Police detained Barnes under criminal defamation and computer crime laws (portrayal)
Bangkok:
A Thai hotel on Friday agreed to drop charges against an American guest who faces up to five years in prison for posting negative reviews, provided he issues a public apology for his comments.
The hotel, on the island of Koh Chang, filed a lawsuit against American teacher Wesley Barnes in August after publishing what the hotel said was false and defamatory information after a dispute over traffic jam charges. 500 baht ($ 16).
Police held Barnes under libel and computer crime laws for two days in September before he was released on bail.
“Under conditions where Mr. Barnes shows his sincerity and takes full responsibility for what has happened and remedies the situation, the hotel will be happy to drop the charge,” Hotel Sea said. View Koh Chang in a statement to Reuters.
The case has brought fresh scrutiny of Thailand’s libel and computer crime laws, which human rights activists deem too harsh and drastic.
Under the laws, Barnes could be fined up to 100,000 baht ($ 3,200) and jailed for up to five years.
The hotel wants Barnes to send statements this month to the media, Thailand’s Tourism Authority, US Embassy and Tripadvisor website apologizing and explaining that his bad reviews have been written with anger.
The hotel said Barnes agreed. He told Reuters he would issue a statement.
“I email a lot of media,” Barnes told Reuters. He refused to elaborate.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
