Phuket –
A half British, half Thai man was arrested in Bangkok after he allegedly posted a defamatory review online to an Italian restaurant in Thalang after an entrance dispute.
The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police told the press that on Thursday (May 9th) they arrested Q suspect identified only as Mr. Alexander, 21, a Thai national (British ethnicity).
He was arrested at a condominium in Bang Kho Laem, Bangkok. The arrest follows the issue of an arrest warrant by the Phuket Provincial on August 23rd, 2023. He is being accused of importing false information into a computer system which may cause damages to another.
According to police, in the middle of 2022, Mr. Alexander lived at an apartment in Sakoo. He had an alleged dispute with an owner of an Italian restaurant over the entrance to his accommodation. The condominium where he lived was easily entered through the restaurant.
However, the restaurant entry was for their customers only and others who wanted to enter must pay an entry fee or use an alternative entrance. The restaurant owner asked Mr. Alexander to use the alternative entry which made Alex angry, who also refused to pay more to access the more convenient entrance.
The restaurant later found that their Google restaurant review stars had significantly decreased. They used to get 4.9 out of 5 stars which then went down to only 3.1. They found that Mr. Alexander had allegedly given multiple one star reviews. He also allegedly left comments about the restaurant with false information which defamed and damaged the restaurant’s reputation. Many of his friends also did the same as him by leaving false, negative reviews, said police.
However, Mr. Alexander has denied the charge and said he did nothing wrong as of press time. He was taken back to Sakoo Police Station for further processing.
