Off to Jail

Off to Jail 

How do you speak out about bad service if the organisation, company, or people you speak bad about can sue you for defamation and can do it because the freedom of speech laws in their country are not strong enough to protect you? 

Abuse of law is more common than you think. The law keeps order, but the law has loopholes. Some organisations, companies, persons use these loopholes for their own gain because the laws favour more towards the people who are being badmouthed than the person badmouthing them. 

Why do the loopholes still exist? Surely by now there must have been some reform of the law to make it more just and fairer. 

If there were a hundred bad reviews of a place of service, would the place of service sue all the individuals that made the reviews? 

If the customer’s comment was justified, would they still be slapped with a lawsuit for defamation? What if the customer’s comment was not justified, could the place of service have responded differently than a lawsuit?

When faced with criticism, the way you respond tells a lot about your brand and character. 

Who is the real victim?

What do you think?

Is a negative review worth jailtime? 

Have a read at “American faces two years' jail — for negative Tripadvisor review on Thai resort” to base your judgment. 

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American faces two years' jail — for negative Tripadvisor review on Thai resort

An American is facing two years' jail for posting unflattering comments about the Sea View Resort at Koh Chang island, Thailand. — AFP pic

PETALING JAYA, Sept 29 — American Wesley Barnes landed himself in the soup over his review of the Sea View Resort at Koh Chang island where he wrote in July that he encountered “unfriendly staff” who “act like they don't want anyone here.”

Colonel Thanapon Taemsara of Koh Chang police told AFP that Sea View Resort owner filed a complaint that the defendant had posted unfair reviews on his hotel on the Tripadvisor website.

Taemsara said Barnes was accused of causing “damage to the reputation of the hotel,” and of quarrelling with staff over not paying a corkage fee for alcohol brought to the hotel.

Barnes, who works in Thailand, was later arrested by immigration police and returned to Koh Chang where he was briefly detained and then freed on bail.

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 freedom of expression.

The maximum sentence Barnes faces is two years in prison, along with a 200,000 baht (RM26,000) 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 chicken farm owned by the Thammakaset company.

Article Link:

https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2020/09/29/american-faces-two-years-jail-for-negative-tripadvisor-review-on-thai-resor/1907732