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Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

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Re: Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

#81

Post by kjs3 »

JusticeJuice wrote: post #15
smnrchrds wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like if leaving a one-star review of Google Maps can put you in jail in Thailand, it is highly irresponsible and unethical of Google to allow leaving reviews in Thailand. They should remove review feature entirely for Thailand, or disable lower ratings, or show a giant flashing warning explaining what you are risking by leaving the review.

>I feel like if leaving a one-star review of Google Maps can put you in jail in Thailand, it is highly irresponsible and unethical of Google to allow leaving reviews in Thailand. What? No. You can defame yourself in literally any public media forum where what you say could affect the other party. That means literally any public website with a comment feature. Singling out just google maps with a solution like that ma…

Short of threats of physical violence, you can't be put in jail for a comment in the US. That you think an opinion, no matter how dickish, warrants incarceration is ethically bankrupt.

Re: Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

#82

Post by jacobwilliamroy »

gruez wrote: post #29

The part near the end of the article is confusing. >While this reaction by the hotel does sound excessive I’d give them the benefit of the doubt that this guest behaved like a total idiot while at the property and then turned around with very unflattering descriptions and manufactured truths aka lies about this resort. He then refused to discuss the matter with the hotel and instead of stopping even accelerated his o…

About Sebastian Powell:

>Originally from Germany, Sebastian studied Business Management and worked in related positions for various companies including Lufthansa and the Thomas Cook Group before obtaining his BA and Masters Degree in Vancouver, Canada.

So if it's a corporation or a person, Powell is probably going to side with the corporation. Business school is like some kind of weird anti-customer, anti-worker brainwashing program. I've read the books they teach in project management and business courses. It was like an instruction manual for being a house slave.

Re: Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

#83

Post by aflag »

CyberDildonics wrote: post #75
pier25 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The guy said in one of the reviews the resort used slaves... that's a pretty defamatory claim.

The article says he said "modern day slavery", but the point here is not that there wasn't any defamation. It is that police came to his work and put him in jail based off of a complaint by the hotel. Does that seem reasonable to you?

Defamation is a very serious crime there. The hotel had hard evidence and, I presume, saying a hotel practices modern day slavery is very high up in the list. In light of that, it doesn't seem that preventive detention, which I assume was the case here, is that unreasonable.

Re: Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

#84

Post by tuna-piano »

wombatmobile wrote: post #14
oh_sigh wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but Americans are not the worst, no matter what you as the stereotypical self-deprecating American may think. If you asked Thai people who the worst are, they'd probably say Chinese tourists.

What if “they” didn’t think stereotypically and instead were open to the idea that individual people might think individually, regardless of race, culture, or nationality?

Agreed. But interesting how the "American tourists are the worst!" comment is currently upvoted and the "Nope, actually the Chinese are the worst" is downvoted.

Even if you believe it true that a pattern of a grouping of people is more often true than not doesn't mean it's something you should go around proudly stating.

Re: Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

#85

Post by AmericanChopper »

narag wrote: post #79
Fezzik wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it true in any first world countries? As far as I am aware publishing anything that is true is always fair game. The very definition of libel (and slander) is that something untrue has been published or said. I’m not aware of a first world/non-dictatorship that treats either libel or slander as a crime or where “it’s true” is not a defense [in a civil case]. This is a good article on the history of the issue: http…

Is it true in any first world countries? There are two clearly distinct legal traditions: the common law in the anglo countries and civil law in the rest. Also USA and UK seem to have very different and each of them unique treatment in this matter. So it's not a question of first world countries vs the rest. It's more of a USA vs UK vs the rest of democratic countries, not sure where other Commonwealth countries fall…

The UK and USA both have common law systems, where judges have the freedom to establish precedence in regards to matters of law. I believe most of continental Europe operates on civil law systems where judges have much less room for interpretation.

