Thai Police Arrest Paedophile Suspect

A Canadian pedophile suspect was arrested in rural Thailand today after German police unscrambled an image in which his face was digitally obscured.

After a week-long manhunt, the man - identified by Thai police as Christopher Neil - was found in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima, 150 miles north-east of Bangkok and well away from the normal tourist trail.

His hiding place was revealed by a trace on his Thai boyfriend's mobile phone, the tourist police chief, Chuchart Suwannakom, told Reuters.

"They went together to different provinces, probably on the run, and the last call made was from Nakhon Ratchasima," Mr Chuchart said. "So I sent my men there."

Yesterday, Thai police issued an arrest warrant for Mr Neil after alleging that he sexually abused boys in Thailand as well as a dozen Cambodian and Vietnamese boys, some as young as sic.

Detectives in various countries have been trying to track him down for three years since German police discovered photographs on the internet of a man sexually abusing 12 boys in Vietnam and Cambodia.

His face had been obscured by a digital swirling pattern, but German police computer experts unscrambled the image, and Interpol issued a rare worldwide appeal for information on the man.

More than 350 people came forward, and Mr Neil was identified by five sources from three different continents, Interpol said.

He abruptly left South Korea, where he was teaching, after Interpol issued his photo, and flew to Thailand. There, he was photographed with a shaven head and glasses by airport security cameras.

Mr Neil could face up to 20 years in jail if convicted in Thailand. It is unclear whether Canada - which can prosecute its citizens for child sex crimes committed abroad - will seek extradition. Cambodia and Vietnam may also want to question him.

Mr Neil, who is from British Colombia, has been teaching in Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam since 2000.