Cathay Pacific Stewardess Saga Demonstrates Dangers Of Posting: Social Media

[webfact]

SPECIAL REPORT

Stewardess saga demonstrates dangers of posting

Kornchanok Raksaseri

The Nation

A red-shirt supporter holds up a banner

BANGKOK: -- Many people might think they are in their personal space when they post a picture or message on a social media page or account as a way to express their opinions.

But many cases have shown that once the message or picture is posted, it can spread and start an unexpected drama - even a witch-hunt.

A flight attendant of Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific lost her job this week after she posted a picture last week of a passenger list with all the names blocked out but one - that of Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former premier Thaksin - with an accompanying message saying she would have liked to have poured a hot drink on the passenger.

Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Prasopdee, a red-shirt leader, earlier put pressure on the airline, saying he would lead a group of protesters to submit a letter at its office in Bangkok. The airline acted quickly, on Monday announcing that the stewardess had violated the company's regulation on passengers' privacy and was "no longer its employee".

The same night, an airhostess posted a message saying she had decided to resign to take responsibility for violating the company's rules and damaging its image. She asserted that a society could be peaceful if everyone respects the law.

The message was removed later and she has changed the page's privacy setting.

No matter what was actually behind the stewardess's resignation, online and offline, the airline faced a dilemma. It has been attacked by anti-Thaksin groups as not respecting a person's right of expression and forcing the woman out of a job.

Many people have asked whether the outcome would have been the same if the passenger was not Thaksin's daughter.

This case was compared to the case of reality show personality Mark V11 of True Academy Fantasia, a few months after the political turmoil in 2010. The boy posted a message attacking then prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and allegedly posting messages offensive to the monarchy.

The anger against him went viral. He later apologised and quit the television programme.

Earlier in the same year, a logistics company employee was discharged after allegedly posting a lese majeste message on her Facebook page.

Another victim of a social media witch-hunt was a student whose pen name is Kanthoop. At the age of 17, in 2010, she was rejected during the process of applying to Silapakorn University, on grounds that she had a personality problem after information of her views on Thai politics and the monarchy flooded the faculty. She also dropped out of an interview to enter Kasetsart University when a group of people threatened to rally on the day.

Last year she was accepted to Thammasat University.

Last year, Channel 7 reporter Somchit Nawakruasunthorn sued a red-shirt leader in Phetchburi for starting an e-mail thread featuring her picture telling red shirts to remember her face and "Please serve her right," shortly after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra took her post.

Somchit said the court would decide tomorrow whether to accept her case.

As long as political divisions remain, however, it seems clear that people will continue to use social media to express their views.

-- The Nation 2012-12-05

[endure]

The Internet is a public space. Post your details on it at your peril.

[binjalin]

great to see her lose her job and realizing that great companies like Cathay will not tolerate complete stupidity. It is not her role to get involved in what her passengers do, or not do. her job is serve to the coffee etc. she threatened to throw coffee at Thaksins daughter and even asked her 'personal adviser' if she could do it

edit: apologies daughter not PM (it's early!) - it's irrelevant she had ideas wayyyyyy above her station and seemed to think, as in Thailand, her actions would not have consequences

Edited December 5, 2012 by binjalin

[2unique]

great to see her lose her job and realizing that great companies like Cathay will not tolerate complete stupidity. It is not her role to get involved in what her passengers do, or not do. her job is serve to the coffee etc. she threatened to throw coffee at Thailand's elected PM and even asked her 'personal adviser' if she could do it

er, she's Taksin's daughter not sister! Other than that good point.

Sent from Android please allow errors in type or judgment.

[noitom]

The newspaper misses the point badly here. It is a despicable piece of inept journalism and its associated editing.

The airline "employee" publishing the manifest list of passengers, blacked out or not all but one, is an irrevocable breach of security and passenger safety, the first and foremost concern of airlines, airports, and their employees as well as vendors. An airline "employee" allowing her personal attitudes and emotional lapse to interfere in her professional or unprofessional action is appalling. To have a supervisor consulted without taking immediate action and to remark only "it may violate Hong Kong's laws," is an utter disgrace.

