I find it insulting that a manager at a resort would treat their customers this way and I hope people think twice before patronizing this establishment in future.
The customer is always right.
American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review
11–20 of 43 posts
Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps you have not read enough of the available information ?
I read the article. It sounded like he had a really bad experience at the Sea View Resort (on Wesley Barnes), so left reviews at lots of places warning people. That's literally the whole point of writing reviews. To let others know what places are good, bad, etc. Hopefully more people find out about the stupid treatment of this guy by the resort, as taking legal action against an ex-customer for giving bad reviews is…
I think the story in the original link is too one-sided to have a definitive opinion about the customer.. check the second link (from parent comment) for more details and see if it changes anything.
https://mothership.sg/2020/09/sea-view-resort-defamation-law...
Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review
#13Most people here are not familiar with laws in Thailand and should not assume that every country has exactly same laws.
I’m not taking a side here on purpose, because certain laws would apply to me then.
a) yahoo article is biased and incomplete. Don’t take it as the truth.
b) if a official report (complaint) was filed at police station then the person who complaint was about must appear at that station so they can make their own statement into same journal.
c) since company is on an island it’s normal across the world that jurisdiction of that location applies.
If other articles are to be believed (posted by others here already), the company had sufficient reason to proceed as they did. https://mothership.sg/2020/09/sea-view-resort-defamation-law...
It’s not likely that the guy will go to jail. Most cases are arbitrated before they go to actual trial.
However if the foreigner were found to be in violation of the law he most likely won’t receive the maximum punishment.
A lot depends also how he reacts at court. Could go with a slap on the wrist or much worse.
Completely unrelated to this case but relevant - some companies do go overboard with defamation lawsuits but it’s quite rare actually. Lots of Thai people and foreigners write negative reviews and nothing happens at all
- it’s not unheard of foreigners to go ballistic due to language and cultural difference. However also Thai customers do happen to sometimes get overboard and cause problems unnecessary
- The situation is really dire on islands. I went to another this weekend and most resorts and restaurants/ pubs had shut down for good. The remaining open ones aren’t operating profitably as there is are less than 10% of regular domestic and foreign tourists there.
- Lots of visitors have also less money to spend. Salaries have been reduced and many people lost jobs. Tourism sector was hit the hardest.
- There is currently no way for foreign tourists to enter Thailand. But we do see Thai and foreign people traveling within the country. Not so many but also not none.
I really invite everyone to get familiar with laws in Thailand and with all the details of the situation before taking sides.
Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review
#14What a ridiculous situation. The guy was arrested and brought to the minuscole island because of a defamation suit. Imagine that. The article is quite light on details, so here’s another one that also links to the full response by the hotel owners: https://mothership.sg/2020/09/sea-view-resort-defamation-law...
Yeah imagine police doing their job. The accused has to be read the charges and has the opportunity to make a formal statement. Does the size of the island matter in that legal case?
Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps you have not read enough of the available information ?
I read the article. It sounded like he had a really bad experience at the Sea View Resort (on Wesley Barnes), so left reviews at lots of places warning people. That's literally the whole point of writing reviews. To let others know what places are good, bad, etc. Hopefully more people find out about the stupid treatment of this guy by the resort, as taking legal action against an ex-customer for giving bad reviews is…
Justin you don’t seem to have a grasp of the legal system in Thailand. People can write negative reviews. But there is a line which one shouldn’t cross as it becomes illegal.
Lots of people write negative reviews and don’t get into legal trouble in Thailand.
So hopefully people don’t just assume things based on imagination and get some more facts before judging the case
Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is opposite of Streisand effect. It's turning out to be terrific free publicity for this island resort with 4.5 stars on Trip Advisor, and actually portrays the resort as victim of a loser guest who was asked to pay a standard corkage fee, refused, then went off and accused the resort of slavery. I mean, just the top image on the Yahoo link, of a gorgeous beachfront, looks pretty great right now. Here's a tip, w…
> It's turning out to be terrific free publicity for this island resort ... Let me guess. They've had all of the negative reviews deleted, by threatening to put more people in jail? That's one way to do it...
Are you implying that the resort is suing every customer who gives negative reviews? And if so where is the proof.
If not, then it’s just a silly statement made up by you.
Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review
#17I find it insulting that a manager at a resort would treat their customers this way and I hope people think twice before patronizing this establishment in future. The customer is always right.
Which part? The manager charging the corkage fee or taking legal action as per law?
I see every day negative reviews of places in Thailand rarely heard of anyone who got sued about it.
Edit: typo
NB. If you don’t break the law you can leave negative reviews in Thailand
Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review
#18> Thailand's notorious anti-defamation laws have long drawn scrutiny from human rights and press freedom groups, who say powerful players use it as a weapon to stifle free expression. > The maximum sentence is two years in prison, along with a 200,000 baht ($6,300) fine. > Earlier this year, a Thai journalist was sentenced to two years in prison for posting a tweet referencing a dispute over working conditions at a c…
Not sure why you got downvoted for quoting the article. But the yahoo article is badly written, one sided and incomplete.
Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review
#19How is the nationality of the person being sued relevant to the situation?
I, not complaining about the NH headline, but the various mentions in the article itself?
I clicked because of that headline wondering why someone in America would worry about a suit filed in a different country. But it’s someone resident in Thailand.
Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review
#20How is the nationality of the person being sued relevant to the situation? I, not complaining about the NH headline, but the various mentions in the article itself? I clicked because of that headline wondering why someone in America would worry about a suit filed in a different country. But it’s someone resident in Thailand.
Indeed. It’s clickbait by yahoo news. Poorly researched and badly written.
Should be replace by the Singaporean link from commenters below.