Glitter refuses to board flight
2008-08-20 11:46
Bangkok - Shamed rocker Gary Glitter was
stuck at Bangkok airport on Wednesday after faking illness to
avoid boarding a flight to Britain following his release from a
Vietnamese prison for child sex abuse, Thai police said.
The 64-year-old Briton, whose real name is Paul Gadd, flew
to Bangkok after being booted out of the communist southeast
Asian country on Tuesday, the day he completed his three-year
sentence.
He had a connecting flight to London but refused to board
the plane, apparently fearful of the hostile media and public
reception he is almost certain to receive in Britain, where he
has already served jail time for child pornography offences.
Major General Pongdej Chaiprawaj, head of Bangkok airport
immigration police, said Glitter had faked an ear condition to
avoid boarding.
"He claimed to have tinnitus in his ears and
declined to board the flight to London," Pongdej told Reuters,
adding that Glitter had been declared an "undesirable" and
would not be allowed into Thailand.
"He is banned from entering because he was jailed and he
could pose a threat to domestic morality," he said. "He is a
transit passenger and it is the responsibility of the airline
to take him to his final destination."
Glitter, his face shrouded from photographers by a baseball
cap and scarf, is now stuck in limbo in a "no man's land"
transit lounge called the Louis Tavern. Staff at the Tavern
said he was refusing to check out and claiming he was unwell.
British newspapers, who had reporters on Glitter's flight
from Vietnam, said he had collapsed in a bedroom at the Tavern,
complaining of heart problems and demanding to go to hospital.
Travellers are allowed to spend only 12 hours in transit at
the airport before they are deemed to have violated Thai
immigration law. It is unclear whether police will use force to
put him on a plane.
The next Thai Airways flight to London departs around 01:00
on Thursday (18:00 GMT on Wednesday).
In a prison interview with an official Vietnamese newspaper
shortly before his release, Glitter said he wanted to go to
Singapore or Hong Kong to revive his music career, although it
is very unlikely any Asian country would be prepared to admit
him.
He is blacklisted from Cambodia, where he spent several
years in hiding before moving quietly to Vietnam.
The British tabloid press eventually unearthed him in 2005
in the southern resort town of Vung Tau. He tried to flee, but
was arrested at the airport and convicted soon afterwards of
having sex with two young girls.
Glitter is best known for his bouffant hairstyle, high
heels and "glam rock" 1970s hits such as Rock and Roll (Parts
1 & 2), Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) and I'm the Leader of the Gang (I am).
- Reuters