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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Thai quarantine hotel serves a man a roach leg, then sues him for talking about it

    Another thin-skinned hotel is going after someone who dared to say something negative about it, but this time the guest is not backing down and has the cockroach leg photos to prove it.


    Dunyawit Phadungsaeng, fresh out of quarantine at a hotel southeast of Bangkok in Chonburi province, said he was willing to publicly debate the hotel now suing him for daring to criticize its facilities and services. Dunyawit was responding to the Ambassador City Jomtien Hotel, southeast of the capital in Chonburi province, which yesterday said it had filed defamation suits against people who tried to discredit it by spreading lies that its rooms were shabby and its food unsanitary.


    “If you think I lied, please come and show people what’s going on,” said Dunyawit, who stayed there after returning from San Francisco. “Don’t come to apologize later, because I won’t accept it from people who don’t sincerely mean it.”




    Though the hotel didn’t publicly identify Dunyawit or any other targets of its legal action, it announced the lawsuit one day after Dunyawit first fired shots on social media, slamming the hotel over his quarantine experience.


    “It was probably the most terrible 14 days of my life…don’t call it quarantine as it’s better called imprisonment,” Dunyawit wrote. “People said that [state quarantine] is okay and habitable. I didn’t expect it to be a fancy five-star hotel, but have you ever been disappointed even when you had no expectations?”


    Dunyawit said he arrived in Bangkok from San Francisco on Jan. 28 and he chose to isolate himself at a government-backed facility because it was free, a decision he regretted.


    His complaints included not just poor WiFi access and an obsolete television, but fungus in his bed and an awful smell that he couldn’t escape despite changing rooms three times. He also said every room was full of mosquitoes and cockroaches, and he was made to pay for his own bug spray to kill them. Other poor room conditions included water leaking from the ceiling and a worn-out door.


    With a lot of time on his hands, he carefully documented the deficiencies in dozens of photos and videos.


    However, the breaking point that made him call on public health officials to do something were meals he said were poorly made and unhygienic. Although the kitchen staff said they would do better, he said nothing changed with the food or the room’s condition.

    Calls this morning to the Ambassador City Jomtien Hotel went unanswered. It’s said to have suspended operations.


    The hotel yesterday signaled it would escalate its legal complaint of defamation, which is a criminal complaint in Thailand, where convictions can be won even if the original statements are proven to be true.


    “Ambassador City Jomtien Hotel wants to notify any related agencies to stop any kind of actions that will defame [the hotel] and violate the law,” read the hotel’s statement. “Or else, we will have to take maximum legal action.”


    In October, an American man was forced to publicly apologize for writing a bad TripAdvisor review of the Sea View Resort on Koh Chang to avoid prosecution and jail time.


    Public reactions to Dunyawit’s rant were split, with some people saying they had experienced the same conditions while staying there, while others argued they had a great stay.


    Either way, most people condemned the hotel’s ham-handed crisis management.


    “You are an embarrassment to the hospitality industry, dragging the reputation of hoteliers all around the world down with you,” Facebooker Jonathan R Tea wrote in response to the hotel’s statement. “If you don’t understand crisis management, you’d better close your business.”

    PICS Thai quarantine hotel serves man a roach leg, then sues him for talking about it | Coconuts Bangkok

  2. #2
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    Buckaroo Banzai's Avatar
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    He said he wanted his money back LOL
    It is good that he exposed the hotel, so that maybe the government will shamed into inspecting the facilities they hire better , but I don't expect they pay very much. Of course that's no excuse for the hotel, if they could not afford to provide proper service, they should not have taken the contract.
    The legal action is simply a face saving move, it does not look like the client published anything untrue, and I don't think the case is going anywhere.
    The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up.

  3. #3
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    happynz's Avatar
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    Crikey...my wife will start her quarantine next month. Hopefully she will have better luck.

  4. #4
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    The hotel yesterday signaled it would escalate its legal complaint of defamation, which is a criminal complaint in Thailand, where convictions can be won even if the original statements are proven to be true.
    The crux of the problem.

