Soboringtochooseaname Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Who ever had to pay anything because of defamation in Thailand ? Is it just a legend or a trick to push people to shutup online ? Hi, I always read replies saying that punishement for defamation is severe in Thailand, but it really sounds like bullshxt to me because after years I still haven't heard about any case about someone having to pay anything to anyone or a company because of saying something negative about him or his business. So please give me evidence and provide links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblether Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Dammit........I thought you said defloration 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2047317/Joe-Gordon-US-citizen-faces-15-yrs-jail-Thai-royal-family-insult.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soboringtochooseaname Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 Of course I do not speak about the most important people in the world, but about companies or "normal" people/business owners... Seems like its a legend that we cannot say when a business is ran by retarded, or maybe it's only on Thaivisa :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Of course I do not speak about the most important people in the world, but about companies or "normal" people/business owners... Seems like its a legend that we cannot say when a business is ran by retarded, or maybe it's only on Thaivisa :-) You can say whatever you like as long as no more than one other person is listening. Same rule applies most places in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londoedan Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 A couple of years ago there was an odd guy that ran a website, more a blog actually, that criticised an expat real estate broker in Thailand, Pattaya I think. That case was taken to court. It went on a bit and I'm unaware of the final outcome but I do believe the individual concerned left Thailand as a result. The same guy was 'cyber-stalking' an alternate Thai-based blogger (Stickman) and the sad, sorry saga was covered in one of the weekly columns on the latter's website. So defamation via insults posted on the web, even foreigner against foreginer, can result in cases being brought before a Thai court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DP25 Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) No, it's not bull, it is very real. Not only can you be heavily fined, but you can be imprisoned. It doesn't just apply to businesses, it applies to individual people. Be careful insulting people in public because you can be punished for it Edited March 3, 2012 by DP25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2unique Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Happened to a Thai friend of mine who reproduced an article from the web in his monthly fanzine. Even though the person in the article had been found guilty of a minor crime he was successfully sued and had to pay a million Baht compensation! The incident took place overseas, the original was in English and not freely available in Thailand, the verdict was being appealed etc and bottom line the person in question had more money than my friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattayadingo Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 One time when I was not at my best and getting really bad service over repeated repairs to my car that kept being bodged. I started to lose it. I started swearing and calling the mechanic and his garage Kwai and several other not so nice names in a conversation with the Thai friend I was with. He advised me not to ever say those things to a Thai or they would be very liable to report me to the police and I would be arrested and made to pay. Maybe not quite defamation of character but as I understand it you can be arrested for calling some Thai Kwai to their face in front of others. It seems there is a need to take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoad Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 One time when I was not at my best and getting really bad service over repeated repairs to my car that kept being bodged. I started to lose it. I started swearing and calling the mechanic and his garage Kwai and several other not so nice names in a conversation with the Thai friend I was with. He advised me not to ever say those things to a Thai or they would be very liable to report me to the police and I would be arrested and made to pay. Maybe not quite defamation of character but as I understand it you can be arrested for calling some Thai Kwai to their face in front of others. It seems there is a need to take care. Calling a Thai "Kwai" to their face is more than likely going to result in you getting a smack around the chops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 You might not hear a lot about this as it's usually a "Thai" thing. And usually solved out of court via a payment of money. Here's a link discussing this. But also do a search on "thailand defamation law". Amazing what you come up with. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/253758-thai-libel-laws/ It's very serious and one reason we have a forum rule regarding this: 6) Not to post comments that could be reasonably construed as defamation or libel.Defamation is the issuance of a false statement about another person, which causes that person to suffer harm. Libel involves the making of defamatory statements in a printed or fixed medium, such as a magazine or newspaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaccha Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 There was a case a couple years back of Tesco Lotus using criminal defamation laws. And then there was the junior Bangkok Post journalist who found herself trapped in Thailand because once a defamation case begins they are usually not resolved for a decade or so, and yet foreigners are often not allowed to leave the country if they are deemed a flight risk. She wrote of her experience in the Colombia University journalism journal. The Criminal Defamation Laws here are dangerous. Truth is not an absolute defence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilDrSomkid Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 A couple of years ago there was an odd guy that ran a website, more a blog actually, that criticised an expat real estate broker in Thailand, Pattaya I think. That case was taken to court. It went on a bit and I'm unaware of the final outcome but I do believe the individual concerned left Thailand as a result. The same guy was 'cyber-stalking' an alternate Thai-based blogger (Stickman) and the sad, sorry saga was covered in one of the weekly columns on the latter's website. So defamation via insults posted on the web, even foreigner against foreginer, can result in cases being brought before a Thai court. This particular individual (I cannot name him on TV) is still running his hate-site. Last year he sent a whole bunch of FB friend-requests to people in Thailand. Not only to me, but also to my wife, my garage's fb page and various other people. Apparently he is in China now and claims to be a Muslim. The real estate guy targeted, hit him back real bad. The particular individual described it as "being hounded out of Thailand." I read Stick's column on that episode. Quite a read. I had caught fragments of it over the years, part of the slagging matches were on now-defunct mangosauce.com (miss that site). Pretty sure this particular individual still reads ThaiV.isa. No idea what his TV handle was/is. I am guessing he got banned for something he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaccha Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I can't stop thinking of the Swiss film documentary maker who, 14 years after making some documentary on European business practices, cam to Thailand and was arrested at the airport. His crime? A Thai was mentioned in the film and brought criminal defamation charges against him without his knowledge. He is still in prison, since he had been convicted in absentia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heimdallr Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Those laws are a joke and not really applicable to the modern world. There have been many cases but they aren't often reported in the English-speaking media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetCowboy Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 There was a recent thread on death threats regarding a chap who was found guilty of defaming a poster's wife. He fled to Australia, and Johnny Walker (or one of his ilk - goodness me, I nearly found myself foul there myself!) persuaded him to post death threats by email = which led to the thread first-mentioned. SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soboringtochooseaname Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hum... All of this is small experience, I guess that defamation hardly brings anyone to a court, but of course there are many examples thrown to the face to help us to shut up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetCowboy Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Hum... All of this is small experience, I guess that defamation hardly brings anyone to a court, but of course there are many examples thrown to the face to help us to shut up... There's another thread on a similar topic in "Out yer box". Anyway, its not just the threat of punishment that restrains us - a spiteful tongue should be restrained, and kept away from the keyboard (?) out of decency as well as fear of the law. I've actually never been banged up in jail for murder, nor has anyone I know, but I still believe that I would suffer that consequence were I to so err, and that is sufficient deterrent for me. Perhaps you need to suffer every travail yourself before you take it seriously, but I personally heed the advice of others, even if their own experience is also vicarious. Of course, fear of the law and confidence in its implacable justice is not the sole reason that I refrain from defaming my fellows or murdering them; as I am sure you are aware, I am in fact scrupulous in my moral scruples and adherence thereto... SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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