Are people really this outrageous, or is this a case of “any publicity is good publicity?”
Sri Panwa owner goes on bizarre tirade
Sri Panwa is a luxury resort in Phuket, and a Facebook user who went by the name “Graz Suphawit” claimed to have stayed at the hotel February 13-15, 2022. The guest claims she paid 40,000 THB (~$1,250) per night for the stay, and wasn’t happy with the condition of the room, stating that the room was made of old wood and was musty.
In response to this review, the hotel’s owner (who is an heir to the family business) took to his Instagram account to threaten to file charges against the traveler, and more. In a now deleted Instagram post, the owner threatened to sue for millions, called the guest a gangster, and compared himself to the internet world equivalent of “Putin US presence and China UUSR& USA security force working together” (I know, lol, what?).
Here’s the full message:
Fake news again I will get you for a law and 112… I know who you are and why are so instead of me going to deal with you myself you were there with the law I will expose you and you apologize in public anticipates as you follow otherwise you got a present and you pay millions. Just to remind you keyboard want to be gangaster out You are messing with the wrong person because I’ve been on social media and Facebook and hi5 I will since you were born or even before you were if I Wass me In that Internet world I will be like Putin US presence and China UUSR& USA security force working together. the team so good luck. Cause those of you who gave me a death threat. We Treace u Where you get your money from why are you live who we are most of them have fairgrounds but I don’t where the fake account was set & where & hkwho is paying. But as a country we also know and we are taking things slowly because we are a land of compiles of compromise. After I found out who you are I will give you a free room for compassion.
Thailand has some wild laws…
There are a couple of things at play here. First of all, Section 112 of Thai Criminal Code is referenced, which is the following:
“Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.”
The owner did some digging on the guest, and found she had shared a meme related to the pro-reform movement.
The other big issue is that Thailand has some of the world’s strictest defamation laws, which are often taken to the extreme. The problem is that posting a negative review in Thailand is sometimes interpreted to be defamation, to the point that people get jailed for negative reviews
For example, in September 2020 I wrote about an American man living in Thailand who was jailed because of the reviews he left online about a negative experience at a quarantine hotel.
For that matter, back in September 2020 Sri Panwa threatened to sue guests who left negative reviews, also arguing it was defamation. It’s bad enough when something like this happens at a cheap quarantine hotel, but to see this at a luxury resort charging thee kinds of rates is beyond wild.
Bottom line
A guest staying at a luxury resort in Phuket wrote a negative review online, causing the owner to have a shocking reaction. He threatened to sue her for millions, and to have her arrested for her political opinions. Absolutely wild… I can’t imagine why anyone would stay at this hotel if this is how the owner acts.
(Tip of the hat to @pueblotragico)
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