Pattaya officials inspected Lan Pho Market after a disgruntled customer posted a complaint about allegedly spoiled crabs on Facebook.
Deputy Mayor Manote Nongyai brought public health and regulatory officers to the Naklua seafood market June 23, where they took samples of seafood, water and ice to test for contaminants. No results were provided to the media.
Pattaya officials flew into a frenzy after Facebook user “Kim Hong Rim” smeared the reputation of Lan Po Market, a big tourist draw, with a post that said she spent 4,400 baht on live crabs only to find them dead and smelly when she returned home.
Sunee Wanya, operator of the seafood stall in question, insisted that all the crabs were alive when she sold the crustaceans, but recommended to the customer that they be packed in ice if the buyer was traveling a long way to go home.
The customer, she said, only took the crabs in a plastic bag and Sunee warned the buyer some might die as it was a hot day.
Sure enough, some crabs did die and the keyboard warrior slammed the buyer and the market on Facebook even after getting an apology and more than half the purchase price back.