The Nation's circling around this issue with a "posting to social media is dangerous" gist instead of calling out the failed professional behavior of the attendant and her supervisor who was consulted, is just mind boggling. The newspaper does no service to Thais by ignoring this breach. In fact it signals further that there is a "cultural" problem among Thais who can't control their emotions or work reliably in professional occupations.

This blatant newspaper omission in discussing the violation of legal, ethical , professional standards , security and safety on an airline or airport business is cause for all to be forewarned about taking this amateur newspaper seriously on any topic.

In fact, it is a very serious illustration and cause for not taking any Thais seriously absent any massive outrage by Thais at this incident. Who in their right mind would employ a Thai in a critical , secure, safe position on becoming aware of this type of behavior, this incident, the weak, deplorable follow up, and the lack of outrage among Thais and the inept Thai press.

[OzMick]

great to see her lose her job and realizing that great companies like Cathay will not tolerate complete stupidity. It is not her role to get involved in what her passengers do, or not do. her job is serve to the coffee etc. she threatened to throw coffee at Thailand's elected PM and even asked her 'personal adviser' if she could do it

"threatened" ? "Thailand's elected PM" ? Where are you getting this mis-information?

[asiawatcher]

It's all a bit of a storm in a coffee cup.

[binjalin]

great to see her lose her job and realizing that great companies like Cathay will not tolerate complete stupidity. It is not her role to get involved in what her passengers do, or not do. her job is serve to the coffee etc. she threatened to throw coffee at Thailand's elected PM and even asked her 'personal adviser' if she could do it

"threatened" ? "Thailand's elected PM" ? Where are you getting this mis-information?

what is the matter with you? she threatened to throw hot coffee in her face on the flight - don't you read the news? (hint - not just 'The Nation'?) then she was fired - get it now?

[Bluespunk]

So the deputy PM was going to lead a group of protesters down to Cathays HQ to hand in a letter of protest. No doubt the implication being that if the protesters natural outrage got the better of them then the building and staff would suffer. Or to put it another way "Sack this woman or else". Ok the stewardess was stupid and in all probability would deservedly have been disciplined. However, to have a thug like this for a deputy PM threatening Cathay in this manner is just another sign of this governments inability to deal with rationally to any perceived criticism of the great one or his family. As the Fun Boy Three once said "The lunatics have taken over the asylum"

[JurgenG]

The newspaper misses the point badly here. It is a despicable piece of inept journalism and its associated editing.

The airline "employee" publishing the manifest list of passengers, blacked out or not all but one, is an irrevocable breach of security and passenger safety, the first and foremost concern of airlines, airports, and their employees as well as vendors. An airline "employee" allowing her personal attitudes and emotional lapse to interfere in her professional or unprofessional action is appalling. To have a supervisor consulted without taking immediate action and to remark only "it may violate Hong Kong's laws," is an utter disgrace.

The Nation's circling around this issue with a "posting to social media is dangerous" gist instead of calling out the failed professional behavior of the attendant and her supervisor who was consulted, is just mind boggling. The newspaper does no service to Thais by ignoring this breach. In fact it signals further that there is a "cultural" problem among Thais who can't control their emotions or work reliably in professional occupations.

This blatant newspaper omission in discussing the violation of legal, ethical , professional standards , security and safety on an airline or airport business is cause for all to be forewarned about taking this amateur newspaper seriously on any topic.

In fact, it is a very serious illustration and cause for not taking any Thais seriously absent any massive outrage by Thais at this incident. Who in their right mind would employ a Thai in a critical , secure, safe position on becoming aware of this type of behavior, this incident, the weak, deplorable follow up, and the lack of outrage among Thais and the inept Thai press.

Agree with you. Basically the flight attendant broke the law and the airline would be in big trouble in the passenger decided to sue.

Furthermore, it badly reflects on the Thai flight attendants. A number of them are the main breadwinner in their family. It was a really stupid thing to do, the flight attendant is going to pay the high price for that.

