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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

inside news24

Latest comment in Entertainment

PAR says... I cannot bear the screeching noise he calls singing never mind want to watch him kiss a man. I would definitely choose to watch S.A.'s own Idol - Jason - than Lambert any day. Read the article...

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