Matt Owens Rees

When I had a problem with Chamnaan’s poor building work, I suggested what I thought was a reasonable price for the work completed and the cost of rectification.

I agreed the figure with Chamnaan in front of the pooyaibaan, the village headman.

You can’t complain publicly about a bad builder or his poor workmanship in Thailand. That would be considered libel or slander—even if true.

As usual, the builder and pooyaibaan were taking photos.

There was no point in the builder doing so—unless he fancied a photo album of his own failures!

The village will get to see the photos the headman took. That’s how Thais sidestep the strict slander statutes—through gossip, glances, and gentle murmurs.