1 minute ago, alyx said:

So we agree then: he spent a limited time in jail....for alleged false comments  

 

  No, a jail is a prison , he didnt get sent to jail .

Police cells are not jails and he didnt get sent to jail for this offence , he didnt even get charged for this offence, let alone get jailed for it .

   He was made to wait at a police station until the issue was resolved 

There are two very stupid , or arrogant people here. The customer and the hotel owner or manager or whoever that didn’t just reply to each review and leave it at that. By the way if I am have not “kept up” on this topic it is because it is not very important and just  mild amusement for me. 

Just how wide is the smirk on that jailed Yanks face now ? ???? 

He who laughs last.... 

1 hour ago, Thomas Hannah said:

No it is not.this will be highlighted in western media.how wrong trip advisor have been.not good for trip adviser reputation.

 

I disagree, TripAdvisor have gone up greatly in my opinion!!

 

They have shown they practice what they preach and I fear if they had not become involved in getting the hotel to the negotiating table the Hotel would have pursued Barnes to the last

 

The hotel have shown they are petty and very vindictive, TA had a duty to pass this information on to potential customers, Seaview set a precedent now they need to reap the whirlwind...

57 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

   My point was that although defamation laws could be used to prosecute negative reviews on line , has it ever happened before ?

  Has anyone ever been prosecuted for leaving a negative review ?

Yes, for reviews, facebook posts about exlovers, and all sorts of frivolous stuff.... Though it's mostly a thai vs. Thai thing. I recall something similar for an issan resort a few years back and for some seafood restaurant in bkk that overcharged customers. They just never get the press coverage this has. Politicians and tv stars love throwing around this law for frivolous reasons.

You're supporting a law that is abused by those with money and power.

How do we know the guy wrote a false review? 

The fact is, the American had a sissy fit over corkage fees - so then went out of his way to accuse the hotel of practicing modern day slavery. That is NOT just a negative review, but  rather an untrue defamatory statement which led to his arrest under Thai defamation laws. So in the Kingdom of Thailand, it was absolutely and accurately justified. 

1 hour ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

   He didnt get sent to jail, he was just held in detention whilst the police investigated 

 

Wrong again, from Tripadvisor page on SeaView Koh Chang highlighted the bit you must have missed:

 

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g580110-d594766-Reviews-Sea_View_Resort_Spa_Koh_Chang-Ko_Chang_Trat_Province.html

 

Message from Tripadvisor:

This hotel or individuals associated with this hotel filed criminal charges against a Tripadvisor user in relation to the traveler writing and posting online reviews. The reviewer spent time in jail as a result. Tripadvisor serves its users best when travelers are free to share their opinions and experiences on our platform – both positive and negative. The hotel may have been exercising its legal rights under local law, however, it is our role to inform you so you may take this into consideration when researching your travel plans.

1 minute ago, jdlancaster said:

Yes, for reviews, facebook posts about exlovers, and all sorts of frivolous stuff.... Though it's mostly a thai vs. Thai thing. I recall something similar for an issan resort a few years back and for some seafood restaurant in bkk that overcharged customers. They just never get the press coverage this has. Politicians and tv stars love throwing around this law for frivolous reasons.

You're supporting a law that is abused by those with money and power.

 

  I am not supporting any law , just saying that he didnt get prosecuted under the law in question .

  Most Countries have laws against slander and defamation 

There is Thai Reality , and then there is Reality on the Global stage.

TA was correct to warn future posters about the pitfalls of stepping

on egos in certain countries.

If I was the owner I would fire the entire management straight away. (Unless the orders came from the owner, in that case he deserves what's coming) The whole case was really badly handled by them. Every business (including mine) get the occasional unfair, damaging reviews. What are you going to do about it? Get the cops to arrest them? No way. A few apologising words and some coupons for the c@nt works way better. Even if it is unfair and undeserved. 