So maybe it's time to give the whole thing a rest.

[slapout]

As people grow older/more mature, they realize that some of the youngsters have not reached a level of maturity corresponding to their age. In this case, I think both individuals need to grow up. Its just too bad that Cathay airlines even had to get involved.

Saying this, it may best that the potential loose cannon is out of a work place where she could inflict physical harm on any individual she has a preceived problem with. The other half of the equation will learn someday, that daddy will not be here forever and she can make her own positive mark in the world, if she is so inclined.

[h90]

So the deputy PM was going to lead a group of protesters down to Cathays HQ to hand in a letter of protest. No doubt the implication being that if the protesters natural outrage got the better of them then the building and staff would suffer. Or to put it another way "Sack this woman or else". Ok the stewardess was stupid and in all probability would deservedly have been disciplined. However, to have a thug like this for a deputy PM threatening Cathay in this manner is just another sign of this governments inability to deal with rationally to any perceived criticism of the great one or his family. As the Fun Boy Three once said "The lunatics have taken over the asylum"

That the deputy PM was leading a group of thugs to the Cathay HQ, let me think if the stewardess might be right and if we shouldn't all pour some coffee over the heads of evil people, that support violence. Maybe the world would be better.

[Thai at Heart]

An employee asked if it was ok to assault a customer.

Assaulting someone is still illegal right. Can inept news articles be made illegal too?

[Zooheekock]

The air hostess expressed a desire to act violently toward someone whose only crime was having the wrong surname. The air hostess also broke what are very reasonable company rules.

On the other hand, Kanthoop's crime was (and remains - she's an extremely brave young woman) failing to love the King sufficiently - a crime for which she has been pursued mercilessly.

She asserted that a society could be peaceful if everyone respects the law.

Indeed it would. So why was she crying over the failure of the fascists in Pitak Siam?

[tragickingdom]

No it demonstrates no the danger of posting on Social Media, though the royalists certainly use social media to lock up anyone they feel expresses another opinion than that approved by their leadership, it expresses that you have people with insufficient working braincells who feel that everybody needs to feel and think the same and a different opinion is not allowed. This incredible simple attendant threatened a customer. Such people should not be allowed in the vicinity of any service related industry.

[Arkady]

The Shinawatra clan's key competitive advantage is that it has a massive PR machine designed to evoke blind adoration in more than 50% of Thailand's voters. While this business philosophy has proved highly lucrative to date, an important side effect is that that the PR machine produces aberrational results in something under 50% of the electorate who experience extreme side effect reactions to the constant PR bombardment and end up loathing the Shinawatras. So far the PR programming has been unsuccessful in achieving any form of middle ground and all those who have been subjected to the Shinawatra mental sanitation programme experience only extreme emotions of love or hatred. The Pheua Thai technical team is working on an ultimate solution to this problem which may include constitutional adjustments and kevlar face masks for clan members for use while travelling on foreign airlines.

[sirchai]

"Many people have asked whether the outcome would have been the same if the passenger was not Thaksin's daughter."

You shouldn't play with fire, if there's no fire extinguisher near you.

[nakhonandy]

Headline should be "dangers of being a moron and posting on social media"

This woman had a responsible position and then broke the Companies laws, the supervisor sounds like an idiot also if what she said his reply "against Hong Kong law" is true.

Of course she was sacked, flagrant breach of duty. Well done CP.

Incidently this is one woman, it in no way reflects the professinalism of other Thai stewards/stewardesses for CP or any other airline.

[bra]

They are not Air Stewardess - this term went out at least 30 years ago. They are Flight Attendants. Their main job is not to serve the coffee, its safety and to help you get out in one bit if something goes wrong, Third anyone who reveals their thoughts good or bad on social media is asking for trouble. You don't really know who will read it and worst thing its there forever. There will be a large number of young people who will be very embarrassed when they grow up and see what they wrote or the photos they sent in their mad youth. Luckily most of the stupid things that I wrote or did in my mad youth were not recorded.

