Man sends bogus tsunami mails

2005-01-03 12:32

London - Police in London charged a 40-year-old man on Sunday in connection with a series of hoax e-mails sent to friends and relatives of people missing since the Asian tsunami a week ago claiming they were dead.

The e-mails, which purported to be from the "Foreign Office Bureau" in Thailand were sent to people who had placed appeals for information on a website set up by Sky News television.

Police said the man, charged with "malicious communication and causing a public nuisance," was to appear before a London court on Monday.

They said a man who had been arrested in Lincolnshire, in the east of England, on Friday, then released on bail, was rearrested late on Saturday. Computer equipment was also seized.

'Same bogus address used'

He was taken to a central London police station for questioning on Sunday and remained in custody.

A police spokesperson said: "The Metropolitan Police Service would like to re-assure the public that these messages are hoaxes.

"The British government would not use e-mail to convey news of the death of a loved one."

"Police are treating this as a crime, and a full investigation has been launched."

The hoax e-mails were all sent from the same bogus e-mail address.

- AFP