.. THAI LEGAL ABUSE - Criminal Defamation Against Brit Activist

[brutox]

.. I have cited elsewhere in the forum that defamation in Thailand is a criminal offense .. punishable by lengthy prison terms.

 

.. I have a friend here who had to defend himself against 4 simultaneous false defamation claims filed by a Thai hi-so crook who blatantly defrauded him out of THB40+m .. her legal tactic was to intimidate him into leaving the country .. he stayed .. beat the defamation claims .. won a fraud case against the Thai crook .. and actually collected the damages .. quite astounding.

 

.. getting there, though, they attempted to incarcerate him, confiscate his passport and intimidate the crap out of him, as they are doing with this poor human rights activist.

 

.. defamation is used by Thais as a legal bludgeon to intimidate people from criticising someone .. the truthfulness of the statement is not relevant in the judgment .. only that damage is suffered .. it is I believe a sign of a dysfunctional society and the underlying cultural values upon which it is based .. the severity of the punishment for defamation is probably a reflection of the pathological societal sickness known as "Thai face".

 

 

 

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/01/thai-authorities-charge-british-activist-andy-hall-for-defaming-fruit-company/

 

 

Thailand charges British activist Andy Hall for defaming fruit company

by Asian Correspondent Staff |

 

19th January 2016

 | @ascorrespondent

 

 

 

British human rights activist Andy Hall. Pic: AP.

 

THAI authorities formally charged British human rights activist Andy Hall yesterday for defaming a local fruit company.

 

The latest development in the long-running legal drama involving Hall has been widely expected. Last Wednesday, a Thai court confiscated his passport and barred him from exiting the country.

 

If found guilty, Hall could face up to seven years of prison.Reuters reports that this is the second trial he will face over the matter. In 2014, a Thai court dismissed a previous lawsuit based on a technicality.

 

At the heart of Hall’s legal troubles is a report published in 2013 that he helped author for Finnwatch, a watchdog organization based in Finland. Titled “Cheap Has a High Price”, it allegedly details abuses against migrant workers at a factory run by the fruit company Natural Fruit.

 

The fruit company accused Hall of defamation and computer crimes, filing a series of lawsuits against him.

 

The mistreatment of migrant workers is widely believed to be a perennial problem in Thailand. Over four million migrants live in Thailand, originating primarily from Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia and Laos. Recently, a Thai court convicted two Burmese workers for murdering a pair of British tourists. But many, especially in neighboring Burma, believe the workers to be scapegoats.

[Captain Courageous]

IMO yet another naive farang fool who believes he / she can openly criticise the way things are done in whatever developing country they're visiting at the time.  

 

Then they complain about copping flack !    

 

Seriously, what is it they just dont understand ?   FFS.  

[brutox]

IMO yet another naive farang fool who believes he / she can openly criticise the way things are done in whatever developing country they're visiting at the time.  

 

Then they complain about copping flack !    

 

Seriously, what is it they just dont understand ?   FFS.  

.

.. hey, Cap'n, Mick .. I hear what you say, men .. there are many of those guys here, the poor things .. and while this guy might be just as you describe (a "naive farang fool"), the attack on him by Thailand's National Fruit Company for criminal defamation is a real abomination of enlightened jurisprudence .. little more than village justice .. I have seen this before, and I am going to go with the naive, farang fool on this one.

 

.. particularly unpleasant to consider, is that what the naive, farang fool said about National Fruit Company can be absolutely factual, and he can still go to jail!

 

http://kellywarnerlaw.com/thailand-defamation-laws/

 

"Thailand Defamation: Punishments & Truth as a Defense

 

Penalty for defamation constitutes imprisonment ranging from one year (Section 326) to two years (Section 328).  However, the Thai Penal Code stipulates that any person making a statement “in good faith by way of fair comment on any person or thing subjected to public criticism” shall not be guilty of defamation.  Moreover, if defendants can prove that a statement is true, they won’t be subjected to punishment for said statement.  That said, truth is not considered a valid defense if the statement is personal in nature because such proof will not benefit the public."

 

 

.. I mentioned above and elsewhere on the forum, that my farang friend was dragged into Thai court for criminal defamation by a hi-so Thai crook .. the root of the conflict was a commercial dispute, and what the Thai hi-so crook wanted was to run my friend and his family out of the country and keep his THB 40m+.

 

.. what my friend stated about the Thai hi-so crook was absolutely factual and public knowledge .. that was never disputed .. on that basis, a civilized, enlightened legal system would have summarily dismissed the charge .. but .. BUT .. Thai law has a rather curious, unique quirk .. the Thai hi-so crook is permitted to elevate the charge to a different pitch merely by alleging that my friend's statement was 'personal in nature' and therefore the truthfulness of what my friend said about the Thai hi-so crook was irrelevant.

 

.. I attended much of the trial .. it was just too bizarre .. the summary was "Your honor, that mean farang over there intentionally hurt my feelings, embarrassed me, and caused me to lose face .. because I am a Thai (like you), and a doctor and my family name is sooooo revered (it was 'awarded' to my family by King Rama V), the mean farang should be jailed for 20 years!" .. [the hi-so crook filed 4 separate defamation charges for the same incident at 5 years per copy].

 

.. amazingly, if the court is unwilling to prosecute, the court will permit a plaintiff to hire their own private prosecutor to prosecute the claim, as happened in my friend's case .. it just boggles the mind.

 

.. the Thai defamation law seems precisely written to defend the 'Thai face' of the elite, privileged class, and remind the lowly prai (by threat of lengthy jail sentences) of their place .. obsessive pride taken to the level of a psychological personality disorder .. or, worse.

 

.. while this deformation of justice is allowed, it is a very effective tool for Thais to use against farang with whom they have an unrelated dispute.

 

.. the Thai Navy just used this exact same defamation claim to silence the farang publisher of the Phuket Wan online news site (a recent case, easily Googled) .. it was stupifying .. the Phuket Wan merely re-published a story carried on the news wire which offended the Thai Navy .. as my friend, this principled farang declined to run, as expected, but stayed and stood his ground in Thai court (guys as this got reeeeal big 'nads) .. while the court ruled in his favor, it apparently near bankrupted him and the Phuket Wan web site was shuttered .. a pyrrhic victory.

 

.. as you correctly write, Cap'n, those of us who choose to live here must abide the Thai laws .. but, this? .. this!? .. this is just too much to abide .. farang become sitting ducks in an open season for any Thai with a bit of money, a penchant for larceny, and who knows how to abuse this deformation in Thai justice.

.

[Edge]

IMO yet another naive farang fool who believes he / she can openly criticise the way things are done in whatever developing country they're visiting at the time.  

 

Then they complain about copping flack !    

 

Seriously, what is it they just dont understand ?   FFS.  

 

Thought you meant the OP for a minute there.