[blundaman]

Blimey... Why So Serious, it's not as if she threatened to burn down a city, she was just pissed off.. it's an attitudinal thing, possibly incorrect medication

[Thai at Heart]

The Shinawatra clan's key competitive advantage is that it has a massive PR machine designed to evoke blind adoration in more than 50% of Thailand's voters. While this business philosophy has proved highly lucrative to date, an important side effect is that that the PR machine produces aberrational results in something under 50% of the electorate who experience extreme side effect reactions to the constant PR bombardment and end up loathing the Shinawatras. So far the PR programming has been unsuccessful in achieving any form of middle ground and all those who have been subjected to the Shinawatra mental sanitation programme experience only extreme emotions of love or hatred. The Pheua Thai technical team is working on an ultimate solution to this problem which may include constitutional adjustments and kevlar face masks for clan members for use while travelling on foreign airlines.

This is such a one eyed view its incredible.

I think you'll find ASTV was the first. Both sides have their media machine.

Edited December 5, 2012 by Thai at Heart

[jayboy]

The Shinawatra clan's key competitive advantage is that it has a massive PR machine designed to evoke blind adoration in more than 50% of Thailand's voters. While this business philosophy has proved highly lucrative to date, an important side effect is that that the PR machine produces aberrational results in something under 50% of the electorate who experience extreme side effect reactions to the constant PR bombardment and end up loathing the Shinawatras. So far the PR programming has been unsuccessful in achieving any form of middle ground and all those who have been subjected to the Shinawatra mental sanitation programme experience only extreme emotions of love or hatred. The Pheua Thai technical team is working on an ultimate solution to this problem which may include constitutional adjustments and kevlar face masks for clan members for use while travelling on foreign airlines.

For an experienced foreign resident you are still remarkably blinkered.What do you think politics is about if not public relations.The idea is to get as many possible to vote for you, geddit? Switch some words around and you could equally be talking about embittered Romney supporters after the victory of Obama - all those people sponging off the state and our taxes and similar dreary refrains.And on a point of detail as far as I can see most of the nastiest hatred in Thai society seems to be coming from one side - exemplified by the moronic woman who is the subject of this thread.

[Thai at Heart]

Blimey... Why So Serious, it's not as if she threatened to burn down a city, she was just pissed off.. it's an attitudinal thing, possibly incorrect medication

She wasnt asking other people to burn down the city.

She is a stupid sheep who has been listening to her media masters a little too much. If you notice, these so called leaders defend themselves by stoking the fire and then claiming they can't be responsible if the followers do stupid things.

It just illustrates how propaganda can warp peoples moral compass to do the bidding of the leaders.

[drdoom6996]

The newspaper misses the point badly here. It is a despicable piece of inept journalism and its associated editing.

The airline "employee" publishing the manifest list of passengers, blacked out or not all but one, is an irrevocable breach of security and passenger safety, the first and foremost concern of airlines, airports, and their employees as well as vendors. An airline "employee" allowing her personal attitudes and emotional lapse to interfere in her professional or unprofessional action is appalling. To have a supervisor consulted without taking immediate action and to remark only "it may violate Hong Kong's laws," is an utter disgrace.

The Nation's circling around this issue with a "posting to social media is dangerous" gist instead of calling out the failed professional behavior of the attendant and her supervisor who was consulted, is just mind boggling. The newspaper does no service to Thais by ignoring this breach. In fact it signals further that there is a "cultural" problem among Thais who can't control their emotions or work reliably in professional occupations.

This blatant newspaper omission in discussing the violation of legal, ethical , professional standards , security and safety on an airline or airport business is cause for all to be forewarned about taking this amateur newspaper seriously on any topic.

In fact, it is a very serious illustration and cause for not taking any Thais seriously absent any massive outrage by Thais at this incident. Who in their right mind would employ a Thai in a critical , secure, safe position on becoming aware of this type of behavior, this incident, the weak, deplorable follow up, and the lack of outrage among Thais and the inept Thai press.

You are completely correct. But here in Thailand none of that matters. It's all about the Shin Clan.

[JimsKnight]

The hypocrisy of the leftist looney's on here is showing itself.