    People should fucking bury them on tripadvisor. Make up all the shit you want.

  5. #5
    Thailand Expat russellsimpson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    The hotel yesterday signaled it would escalate its legal complaint of defamation, which is a criminal complaint in Thailand, where convictions can be won even if the original statements are proven to be true.
    I wonder how that works. So even if you're innocent, you may be found guilty. Delightful.

    If the guy regretted staying at the free hotel why not simply move on? I'm not entirely on the side of the complainant in this case.

  6. #6
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    Edmond's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by russellsimpson View Post
    I wonder how that works.
    It's actually quite simple.


    Highlight and complain about a truth, get thrown in the clinky for defamation.

    Like many things in Thailand, don't try to figure it out.



    Quote Originally Posted by russellsimpson View Post
    If the guy regretted staying at the free hotel why not simply move on?
    It was a quarantine facility where he had to be quarantined for 14 days.

    I don't think you're allowed to bugger off to a better place down the road just because of a few bits of cockroach in your duck a l'orange.

  7. #7
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    Buckaroo Banzai's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by russellsimpson View Post
    I wonder how that works. So even if you're innocent, you may be found guilty. Delightful.

    If the guy regretted staying at the free hotel why not simply move on? I'm not entirely on the side of the complainant in this case.
    Just because a hotel is free to the person who is staying there , it is not free. the government is paying for it, and the hotel should provide the services they have contracted with the government to provide and are being payed for.
    I am sure the government contracted with the hotel to provide safe and nutritious food, and I am sure you would agree that roaches in the food is not safe. So consequently the vendor is not performing and is in breach of contract. IMO the client that posted the unflattering review is doing a public service.

  8. #8
    Thailand Expat russellsimpson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond View Post
    I don't think you're allowed to bugger off to a better place down the road just because of a few bits of cockroach in your duck a l'orange.
    The following comment led me to believe that he did have a choice,


    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    Dunyawit said he arrived in Bangkok from San Francisco on Jan. 28 and he chose to isolate himself at a government-backed facility because it was free, a decision he regretted.

  9. #9
    Making people dance. :-)
    Edmond's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by russellsimpson View Post
    The following comment led me to believe that he did have a choice,
    Quote Originally Posted by russellsimpson View Post
    Dunyawit said he arrived in Bangkok from San Francisco on Jan. 28 and he chose to isolate himself at a government-backed facility because it was free, a decision he regretted.
    Before arriving you need to book the 14 day quarantine facility, Thais can book a free one or can pay for a private Mendip 5 star approved one. Once in 14 day quarantine, you can't just change to another quarantine facility because of a few personal grievances.

  10. #10
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    Farang Ky Ay's Avatar
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    Unlike the Koh Chang resort story, the guy's complaints were factual and documented. Defamation is false allegations, slandering. Here it would be difficult to prove the complaints were untrue/unsubstantiated. Problem isit will cost the guy to defend himself, even in for such a frivolous case.

    I get it that you can't reasonably expect 5 stars level of service, but expecting a clean bed, a non leaking room and food without insects is not demanding.

  11. #11
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by russellsimpson View Post
    If the guy regretted staying at the free hotel why not simply move on?
    You really are not very bright, are you?

  12. #12
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    In fairness to the hotel, unless the guest showed the offending insect to the hotel staff at the time of delivery it will be hard to prove either way how it arrived in the food.

    Having said that, one of my wife's cousins returned from Korea at Christmas and lost several kilos in her 2 weeks of quarantine. She looked positively ill when she got back to the village and is one reason why Mrs Troy has decided not to go back to visit her mum.

  13. #13
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Troy View Post
    In fairness to the hotel, unless the guest showed the offending insect to the hotel staff at the time of delivery it will be hard to prove either way how it arrived in the food.
    From the sound of it he was in constant communication with the hotel and has evidence to back it up.

    But, as posted above, you are not allowed to say nasty things about shit hotels even if they are true.

  14. #14
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