给酒店恶意差评 美国游客在泰国被起诉 American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review

最近，泰国象岛海景度假酒店起诉一名美国人在猫途鹰旅游网站上恶意发表负面评论。根据泰国的反诽谤法，如果罪名成立，这名美国人将面临最高两年的监禁和20万泰铢的罚款。

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.

泰国当局周六（9月26日）表示，一名美国人因在猫途鹰旅游网站发表负面评论而被泰国一家岛屿度假酒店起诉，如果罪名成立，他可能面临最高两年的监禁。

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.

泰国新冠肺炎确诊病例相对较低，不少游客选择在国内旅游，当地人和外籍人士纷纷前往几乎无人的度假胜地，其中包括以沙滩和碧绿海水闻名的象岛。

turquoise [ˈtɜːkwɔɪz]：adj.蓝绿色的

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.

但韦斯利·巴恩斯最近在岛上的海景度假酒店居住后遇到了麻烦，因为他在网上对这家酒店发表了一些差评。

"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.

象岛警方的塔纳朋·泰姆萨拉上校告诉法新社：“海景度假酒店的老板投诉被告在猫途鹰旅游网站上发布了不公平的评论。”

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.

他说，巴恩斯被指控“损害了酒店的声誉”，还因未能支付自带酒水的开瓶费而与员工发生争执。

corkage [ˈkɔːkɪdʒ]：n.开瓶费

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.

巴恩斯在泰国工作，他被移民警察逮捕并押送回象岛。他在那里被短暂拘留，然后被保释。

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，巴恩斯在猫途鹰旅游网站发布评论称，他遇到了“不友好的员工”，他们“表现得好像不希望任何客人来”。

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，之所以采取法律行动，是因为巴恩斯在过去几周内在不同的网站上发表了多篇评论。

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，他曾在猫途鹰网站发帖指责这家酒店实行“现代奴隶制”，该网站在一周以违反规定为由将帖子删除。

"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.

该酒店表示：“我们选择投诉是为了起到威慑作用，因为我们知道，今后他可能会不停地发表负面评论。”酒店还表示，员工在投诉前曾试图联系巴恩斯。

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.

泰国饱受争议的反诽谤法长期以来一直受到人权和新闻自由组织的密切关注，这些组织说，有权势的人物用它来扼杀言论自由。

The maximum sentence is two years in prison, along with a 200,000 baht fine.

巴恩斯最高将面临两年监禁，以及20万泰铢（约合人民币4.32万元）的罚款。

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.

今年早些时候，一名泰国记者因在推特上转引谭曼卡塞公司养鸡场工作条件纠纷而被判处两年监禁。

英文来源：法新社

翻译&编辑：yaning