A Canadian schoolteacher accused of sexually abusing boys across Southeast Asia was arrested and paraded before the cameras in Thailand yesterday, ending a global manhunt sparked by a decoded digital photo.
Christopher Paul Neil tried to hide under a shirt as he was led in handcuffs past dozens of waiting reporters and into Thailand's national police headquarters.
He later sat in silence for about five minutes alongside police, stonefaced and wearing dark sunglasses with a white T-shirt and black nylon running pants.
PHOTO: AP
Colonel Pasial Luesomboon, the officer who arrested him, said that Neil only confirmed his name, age and nationality when he was arrested around 11am in Thailand's third-largest city Nakhon Ratchasima.
"Then he said he knew this day would come, because a Thai court had issued an arrest warrant. He said he needed a lawyer but hasn't said anything at all since then," Pasial said.
The worldwide search for Neil began just 10 days ago with a groundbreaking appeal from Interpol for the public's help in tracking down a man seen in 200 photos on the Internet that appeared to show him abusing a dozen young boys.
The man's face had been digitally swirled, but German computer experts reconstructed the images which Interpol then posted on its Web site along with its call for assistance.
The operation was codenamed "Vico" because the images were believed to have been taken in Vietnam and Cambodia in 2002 or 2003.
More than 300 people replied to Interpol's call, with five people on three continents offering critical information, the agency said in a statement on its Web site.
"The fact that we went to the public was the breakthrough," Interpol detective Mick Moran said.
"We are absolutely delighted that this guy has been arrested," he said.
Neil was found in a one-story rental house in Nakhon Ratchasima, around 300km northeast of Bangkok, where he was with a 25-year-old Thai transvestite, police said.
Police gave no details about his relationship with his companion.
The deputy national police chief, General Wongkot Maneerin, said Neil could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted over accusations that he abused a nine-year-old boy in Bangkok four years ago.
If any other countries want to prosecute him, he could be extradited after serving any prison time received in Thailand, Wongkut said.
Neil had been teaching English at a school in Seoul, where South Korean police are also investigating his activities.
He flew to Bangkok on Oct. 11, when security cameras documented his arrival at the airport.
Neil has visited Thailand six times since 2000, and in 2003 had tried and failed to get a job teaching at an international school in Bangkok, according to Thai officials.
Interpol says Neil is from suburban Vancouver, where Canadian media reported that his mother and a sibling still live.
Neil once studied at a seminary, hoping to become a priest but was eventually shunned by his teachers, who felt he lacked the moral backbone for the task, according to reports.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
RSS