One American is facing legal trouble after leaving a negative TripAdvisor review for a Thailand resort.
Authorities reported to CBS News on Sunday that the Sea View Resort is suing Wesley Barnes because he wrote an "unfair" review about the establishment. His review was reposted from TripAdvisor onto several sites and even made its way to social media. This moved the resort to file a defamation complaint against Barnes which is punishable by law in Thailand.
"The Sea View Resort owner filed a complaint that the defendant had posted unfair reviews on his hotel on the Tripadvisor website," Colonel Thanapon Taemsara of the Koh Chang police said.
Barnes lives in Thailand. He has been accused of damaging the reputation of the hotel and of "quarreling with staff over not paying a corkage fee for alcohol" bought at the resort. Barnes was arrested by immigration police and returned to Koh Chang before being released on bail.
Per TripAdvisor, Barnes posted a review in July which claimed the resort was full of "unfriendly staff" who "act like they don't want anyone here." There was also another review from June that accused the hotel of "modern day slavery," but TripAdvisor removed it from the site for violating guidelines.
The hotel staff attempted to contact Barnes before getting the police involved, but he ignored their advances and continued to write negative reviews about the establishment.
"We chose to file a complaint to serve as a deterrent, as we understood he may continue to write negative reviews week after week for the foreseeable future," the hotel explained.
If found guilty of defamation, Barnes could face up to two years in jail as well as be subjected to a $6,300 fine.
