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Rejected by Hong Kong, Glitter arrives in Thailand |
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Written by Sutin Wannabovorn, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Sunday, 24 August 2008 |
In this March 3, 2006 file photo, former British rocker Gary Glitter smiles at journalists prior to his verdict and sentencing at Ba Ria-Vung, Vung Tau province People's Court in Vietnam. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Richard Vogel, File
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BANGKOK, Thailand - Thai police say disgraced rocker Gary Glitter has agreed to leave Thailand for London.
The announcement appeared to end a two-day odyssey that began when he was released from a Vietnamese prison Tuesday after serving time on child molestation charges.
Since his release, Glitter has twice been refused entry into Thailand and once turned away from Hong Kong.
Glitter, a British citizen, flew to Hong Kong on Wednesday night after Thai authorities barred him entry after his arrival on a Thai Airways flight from Ho Chi Minh City.
A British Foreign Office spokesman says Hong Kong immigration officials then refused him entry and sent him back to Bangkok.
Thai Police Maj.-Gen. Phongdej Chaiprawat could not say when the 64-year-old rocker would leave Bangkok for London, nor which flight he would be taking.
Police Col. Worawat Amornwiwat said Glitter's airline, Thai Airways, should ensure he continues on his originally planned journey to England.
"Thailand is not allowing him to enter the country and Hong Kong is turning him back so there is no choice for him now," Worawat said. "It is the responsibility of Thai Airways to take him out of the country."
A spokeswoman for Thai Airways, who refused to be identified because she was not authorized to speak to the media, said the airline told Glitter that his only option was to fly to London.
On Tuesday night, Glitter, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was taken from his prison cell to a Thai Airways flight out of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. He had been booked to change planes in Bangkok en route to London, but refused to board the flight to Britain, complaining of an earache.
Lt.-Gen. Chatchawal Suksomchit, chief of Thailand's immigration police, said Glitter was denied entry because under Thai immigration laws those convicted of child sex abuse in a foreign country can be barred.
Another officer said his department received a note from Vietnam and Interpol requesting that Glitter not be allowed entry into Thailand. The official spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Glitter was convicted in March 2006 of committing "obscene acts with children," described as two girls ages 10 and 11 from the southern coastal city of Vung Tau.
The verdict said he molested the girls repeatedly at his seaside villa in Vung Tau and in nearby hotels.
Glitter, who plead not guilty, served two years and nine months of a three-year sentence, which was reduced for good behaviour.
Glitter's fall from grace began in 1997, when he took his computer to a repair shop and an employee there discovered he had downloaded thousands of hard-core pornographic images of children.
Two years later, British authorities convicted him of possession of child pornography, and Glitter served half of a four-month jail term.
If Glitter returns to Britain, he will be met at the airport by police officers and be placed on a sex offenders' registry, which already lists about 30,000 people.
In his 1970s heyday, Glitter performed in shiny jumpsuits, silver platform shoes and bouffant wigs. He sold 18 million records and recorded a string of British Top 10 hits.
His most successful song, the crowd-pleasing anthem "Rock and Roll (Part 2)," also cracked the Top 10 in the United States.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 24 August 2008 )
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