A Thai lodge has threatened to sue a visitor for £70,000 after she gave the lodge a 6/10 score and stated in a evaluate that it was ‘too costly’.
The visitor, recognized as Ms Khing, rated the Ozone Lodge close to Khao Yai nationwide park in central Thailand on Agoda.com on December 19 after staying there in June.
‘The room didn’t look new because the pictures steered,’ she wrote in a evaluate that has since been deleted.
‘It wasn’t clear. I couldn’t name reception from my room, so I needed to stroll down on my own. Night time-shift staffers weren’t so useful, however some have been welcoming.
‘I would love [the hotel] to regulate the value and enhance the standard to match the value. If the chance presents itself, I’ll go to once more.’
The lodge responded politely on the location however later phoned Ms Khing to demand she take away the evaluate, pay £1,100 a day in compensation and fork out £65,850 for damages.
Her lawyer stated that Ozone Lodge had repeatedly demanded cash and an apology for seven consecutive days earlier than threatening submitting a felony lawsuit for defamation.
The Ozone Lodge close to Khao Yai nationwide park in central Thailand has threatened to sue a visitor, recognized as Ms Khing, for £70,000 after she gave the lodge a 6/10 score and stated in a evaluate that it was ‘too costly’
Ms Khing stated the resort didn’t appear like the images that had been posted on-line, was not clear and that employees have been unwelcoming
The lodge responded politely to the evaluate on the location however later phoned Ms Khing to demand she take away the evaluate, pay £1,100 a day in compensation and fork out £65,850 for damages
Lawyer Sittra Biebangkerd stated the lodge had initially thanked Ms Khing for her suggestions on her June 13-14 keep earlier than reaching out privately with calls for for money.
‘She was advised by the resort to delete the evaluate remark instantly, or else she should pay the resort 50,000 Thai baht [£1,100] per day in compensation and three million [£65,850) for the damages,’ Biebangkerd advised the Bangkok Publish.
The resort advised Ms Khing she had 15 days from their letter to pay the cash and concern apologies.
Biebangkerd added the resort had threatened his consumer with a felony lawsuit for defamation if she refused to adjust to their calls for, complaining that she had sullied the lodge’s fame.
Ms Khing advised native information retailers she felt ‘threatened’ after receiving the letter however insisted she had posted the evaluate in good religion, hoping it might encourage administration to enhance the resort.
The case prompted an outcry on Thai social media the place customers argued prospects ought to have the appropriate to complain about substandard companies – and others questioned Agoda.com’s privateness coverage.
It has introduced contemporary scrutiny to Thailand’s defamation legal guidelines, which human rights activists say are too harsh and sweeping as a result of they can be utilized to silence criticism.
In an analogous case in 2020, an American instructor was arrested and threatened with two years in jail for defamation after posting a adverse evaluate that accused lodge employees of ‘modern-day slavery’.
Wesley Barnes wrote a TripAdvisor evaluate of the four-star $60-a-night Sea View Resort Koh Chang in Chiang Mai that talked about ‘slave labor, xenophobic feedback towards lodge employees, and evaluating the lodge to coronavirus on a number of events on web site platforms’.
In an analogous case in 2020, American instructor Wesley Barnes was arrested and threatened with two years in jail for defamation after posting a adverse evaluate that accused lodge employees of ‘modern-day slavery’
Wesley Barnes wrote a TripAdvisor evaluate of the four-star $60-a-night Sea View Resort Koh Chang in Chiang Mai that talked about ‘slave labor, xenophobic feedback towards lodge employees, and evaluating the lodge to coronavirus on a number of events on web site platforms’
The lawsuit towards Barnes was dropped in October 2020 after he issued a ‘honest apology’ during which he retracted his preliminary evaluate solely.
‘All the statements that I made are fully unfaithful,’ wrote Barnes in a press release. ‘These evaluations and feedback have been written out of anger and malice. Now, I, Mr. Barnes, have regretted my actions and want to apologize to Sea View Koh Chang, and its employees.’
He additionally took accountability for ‘my repeatedly false and unfaithful statements/evaluations made to maliciously defame Sea View Koh Chang’.