3 minutes ago, mark131v said:

 

Wrong again, from Tripadvisor page on SeaView Koh Chang highlighted the bit you must have missed:

 

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g580110-d594766-Reviews-Sea_View_Resort_Spa_Koh_Chang-Ko_Chang_Trat_Province.html

 

Message from Tripadvisor:

This hotel or individuals associated with this hotel filed criminal charges against a Tripadvisor user in relation to the traveler writing and posting online reviews. The reviewer spent time in jail as a result. Tripadvisor serves its users best when travelers are free to share their opinions and experiences on our platform – both positive and negative. The hotel may have been exercising its legal rights under local law, however, it is our role to inform you so you may take this into consideration when researching your travel plans.

 

   No, the Trip advisor is wrong , he spent two days in a police cell , he didnt get sent to jail .

  The case didnt even make it to Court, so, how could the court have jailed him ? 

Just another   big  nail  in the  possible  Thai  tourisms  Coffin

Good Luck  Thailand 

Not to say bad but this is classic behavior of management not thinking things through. Trying to apply local laws to an international platform, that amounts to .... well I should not say.

2 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

   No, the Trip advisor is wrong , he spent two days in a police cell , he didnt get sent to jail .

  The case didnt even make it to Court, so, how could the court have jailed him ? 

Oh, you’re a painful poster. 
 

He was jailed for two days. 
 

Definition of jail

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody

 

7 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

The guy didnt write a honest review though , he wrote numerous false allegations because he got charged corkage on alcohol be bought into the hotel from outside .

   The American guy waged a campaign against the hotel because he got upset about not being allowed to bring in beer from 7/11 .

   Unfair on the hotel for Trip advisor to issue a warning , when the American guy wrote false reviews 

There's nothing to compel you to put your hand on your holy book when you write a review for TA. All those reading reviews as well as the resorts should know that a review is only one person's opinion and should be used along with all other reports when choosing a place to stay. You should in no way be in danger of imprisonment for stating your opinion of a particular place, regardless of whether or not it's gospel.

 

No comment.

36 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

  And the posts only stopped after he got arrested , the hotel were concerned that it would be an endless campaign  and so informed the authorities .

  It has been shown that the reviews were not true  

 

Nope, that's your opinion it cannot be checked by fact and nowhere has it been shown that his opinion is untrue

 

It may have stayed at three published reviews or if they were really unhappy they could have asked TripAdvisor to intervene and remove the other reviews instead they opened a massive can of worms, and for what, fragile entitled ego's

 

The fact you and others like you fail to see this is telling..

10 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

  I am not supporting any law , just saying that he didnt get prosecuted under the law in question .

  Most Countries have laws against slander and defamation 

You've been supporting and justifying the use of this law against the american in multiple posts... It's disengenuos to say you're not supporting the law... 

 

The difference is in most countries the truth protects you and they don't require jail, it's a civil matter. Under section 330 of the Thai criminal code, the truth doesn't protect you from defamation. 

5 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

Oh, you’re a painful poster. 
 

He was jailed for two days. 
 

Definition of jail

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody

 

 

   No, he was held in a police station for two days , he didnt receive a jail term punishment for this crime , he was held during the investigation in a police cell

36 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

The Hotel manager tried talking with him to come to some sort of resolution, but the idiot ignored it until he was arrested. once arrested he was crying and pleading for help.   Bullies will always eventually get what they deserve. 

 

Oh man you cannot even see the irony in that statement!!!

 

From the NY Times article and absolutely nails it:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/world/asia/thailand-hotel-tripadvisor-jail.html

 

“Thailand’s use of criminal defamation is really off the charts,” said Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. “It seems like the Asian notion of ‘saving face’ has really been taken to heart by Thais who don’t hesitate to head to court over the smallest perceived slight or insult. If Thailand would simply decriminalize defamation, making it a purely civil law matter, this would create a major change in Thai society overnight.”

 

Another very disturbing bit, sounds like the hotel were happy to drag out the punishment:

 

Tripadvisor began paying his legal fees and helped bring the parties together to negotiate. Eventually, the Sea View agreed to drop its complaint if Mr. Barnes made a “sincere apology” for his reviews, which they said included “xenophobic comments against hotel staff.”

 

Mr. Barnes accepted the offer, and in a statement that resembled a forced confession, he apologized and thanked the hotel for forgiving him.

