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

Post by nefasti » Mon, Sep 28, 2020, 10:09 AM UTC

leaveyou wrote: post #211

samvher wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Bangkok it was mainly tuk-tuks taking me to places I didn't want to go and many attempted scams (magicians, dealers in jewels, someone pretending to be police). In Chiangmai I had my worst couchsurfing experience, really unpleasant guy who I went to town with and was dependent on (he took me half an hour or so on the back of his motorcycle) and who got really drunk after I asked him to please stop drinking (becaus…

Honest question.. why do you go to countries like these ? To me it looks like the risk is not worth at all.. Is being in danger part of the attraction or people really underestimate the dangers of third world countries ?

Post by pgt » Mon, Sep 28, 2020, 10:25 AM UTC

united893 wrote: post #200

pritovido wrote: post #195

I have traveled to Thailand several times, and once the taxi driver put drugs on my luggage. He was crony with the guard at the airport who was very surprised when he could not find the small cocaine bags the driver has put there(and I had thrown away). In Thailand they take drugs super seriously and they can blackmail you easily this way. On the other hand you see all kind of scumbags from western countries travelin…

Wait what?! I’ve got so many questions. How exactly does a Taxi driver coordinate with guards? At what point did you discover the scheme? You were nearly blackmailed and just threw away the evidence? How does the Airport guard blackmail you? How goes he expect to get paid? Why go through this and not just blackmail the actual legitimate drug users?

Post by wodenokoto » Mon, Sep 28, 2020, 10:35 AM UTC

john2x wrote: post #209

dstick wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a possible scenario based on the OPs story. Two brothers - one works as a taxi driver, the other as an airport guard. The taxi brother inserts small packs of cocaine in the bags of his passengers. Then texts his airport guard brother a description of the passenger and bag he inserted the drug in. The passenger arrives at the security check and his bag gets pulled out. The airport guard finds the drugs and puts…

A similar thing happens in the Philippines, but with gun ammunition instead of drugs. Yes, having a single loose ammo in your luggage at the airport can land you in jail. It got so bad that passengers would wrap their entire luggage with duct tape or cellophane to make sure the guards at the airport won't sneak one in. In fact, airports actually have cellophane dispensers so passengers can wrap them at the airport in…

Post by unnouinceput » Mon, Sep 28, 2020, 10:52 AM UTC

smnrchrds wrote: post #6

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 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.

Post by shadowprofile77 » Mon, Sep 28, 2020, 11:00 AM UTC

Fnoord wrote: post #207

taneq wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's because I've only just run across it, but this 'global north' / 'global south' thing is super weird. If you mean 'rich countries' / 'poor countries' why not say that, rather than link it to something like latitude which is only nebulously related to what you're actually trying to say?

Rich and poor country is relative, too. Compared to 50 years ago, there are almost no third world countries anymore. I believe Hans Rosling shared some data about this in his book Factfulness.