A British man has been arrested for allegedly giving false one-star reviews to a restaurant in Thailand.
The British national, identified only as Alexander, 21, reportedly wanted to use the Italian restaurant as a more convenient gateway to his home in Phuket in 2022.
However, the owner barred him from doing so because he was not a paying customer.
As revenge, Alexander is said to have enlisted his friends’ help in flooding the restaurant with negative reviews, plunging its rating from 4.8 to 3.1 out of 5 stars.
The Central Investigation Bureau arrested Alexander at his new apartment in Bangkok on May 9, after the owner filed a complaint with the Sakhu Police Station claiming the fake reviews had caused damage to the restaurant’s finances and reputation.
The arrest warrant was issued against Alexander on August 2023 for ‘entering false computer data likely to cause damage to the general public’.
Police Major Jomparit Kaewreung of the Crime Suppression Division said: ‘The suspect was handed over to the inquiry officer of Sakhu Police Station for further legal action. During the interrogation, he has denied the charges.’
Alexander was taken back to the Sakhu Police Station in Phuket for prosecution.
In October 2020, an American tourist was arrested over a negative hotel review he posted on TripAdvisor.
He accused the Sea View Resort in Phuket of ‘modern-day slavery’. He was subsequently detained and charged under Thailand’s strict anti-defamation laws before apologising and being released.
Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, Thailand has resisted attempts at modernising and continues to enforce archaic laws banning free speech.
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