A British diplomatic official says China has refused to allow convicted pedophile Gary Glitter to enter Hong Kong.
A spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office says it is unclear what will happen to Glitter next and that his status is a matter for the Chinese authorities. She spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with government policy.
The fallen British glam rocker served nearly three years in a Vietnamese prison for molesting children. He was released on Tuesday and flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok, where Thailand officials denied him entry into the country. He was confined to a transit lounge at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport after refusing to return to England.
Lt. Gen. Chatchawal Suksomchit, the chief of Thailand’s immigration police, said Glitter, 64, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was denied entry because under Thai immigration laws those convicted of child sex abuse in a foreign country can be barred.
Glitter had been booked to change planes in Bangkok en route to London.
A Thai immigration official at the airport, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his department received a note from Vietnam and Interpol requesting that Glitter not be allowed entry into Thailand and that Glitter then refused to board the London-bound plane, complaining of an earache. Immigration officials, he said, gave the airline permission to take Glitter to an airport clinic where the doctor checked his complaint. He was then returned to the airport’s transit area.
In a recent interview, Glitter said he was thinking about resuming his singing career and might move to Hong Kong or Singapore. His lawyer has said Glitter does not want to return to Britain.
In his 1970s heyday, Glitter performed in glittery jumpsuits, silver platform shoes and bouffant wigs. He sold 18 million records and recorded a string of British top-10 hits.
His most successful song, “Rock and Roll (Part 2),” cracked the top 10 in the United States and is often played at sporting events worldwide.
In 1999, Glitter spent two months in a British jail after being convicted of possession of child pornography.
In 2005, he was arrested at the Ho Chi Minh City airport after allegations arose that he had been molesting girls. He was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.
I wonder if he will end up in Taiwan. hehehehehe