On the matter of defamation the US is quite different from everywhere else though, because of the 1st amendment, and the 'actual malice' standards applied to 'public figures' in defamation cases. The confounding factors in the EU are the privacy clauses in the European Convention on Human Rights, so you see cases that would be related to defamation elsewhere being litigated on privacy in the EU.

Re: Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

#86

Post by ergocoder »

gabereiser wrote: post #2

Pro Tip: leave your reviews after the stay. Another pro tip: know the local laws. American’s are THE WORST overseas because we think ‘Merica way of life is world wide. No, it isn’t, and you’d to well to humble yourself, learn the local laws, conduct yourself as if you were at Nana’s house. Wheaton’s law: “Don’t be a dick”. But Thailand’s defamation laws, online laws, and more kinda turn me off from visiting. Granted…

I don't know why you brought up "don't be a dick". It's unrelated to the matter at hand.

We don't know whether they were a dick or not. Even if they were, they didn't deserve to be jailed.

What we know for sure is that they went to jail because of a bad online review.

This is like telling a rape victim to not be a dick. Like wtf. Why is it even related?

As a Thai, we hope foreigners will help Thailand come up with better consumer protection. Thailand don't protect consumer as much as it should, and that's fucking sad.

Re: Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

#87

Post by bwilli123 »

ddoran wrote: post #52
gruez wrote: post #29

The part near the end of the article is confusing. >While this reaction by the hotel does sound excessive I’d give them the benefit of the doubt that this guest behaved like a total idiot while at the property and then turned around with very unflattering descriptions and manufactured truths aka lies about this resort. He then refused to discuss the matter with the hotel and instead of stopping even accelerated his o…

For anyone looking to dig deeper into the allegations of corruption on the islands and how it may have contributed to the murder of the couple in 2014, this is a good place to start: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/23/briton-thail...

https://twitter.com/travelfish/status/1310107365077737472

Re: Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

#88

Post by londons_explore »

Commenters here should remember that the idea of online reviews originated in the USA, where there is the general principle of freedom of speech, and the ability to talk about nearly anything.

Most of the rest of the world doesnt have free speech, and the American model of online reviews doesn't really translate.

These people value "not being talked about behind your back" more than "ability to say anything about anyone". America chose one, while many other places chose the other.

For example, in some countries, saying something negative about a company or business can be a crime.

Re: Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

#89

Post by gruez »

bardworx wrote: post #38
gruez wrote: post #29

The part near the end of the article is confusing. >While this reaction by the hotel does sound excessive I’d give them the benefit of the doubt that this guest behaved like a total idiot while at the property and then turned around with very unflattering descriptions and manufactured truths aka lies about this resort. He then refused to discuss the matter with the hotel and instead of stopping even accelerated his o…

In the article it states that the hotel guest violated the hotel policy of bringing alcohol on premise. So the guest seems to have broken the rules and then lied about it, which in Thailand is a serious crime. Yes, the punishment is excessive but not sure how the guest is “right”. Your comment is cherry picking the later section while ignoring the beginning, it seems. > According to media reports the whole drama init…

>Yes, the punishment is excessive but not sure how the guest is “right”.

>Your comment is cherry picking the later section while ignoring the beginning, it seems.

I didn't claim that the guest was right. In my original comment, the only mention of "right" was in a hypothetical.

Re: Hotel guest in Thailand jailed for defamation after posting bad online reviews

#90

Post by wombatmobile »

gruez wrote: post #29

The part near the end of the article is confusing. >While this reaction by the hotel does sound excessive I’d give them the benefit of the doubt that this guest behaved like a total idiot while at the property and then turned around with very unflattering descriptions and manufactured truths aka lies about this resort. He then refused to discuss the matter with the hotel and instead of stopping even accelerated his o…

It's an odd choice to reference an historical murder on Koh Tao in this defamation matter arising from a social media review of a hotel on Koh Chang. Like trying to parse defamation law in Hawaii to solve a homicide on Staten Island, because they are both American Islands.
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