A British expat has been busted in Thailand for bombarding a restaurant with bad reviews.
The 21-year-old man, identified only as Alexander, was investigated by both the Central Investigation Bureau and Royal Thai Police over the reviews sparked by a feud he had with the owner, according to the Phuket News.
He reportedly wanted to use the Italian eatery as a shortcut to the Phuket apartment he’d been renting since 2022 — but the owner refused because he was not a paying customer.
The Brit is accused of seeking revenge by getting his friends to flood the restaurant with one-star reviews, causing its rating to plummet from 4.8 to 3.1 out of 5 stars, and allegedly impacting the business.
The Central Investigation Bureau arrested Alexander at his apartment in Bangkok on May 9, after the owner filed a complaint with the Sakhu Police Station claiming the fake reviews had caused damage to the restaurant’s finances and reputation, the local report said.
Video showed him standing shirtless in a hallway as an officer read out the details of the complaint.
The arrest warrant was issued against Alexander on August 2023 for “entering false computer data likely to cause damage to the general public,” the publication reported.
He maintains his innocence as he faces accusations of “entering false computer data likely to cause damage to the general public,” the Phuket News said.
If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison for defamation, according to The US Sun.
He has been sent back to Sakhu Police Station in Phuket as he awaits the prosecution.