for the guys behavior based on their economic ability to prosecute a lawsuit. However, that may prove to be naive and counter-productive. 

It will be interesting if this experiences is shocking enough so that he decides to leave well enough alone, or if it inspires even greater levels of vindictiveness. 

Edited September 27, 2020 by rexall

[Kaopad999]

Good, he got what he deserved. The guy was leaving negative comments using multiple fake accounts. 
Going out his was to try and destroy a business like that is just bang out of order. remember, that is someones livelihood. 
Thankfully, this childish, self entitled type of behavior does not work out here.

Edited September 27, 2020 by Kaopad999

[sitti]

????typical self-centered.... getting into trouble over a booze.

Here at TV, people always like to talk about "commonsense", clearly American lacked such commonsense. You don't bring beverage from outside (he was too cheap to buy at hotel to begin with), and drink it at hotel's public areas. Drink in your own room would have been perfectly fine.

 

Sure, this american has his "rights" to express his opinion. But he's intention was obvious when he wrote misleading reviews over and over for weeks. There is a fine line between these. And don't forget, Thai also have rights, not just farangs. Every citizen has the right to exercise the law of that country to the fullest extend. Don't like it, don't leave your country. Practice your rights in your country. 

Edited September 27, 2020 by sitti

[teacherclaire]

14 hours ago, spiekerjozef said:

The Minkey house will sort him out. Don't drop your soap.

Mickey Mouse? I understand that many negative posts can ruin a business. 

 

The owner can make his own rules and if they don't want customers to bring food and drinks into this establishment, the American was wrong to post that all over.

 

I once brought an almost empty can to a foreign restaurant owner who was very unhappy. He makes his money selling food and drinks.

 

 

 

  There are way too many people who a sort of overreact. Nothing is perfect. 

Edited September 27, 2020 by teacherclaire

[polpott]

1 minute ago, sitti said:

Don't like it, don't leave your country. Practice your rights in your country. 

I'm sure many potential tourists reading this story in their own countries will heed your advice.

[2long]

22 minutes ago, brucegoniners said:

Sooooo, now you can’t even post negative reviews without facing arrest? How else are people going to find out a business is ????? What’s the point of reviews if they only allow for positive ones and prosecute those who post negative ones? I’ll certainly make a note and never stay at this place. 

You can leave negative reviews (if fair and accurate and only done once). 80 others have left negative reviews on the same page. What this fool did was expect to drink his own bottle of gin in their prime-location restaurant without paying corkage. Then he made multiple personal attacks in an attempt to damage the resort's reputation.

The resort tried to solve it in a sensible way, but the reviewer only responded to their emails after he was arrested.

[mrmicbkktxl]

14 hours ago, 4evermaat said:

Saying that the same restaurant had staff as slaves without any proof is equally a no-no.   If he had just said the cork fee sucks, there wouldn't have been a problem.   

Staff in Hotels on Koh Chang are mostly Cambodians

[Tchooptip]

Sorry we are in Thailand I am in Thailand this American is in Thailand and this defamation law we expats know about it or should know about it, because what he has done repeatedly is not just a negative review but it was really meant to do harm to this establishment, moreover I may be old school but never in my life have I brought my own alcohol to a hotel and in its situation it was a bottle of gin!

 We do not necessarily all have the same perception of this story as far as I am concerned having read all the links I have no sympathy for him. He is a very aggressive person, he has received the result of his behaviour in the face now he just has to deal with it. 

[Benmart]

14 hours ago, Nout said:

Another self entitled yank bites the dust.lol

Self entitlement and the use of self incriminating words are international. Reading your post confirms my belief. lol.

[teacherclaire]

1 minute ago, mrmicbkktxl said:

Staff in Hotels on Koh Chang are mostly Cambodians

But not the ones running the business. They are the ones who lose money. 

