A resort in Khao Yai has allegedly threatened one of its customers with a 3-million-baht defamation case for posting a bad review online.
Lawyer Sittra Biebangkerd revealed yesterday that a female client was threatened for posting the bad review on travel booking platform Agoda on Dec 19.
Mr Sittra posted the comment on his Facebook account on Thursday about a client he referred to as Ms Khing, claiming she is now facing a lawsuit filed by the resort.
Ms Khing stayed there from June 13-14 and subsequently complained about the quality of the facilities and service, giving it six stars out of 10 on the app, Mr Sittra said.
Afterwards, Ms Khing reportedly received a threatening call from the resort, claiming her review was defamation and had sullied the resort's reputation.
The resort demanded she immediately delete the post, pay 3-million-baht compensation within 15 days of receiving a letter notifying her of the damages, and issue an apology via five copies of a newspaper for a week.
If she failed to comply, she would subsequently face both civil and criminal lawsuits, the resort said, according to her lawyer.
In response, Mr Sittra said he would be able to defend his client and also identify the resort.
The issue sparked a backlash on social media about a customer's fundamental right to complain about substandard services, as well as the app's privacy policy.
Meanwhile, Ms Khing reportedly told one media outlet by telephone that she was "shocked and felt threatened" after receiving the letter from the resort, which is why she had decided to consult a lawyer.
Ms Khing insisted she was just a tourist and had no hidden agenda for criticising the resort. She even apologised to the resort, saying she posted the review in good faith hoping it would spur improvements.