Thai court dismisses Tesco libel case against former MP

'Thai court has dismissed a law suit filed by Tesco against a former MP, Jit Siratranont, for making comments that the supermarket giant's expansion was at the expense of small retailers. Siratranont, now deputy secretary general of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, was facing up to two years in jail and a £16.4m libel damages claim after he made a speech at Bangkok's Kasetsart University saying Tesco's expansion was "aggressive". He also claimed that the profits from its Thai subsidiary, Tesco Lotus, were sent back to the UK, causing deeper poverty in Thailand. The court dismissed the libel case filed by Ek-Chai Distribution System Company Limited, a wholesaler and retailer of Tesco Lotus, ruling that the criticism made by the defendant was "in good faith by way of fair comment on any person or thing subjected to public criticism". The court also dismissed the claim of one billion baht damages (about £16.4m) by Tesco.'

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URL Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/18/tesco-libel-case-thailand

Author Organisation: The Guardian (UK)