Thailand’s defamation laws are very severe, in particular when it comes to online content. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of a friend was arrested at his school for posting a one star review on Google maps about a resort he visited on Koh Chang. Yes, you heard right [THREAD]

He was escorted 250km away to Trad to face a complaint made against him by the resort owner. It was a Friday and he ended up spending a couple of nights in jail before he was able to post a 100,000 Baht bail. If he didn’t have that money, he would have to wait months in prison.

In most cases, defamation laws are good as they are there to protect us. But it is sometimes abused. To have someone arrested at their workplace for posting a negative review is surely a step too far. Does this now mean none of us should post one star hotel reviews in Thailand?

This case should have never gone to court. It not only damages the reputation of the resort, but also the reputation of Thailand. This should have been settled privately. Now the world knows that if a tourist posts a negative hotel review in Thailand they risk going to prison.

I posted about this case on my Facebook fan page this morning ( https://www.facebook.com/149529535060922/posts/5052851594728667). It has already been shared over 400 times with 713 comments so far. I believe it has also been picked up by the newswire. The hotel promised me a statement but nothing so far #Thailand

DISCLAIMER: I didn’t want to write about this straight away in case it prejudiced his trial and because there are always two sides to a story. But he has now spoken to a journalist. However, I still won’t name him or the resort because of Thailand’s harsh computer crime laws.

UPDATE: There is always two sides to a story. The owners of the hotel who are suing an American guest for a bad review have now sent me their side of the story. You can download the five page statement here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VZCwyULmkLpZ7y5nT5wsaX0mn8waPd4H/view?usp=drivesdk

SECOND UPDATE: Wesley B, the American who is being sued by a resort on Koh Chang for leaving a one star review has now sent me his response to the statement sent to me by the hotel #Thailand