Thai diner faces $29,770 lawsuit after calling $7.74 plate of basil rice expensive

A Thai diner faced a lawsuit for $29,770 after publicly criticizing a $7.74 plate of basil rice at a food court, according to a police complaint filed by the owner. The incident occurred when the unnamed man took his child to a hospital food court and ordered chicken basil rice with a fried egg. He only realized the price upon paying, noting the dish as expensive using profane language in a video he filmed and posted online.

The video garnered over 8,000 comments, mainly regarding the price. The man, whose name is withheld, has also filed a complaint against his wife and consulted a lawyer to defend against charges of defamation under the Computer Crime Act and a law on pricing of goods and services. Lawyer Monchai Chongkairattanakul, known as Lawyer Kaew, stated that people have the right to express opinions and criticize establishments in good faith and that reviewing a restaurant does not violate the Computer Crime Act if it does not involve false information.

In a similar case from July, a Phuket cake shop's 5 million baht ($148,850) defamation suit against a customer for a one-star review was dismissed by a court, as the review contained no false information. The cake shop, which has since closed, had incurred losses of approximately 100,000 baht ($3,150) from court fees.