If someone uses freedom of speech against their beloved followers then they a bad person.

Yet they then attack the person's livelihood.

This woman was expressing herself in a very restrained way, but the police-state mentality of redshirts can't have that....

Cathay Pacific airline's are also a very 'un-redshirt' faction so you can be sure this was about rivalry and politics as well!

[nakhonandy]

The hypocrisy of the leftist looney's on here is showing itself.

If someone uses freedom of speech against their beloved followers then they a bad person.

Yet they then attack the person's livelihood.

This woman was expressing herself in a very restrained way, but the police-state mentality of redshirts can't have that....

Cathay Pacific airline's are also a very 'un-redshirt' faction so you can be sure this was about rivalry and politics as well!

Freedom of speech??? Since when did that incorporate throwing hot coffee over someone? Even asking her supervisor for permission.

The woman is a moron and abused a position of responsibility, CP rightly sacked her.

[blundaman]

The hypocrisy of the leftist looney's on here is showing itself.

If someone uses freedom of speech against their beloved followers then they a bad person.

Yet they then attack the person's livelihood.

This woman was expressing herself in a very restrained way, but the police-state mentality of redshirts can't have that....

Cathay Pacific airline's are also a very 'un-redshirt' faction so you can be sure this was about rivalry and politics as well!

Freedom of speech??? Since when did that incorporate throwing hot coffee over someone? Even asking her supervisor for permission.

The woman is a moron and abused a position of responsibility, CP rightly sacked her.

point taken, lucky this wasn't last millennium or she'd have burned in hell ...on a stake, muhahahaha

[SCARLETIBIS1]

Boy, if just 'wanting' to throw hot coffee on someone in Thailand is a crime every farong here would be in jail for reasons delineated daily on this website.

What about just cold coffee? Would it be the same jail time or less?

Just curious but no one has said why the flight attendant wanted to throw coffee on the esteemed person. Anybody know the reason?

Since the lady in question was already off the airplane when the posting occured I fail to see what breach of security existed. Surely, it was a violation of airline rules but other than that big deal. I suppose if someone saw her get off the plane and posted it on their Facebook page that would also be a breach of security?

Thais amaze me more and more every day I am here though. I kinda wonder where this PM was when the Dutch girl got raped? Rob, rape, rip off, assault or kill a farong and it goes under the rug here or worse the farong in question is blamed for his/her own rape but to even suggest doing something like pouring hot coffee over a goddess, now that calls for a national outcry. LOS should be replaced with LOBS.

Edited December 5, 2012 by SCARLETIBIS1

[nakhonandy]

The hypocrisy of the leftist looney's on here is showing itself.

If someone uses freedom of speech against their beloved followers then they a bad person.

Yet they then attack the person's livelihood.

This woman was expressing herself in a very restrained way, but the police-state mentality of redshirts can't have that....

Cathay Pacific airline's are also a very 'un-redshirt' faction so you can be sure this was about rivalry and politics as well!

Freedom of speech??? Since when did that incorporate throwing hot coffee over someone? Even asking her supervisor for permission.

The woman is a moron and abused a position of responsibility, CP rightly sacked her.

point taken, lucky this wasn't last millennium or she'd have burned in hell ...on a stake, muhahahaha

At the very least.

Hopefully she will learn something from this, probably just young and foolish like most of us were.

[OzMick]

great to see her lose her job and realizing that great companies like Cathay will not tolerate complete stupidity. It is not her role to get involved in what her passengers do, or not do. her job is serve to the coffee etc. she threatened to throw coffee at Thailand's elected PM and even asked her 'personal adviser' if she could do it

"threatened" ? "Thailand's elected PM" ? Where are you getting this mis-information?

what is the matter with you? she threatened to throw hot coffee in her face on the flight - don't you read the news? (hint - not just 'The Nation'?) then she was fired - get it now?

There is nothing wrong with my comprehension, i understand that expressing desire to do something is not the same as saying I INTEND to do it, which is threatening.

Now about "Thailand's elected PM"? When did she enter this story?