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09 October 2020A deal with the hotel that has been negatively reviewed on the internet has prevented a US citizen living in Thailand from avoiding a possible two-year prison sentence for defamation.
Under the agreement, both parties have agreed to withdraw the complaint filed by the Sea View Resort & Spa Koh Chang hotel.
American Wesley Barnes, who spent two nights in jail until bail was paid, agreed to take a series of actions before October 30 in compensation, such as an apology to the hotel, provincial authorities and the media who reported on the dispute.
Furthermore, the tourist must provide an explanation to the US Embassy in Bangkok and ask the tourism portal TripAdvisor, where it posted the negative reviews, to withdraw the negative post posted for the hotel.
Meanwhile, for this very story, Tripadvisor has posted a warning on the hotel review page: "Due to a recent event that attracted media attention and caused an influx of reviews that do not describe a first-person experience. , we have temporarily suspended posting new reviews for this profile. If you have had a first hand experience at this property and would like to leave a contribution, please try again soon. We look forward to receiving your review. "
Barnes stayed at the Sea View Resort in late June and later left negative comments on TripAdvisor criticizing the institute's employees, who later defended their workers and gave their version of what happened.
After refusing to withdraw the comments, Barnes was charged with libel and detained on September 12 for two days until he paid a bail of 100,000 bat (2,700 euros), obliged to appear before a judge to answer. the charge of defamation, which carries a possible sentence of up to two years in prison.
The controversy arose when the hotel workers informed the tourist that he had to pay a tax if he wanted to drink drinks bought outside the hotel in the hotel, while the tourist accused the manager of the establishment of being "extremely rude to customers" and to treat other workers "like slaves".