Crime
American Wanted on Child Abuse Charges in US Apprehended on Island of Koh Samui
KOH SAMUI – An American man wanted in the United States of charges of child abuse has been detained on the Island of Koh Samui at Nathon pier on the southern tourist island on Friday evening.
Jackson Matthew Hall, 26, is being held in custody at the Koh Samui police station pending his transfer to the Immigration Bureau for extradition to the United States.
According to US online Texas newspaper myStatesman, Hall is from Alabama, where he fled the US after posting bail on charges in both Cullman and Madison counties in United States.
A Cullman County assistant district attorney in Huntsville said that Hall faked his own death to escape the charges.
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His arrest came after the Friends of Women Foundation circulated a widely viewed warning on FaceBook that a suspected American paedophile was hiding in Thailand and posing as an English teacher under a false name.
Pol Capt Therdsak Thawatvorakul, deputy inspector at the Surat Thani immigration office, said the US embassy had alerted the Immigration Bureau that Hall had entered Thailand using a stolen passport, Khaosod Online reported.
On Friday evening, police received a tip-off that a foreigner who resembled the suspect was spotted at the pier. Officers rushed to the pier and asked to check the man’s passport, said Pol Capt Thersak.
However, the suspect could not produce his passport. He was later taken to the Koh Samui station for questioning.
After intense interrogation, he admitted to be the wanted man as shown in a photo sent by the US embassy, said Pol Capt Thersak.
Source: Khaosod, Bangkok Post, The Nation