[Don Mega]

13 minutes ago, rexall said:

  If his complaint about the corkage fee was transparently stupid, adding being arrested, threatened with imprisonment, fine and lawsuit will be seen sympathetically, at least in America. 

He was arrested at his workplace so you can add being sacked to that list !!

[hellohello123]

years ago in central pattaya, I left a scathing review on a hotel,

TLDR story,

checkin: no we cant find your booking on our system

me: here is the booking on my phone

hotel: no we need a printed copy, it will cost you 10 baht per page to print it out, or come back in an hour

comeback in 3 hours, still cant find the booking

comeback 2 hours later, still cant find, I make a fuss and they give me my room

 

upon checkout:
hotel: your roomservice/restaurant bill is XXX Baht,

me: here is my amex

hotel after trying a few times and it was coming up as an error, sorry your card isnt working,

me: well the card is working because I used it to pay for this hotel plus I used it today

hotel  keeps on trying,

another guest beside me also trying to pay his bill via amex but having issues

hotel: its not the hotels problem, there is something wrong with your card

me: no, then why is the guy next to me having the same problem?

hotel: well you cant leave until you pay it

me: well I have a  flight to catch in a few hours, so you had better sort it out

hotel: you'll have to cancel your flight

me: are you going to pay for a new flight for me?

hotel: silence

 

thankfully the card worked after its 10th try

 

reading this americans story, I guess I could have been jailed for my review too!

[Kaopad999]

53 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

What's the problem with some of you people?

Correct. Sadly, there are many people here with a similar mentality as the American. 
I often wonder why these people even stay in Thailand? ... Complain every day about Thai laws and blaming everything on Thai people, but still choose to stay here..
Honesty, it's embarrassing especially when you know that Thai people come to this forum and read all of this stuff. What must they think ? 

[Don Mega]

Just now, Kaopad999 said:

Correct. Sadly, there are many people here with a similar mentality as the American. 
I often wonder why these people even stay in Thailand? ... Complain every day about Thai laws and blaming everything on Thai people, but still choose to stay here..
Honesty, it's embarrassing especially when you know that Thai people come to this forum and read all of this stuff. What must they think ? 

I reckon a fair percentage of posters on this forum are not even in Thailand.

[Iforbach]

Sounds..like at..oss..er to me ....

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

cheap charlies do not pay 6000 baht for Hotel room, that is where the problem started, looks like it was not a 6k experience.

The problem started when he brought his own bottle of drinks into the restaurant, didn't want to pay the corkage fee and begun insulting the staff.

[Kaopad999]

1 minute ago, Don Mega said:

I reckon a fair percentage of posters on this forum are not even in Thailand.

You could be right... 

[FritsSikkink]

11 hours ago, oldhippy said:

We can not expect cheap trolls to read the first posts - otherwise you would be aware of the room price that this man paid.

The problem started when he brought his own bottle of drinks into the restaurant, didn't want to pay the corkage fee and begun insulting the staff. So keep your insults to yourself.

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

 begun insulting the staff.

 wonder if he was stomping his foot on the ground as well ?

[FritsSikkink]

12 hours ago, Flying Saucage said:

The outcry is not about bringing an own dring for free at a hotel. The outcry is about prosecuting and throwing a customer into jail for leaving a review on Trip Advisor. 

Indeed, a lot of the TV people only look at what injustice the foreigner received and don't mind what happens to others.

[polpott]

1 minute ago, Kaopad999 said:

Correct. Sadly, there are many people here with a similar mentality as the American. 
I often wonder why these people even stay in Thailand? ... Complain every day about Thai laws and blaming everything on Thai people, but still choose to stay here..
Honesty, it's embarrassing especially when you know that Thai people come to this forum and read all of this stuff. What must they think ? 

Hopefully they think, "What a crazy stupid government we've got, making all these crazy insane laws just to protect themselves. I won't be voting for them again." The defamation law was originally created to stop Thais criticizing the Thai government on line.