Thai police are on a manhunt for a Canadian schoolteacher sought by Interpol over pedophilia allegations and believed to be at large in Thailand, Border guards in Thailand and in neighboring countries around Asia are on alert in the event that 32-year-old Canadian Christopher Paul Neil, who entered Thailand last Thursday, tries to slip out of the region.
"All the immigration checkpoints are on full alert," said Thai police Colonel Apichart Suribunya. "We believe he is still in Thailand unless he has crossed into a neighboring country through the jungle."
Thai authorities are collaborating with police forces in several countries, along with Interpol, trying to gather sufficient evidence for an arrest warrant.
"We want to find this man as soon as possible to prevent him from abusing Thai children and other children," Apichart said.
Police said a Thai teenager alleged Neil paid him for oral sex in 2003, when he was 14, giving them grounds to ask a court for an arrest warrant for the Canadian fugitive.
Police Colonel Varayuth Sukavat said the young man met Neil through his father, who was hired to drive the Canadian around Bangkok and the infamous red-light beach town of Pattaya.
The teenager told the police two friends stayed with Neil at an apartment in Bangkok, where he molested them, photographed and paid them between 500 and 1,000 baht for each sex act, Varayuth said.
The boy said Neil molested him when he went to play computer games with his friends at Neil's apartment and saw photos of Neil having sex with his friends stored on the computer.
Neil is believed to be on the run after leaving South Korea and arriving in Thailand last Thursday. Cameras recorded his arrival at Bangkok's international airport.
Interpol issued a global appeal for help in identifying and tracing the suspect on October 8.
Investigators had been hunting for the man for three years, since German police discovered online photographs of him abusing underage Asian boys.
He is allegedly shown sexually abusing 12 young Vietnamese and Cambodian boys, apparently as young as 6.
The man's face was initially disguised behind a digitalized swirl, but German police recreated an image of him and released four reconstructed photos last week.
On Monday, after receiving hundreds of tips, Interpol announced it had identified Neil and Thai police began the manhunt.
Questions:
1. How old is the suspected paedophile?
2. How much did Neil allegedly pay young Thai boys to engage in sex acts?
3. When did Interpol issue a global appeal to locate Neil?
Answers:
1. 32.
2. Between 500 and 1,000 baht.
3. October 8.
（英语点津 Linda 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Marc Checkley is a freelance journalist and media producer from Auckland, New Zealand. Marc has had an eclectic career in the media/arts, most recently working as a radio journalist for NewstalkZB, New Zealand’s leading news radio network, as a feature writer for Travel Inc, New Nutrition Business (UK) and contributor for Mana Magazine and the Sunday Star Times. Marc is also a passionate arts educator and is involved in various media/theatre projects in his native New Zealand and Singapore where he is currently based. Marc joins the China Daily with support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
