Interpol unscrambles pedophile suspect

BANGKOK: After an unprecedented global appeal, Interpol identified a suspected serial pedophile being hunted across Asia yesterday as Christopher Paul Neil, a Canadian now believed to be in hiding in Bangkok.

Panaspong Sirawongse of Interpol in Thailand said Neil, whose digitally swirled face in Internet photos of child sex abuse was unscrambled by German police computer experts, had taught at an international school in the Thai capital in 2003-04.

He did not name the school, but said Thai immigration, crime suppression and child crime police were hunting for Neil, who entered the country last week from South Korea after Interpol posted unscrambled pictures of his face on the Web.