 

The fine print of the settlement also required Mr. Barnes to obtain an agreement from Tripadvisor, and he asked the company for a commitment that it would not post a “red badge” warning — Tripadvisor’s most dreaded notice — on the hotel’s page.

 

Tripadvisor posts various warnings to alert travelers to safety issues, and such notices can result in a significant drop in business. Agreeing to the hotel’s demand meant going against the company’s own practice of informing travelers.

and now this news will be all over the world !

what next ? a cancer for the dixx who dare to sue a customer ? I hope so !!!!

https://www.google.com/search?q=thailand+tripadvisor+warning

 

 

3 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

   No, he was held in a police station for two days , he didnt receive a jail term punishment for this crime , he was held during the investigation in a police cell

That’s what jail is. You get arrested and sometimes you’re thrown in jail ‘til you make bail or until you can see a judge. 
 

In the UK we’d say the person was held in custody, in the US they’d say in jail. Both are true and saying jail is a more effective headline. 
 

He was in jail for 2 days. This is a fact. 

4 minutes ago, jdlancaster said:

You've been supporting and justifying the use of this law against the american in multiple posts... It's disengenuos to say you're not supporting the law... 

 

The difference is in most countries the truth protects you and they don't require jail, it's a civil matter. Under section 330 of the Thai criminal code, the truth doesn't protect you from defamation. 

 

   I have been talking about this particular case and I havent been talking about the slander laws in their own right .

  The American wrote  false untrue damaging reviews and got made to remove them or to face legal action .

  

7 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

The guy didnt write a honest review though , he wrote numerous false allegations because he got charged corkage on alcohol be bought into the hotel from outside .

   The American guy waged a campaign against the hotel because he got upset about not being allowed to bring in beer from 7/11 .

   Unfair on the hotel for Trip advisor to issue a warning , when the American guy wrote false reviews 

Maybe some one should tell Tripadvisor

7 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

The guy didnt write a honest review though , he wrote numerous false allegations because he got charged corkage on alcohol be bought into the hotel from outside .

   The American guy waged a campaign against the hotel because he got upset about not being allowed to bring in beer from 7/11 .

   Unfair on the hotel for Trip advisor to issue a warning , when the American guy wrote false reviews 

Whether what he wrote was wrong or stupid is not the point, it’s an opinion! The guy may be a complete jerk but, so what? One absolutely shouldn’t be going to jail for a misguided or questionable opinion. TA is right on and I’m glad they warned us as wife and I are heading for Koh Chang next month but certainly not to that establishment.

19 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

   No, the Trip advisor is wrong , he spent two days in a police cell , he didnt get sent to jail .

  The case didnt even make it to Court, so, how could the court have jailed him ? 

 

Blimey, really he was accused of a crime by SeaView hotel management in Thailand being overzealous with their control laws this is enough to get a person locked in a cell for the weekend hence why this is big news...

 

You may wanna stop digging but up to you:

 

jail

[dʒeɪl]

 

NOUN

1. a place for the confinement of people accused or convicted of a crime.

   "he spent 15 years in jail" · 

   [More]

   synonyms:

   prison · penal institution · place of detention · lock-up · place of confinement · 

   [More

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

That’s what jail is. You get arrested and sometimes you’re thrown in jail ‘til you make bail or until you can see a judge. 
 

In the UK we’d say the person was held in custody, in the US they’d say in jail. Both are true and saying jail is a more effective headline. 
 

He was in jail for 2 days. This is a fact. 

 

 Only if you regard a police station cell as a jail .

Jails and police stations are two separate places 

Only a Judge can send a person to jail , the police cannot take a person to jail and this guy didnt even get prosecuted and he will not have a criminal record stating he spent two days in jail .

Yes silly Thai owners lol 

7 minutes ago, apetryxx said:

Whether what he wrote was wrong or stupid is not the point, it’s an opinion! The guy may be a complete jerk but, so what? One absolutely shouldn’t be going to jail for a misguided or questionable opinion. TA is right on and I’m glad they warned us as wife and I are heading for Koh Chang next month but certainly not to that establishment.

 

   He is not going to jail, he got released without being charged