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Published on October 23, 2007

Maj-General Wimol Pao-in, commander of the Division for Suppression of Crime Against Children, Youths and Women, said the alleged victim, aged 19 and living in Din Daeng, had hesitated to give testimony due to embarrassment and fear publicity would tarnish him and his family.

Police had assured the young man his testimony would be kept secret.

Wimol said he had instructed investigators to contact Interpol to get copies of the 200 images reportedly posted on the Internet by Neil, so Thai police could charge him with publishing pornographic materials. 

Meanwhile, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that Neil had been asked by police to submit to blood tests to determine if he had HIV.

A child welfare officer involved in the case said it was "sensible" to test someone suspected of having sex with scores of vulnerable children or teenagers for sexually transmitted diseases. Neil must agree to take blood tests.

Neil was exposed when German police investigators managed to "uncoil" his digitally disguised face on an Internet porn site that also showed many of his alleged child victims.

Neil became the target of an international manhunt when his photograph was released around the world by Interpol. The move produced hundreds of tips that helped track him to an English teaching job in South Korea, and then to Thailand.

Thai police investigators told Bangkok Criminal Court on Saturday they were confident of gathering strong evidence to show Neil abused children during a spell when he worked as an English teacher in Bangkok four years ago.

Besides his alleged victims in Thailand, authorities in Vietnam and Cambodia want to question him about many images of children with him that were posted on the Internet.

Neil was arrested on Friday morning in Nakhon Ratchasima, 210 kilometres north-east of Bangkok, after he fled South Korea a week earlier - following the release of his picture by Interpol with a "red alert", its highest search signal.

He was brought to Bangkok police headquarters on Friday, presented to the press, then taken into custody on Saturday. He faces 12 days of questioning and the likelihood of a trial on molestation charges.

So far, Neil has said very little to the police, except to deny the charges. Officials say the gathering of evidence and the trial could take years to complete if Neil does not cooperate.

The CanWest News Service reported that Neil has begged his family to get him out of Thailand. He reportedly used his appearance in court on Saturday to say, via Canadian TV, "Take care ... to make sure I get out of here. That's all - help me get out." 

Neil could be jailed for 20 years if found guilty of the sex charges he is accused of here.

The Nation,

 Deutsche Press-Agentur