雙語:給酒店惡意差評 美國遊客在泰國被起訴
最近,泰國象島海景度假酒店起訴一名美國人在貓途鷹旅遊網站上惡意發表負面評論。根據泰國的反誹謗法,如果罪名成立,這名美國人將面臨最高兩年的監禁和20萬泰銖的罰款。
An American has been sued by an island resort in Thailand over a negative TripAdvisor review, authorities said Saturday, and could face up to two years in prison if found guilty.
泰國當局週六(9月26日)表示,一名美國人因在貓途鷹旅遊網站發表負面評論而被泰國一家島嶼度假酒店起訴,如果罪名成立,他可能面臨最高兩年的監禁。
Domestic tourism is still happening in Thailand, where coronavirus numbers are relatively low, with locals and expats heading to near-empty resorts -- including Koh Chang island, famed for its sandy beaches and turquoise waters.
泰國新冠肺炎確診病例相對較低,不少遊客選擇在國內旅遊,當地人和外籍人士紛紛前往幾乎無人的度假勝地,其中包括以沙灘和碧綠海水聞名的象島。
turquoise [ˈtɜːkwɔɪz]:adj.藍綠色的
But a recent visit to the Sea View Resort on the island landed Wesley Barnes in trouble after he wrote unflattering online reviews about his holiday.
但韋斯利·巴恩斯最近在島上的海景度假酒店居住後遇到了麻煩,因爲他在網上對這家酒店發表了一些差評。
"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 Koh Chang police told AFP.
象島警方的塔納朋·泰姆薩拉上校告訴法新社:“海景度假酒店的老闆投訴被告在貓途鷹旅遊網站上發佈了不公平的評論。”
He said Barnes was accused of causing "damage to the reputation of the hotel", and of quarrelling with staff over not paying a corkage fee for alcohol brought to the hotel.
他說,巴恩斯被指控“損害了酒店的聲譽”,還因未能支付自帶酒水的開瓶費而與員工發生爭執。
corkage [ˈkɔːkɪdʒ]:n.開瓶費
Barnes, who works in Thailand, was arrested by immigration police and returned to Koh Chang where he was briefly detained and then freed on bail.
巴恩斯在泰國工作,他被移民警察逮捕並押送回象島。他在那裡被短暫拘留,然後被保釋。
According to the Tripadvisor review Barnes posted in July, he encountered "unfriendly staff" who "act like they don't want anyone here".
今年7月份,巴恩斯在貓途鷹旅遊網站發佈評論稱,他遇到了“不友好的員工”,他們“表現得好像不希望任何客人來”。
The Sea View Resort said legal action was only taken because Barnes had penned multiple reviews on different sites over the past few weeks.
海景度假酒店表示,之所以採取法律行動,是因爲巴恩斯在過去幾周內在不同的網站上發表了多篇評論。
At least one was posted in June on Tripadvisor accusing the hotel of "modern day slavery" -- which the site removed after a week for violating its guidelines.
今年6月,他曾在貓途鷹網站發帖指責這家酒店實行“現代奴隸制”,該網站在一週以違反規定爲由將帖子刪除。
"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 said, adding that staff had attempted to contact Barnes before filing the complaint.
該酒店表示:“我們選擇投訴是爲了起到威懾作用,因爲我們知道,今後他可能會不停地發表負面評論。”酒店還表示,員工在投訴前曾試圖聯繫巴恩斯。
Thailand's notorious anti-defamation laws have long drawn scrutiny from human rights and press freedom groups, who say powerful players use it as a weapon to stifle free expression.
泰國飽受爭議的反誹謗法長期以來一直受到人權和新聞自由組織的密切關注,這些組織說,有權勢的人物用它來扼殺言論自由。
The maximum sentence is two years in prison, along with a 200,000 baht fine.
巴恩斯最高將面臨兩年監禁,以及20萬泰銖(約合人民幣4.32萬元)的罰款。
Earlier this year, a Thai journalist was sentenced to two years in prison for posting a tweet referencing a dispute over working conditions at a chicken farm owned by the Thammakaset company.