Briton charged with blackmailing Tesco

PATTAYA : A British man charged with blackmailing Tesco last year was arrested on the same charge yesterday. Alexander John Winstone, 37, was nabbed in Pattaya after having spent time behind bars last year for a similar crime. He sent emails to blackmail Tesco Lotus, the Thai outlet of the British giant supermarket chain, threatening to damage the image of the superstore by various means, police said. He will be extradited to stand trial in Britain, said Central Investigation Bureau deputy chief Pol Maj-Gen Panya Mamen. In June 8 last year, he was arrested at an internet cafe in Sukhumvit Soi 4 after Scotland Yard alerted Thai police to catch a man who had sent threatening emails to the superstore's executives in London. Then, he threatened to poison food in Tesco supermarkets in Thailand if they did not pay him two million pounds (136 million baht) in cash. Bangkok Post May 14th 2008

ROXANNA BROWN Bangkok art expert dies in US jail Bangkok Post May 14th 2008
The director of a Bangkok museum, a renowned Asian-antiquities expert, has died in a US jail after being arrested in Seattle by federal agents investigating illegal trafficking of pilfered Southeast Asian art. Roxanna Brown, 62, director of the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum at Bangkok University, was found dead about 2.30am on Wednesday (4.30pm Thai time), Federal Detention Center spokeswoman Maggie Ogden said. Ms Brown, a US citizen, was arrested on Friday in Seattle, where she was due to speak at the University of Washington.
Her brother, Fred Brown of Chicago, told the Associated Press she appeared to have suffered a heart attack. He said his sister maintained she was innocent, and he blamed the stress of her arrest for her death. 'She wasn't in good health to begin with, but they definitely brought on the heart attack,'' he said. Ms Brown became interested in Asian art while a journalist covering the Vietnam War, and she rose to become one of the foremost authorities on the ancient ceramics trade in Southeast Asia. She lost a leg in an accident in 1980, was in a wheelchair and was suffering from flu-like symptoms severe enough to postpone her initial court appearance on Monday. She appeared briefly in court on Tuesday. Another hearing was set for Wednesday to pave the way for her extradition to Los Angeles. Assistant US Attorney Joseph Johns, heading the illegal-antiquities investigation, said Ms Brown was ''one of many targets'' of the probe, which began with highly publicised raids on four Southern California museums in January. Hours before her arrest she was indicted on a federal wire fraud charge that accused her of inflating the value of the plundered antiquities. Her apprehension surprised many who knew and respected her as ''the epitome of the academic expert'', as one art historian told the Bangkok Post. Federal investigators asserted Ms Brown allowed her electronic signature to be placed on fake appraisal forms that inflated the value of pieces from Ban Chiang archaeological site. This allowed collectors to claim fraudulent tax deductions, authorities said. Ms Brown had been a resident of Bangkok for over 30 years. ''It is a big loss to our field. This case is so sudden and rather bizarre,'' said Erbprem Vatcharangkul, an archaeologist at the Fine Arts Department and adviser to Ms Brown's doctoral thesis on shipwreck ancient ceramics. Burin Singtoaj, her subordinate and also curator at the museum in Bangkok, said he was shocked and saddened. ''The saddest part is that she did not have a chance to defend herself.'' He found the allegation against her confusing as she was not an expert on Ban Chiang. She was the authoritative figure on Southeast Asian ancient ceramics, a much later period than Ban Chiang. BANGKOK POST/AGENCIES By the way the author knows Roxanna and feels she was not the sort of person who would do this due to her committment to save asian ceramics. We like many feel the documents may have been forged. This same woman lost the use of her legs when a 10 wheeler truck drove into her then backed his truck back over her legs to finish her off???? in Thailand. The truck driver was never apprehended. Roxanna was the world reknown ceramics expert on Asian antiquities and well liked by many including us. She helped the nation of Thailand

Marijuana hidden in pick-up roof

CHUMPHON : Police seized 182 kilogrammes of marijuana near a fishing pier in Muang district yesterday. The marijuana, compressed in square blocks and wrapped in plastic, was believed to be destined for islands in Surat Thai province. The drug was hidden in the roof over the back of the pick-up, which was taken off the vehicle and left at the pier to be loaded onto a boat. Police believed it was being transported to Koh Tao and Koh Phangan in Surat Thani. The islands are popular with foreign tourists and well known for beach parties on full-moon nights. Itwas believed the marijuana was meant to be shipped yesterday, but heavy rain and stormy seas in the South may have delayed the trip and the smugglers were forced to leave the drug near the pier. Police believe the marijuana, valued at more than two million baht, was smuggled from the border. Each kilogramme of marijuana can be sold in small packs for as much as 10,000 to 12,000 baht. Chalerm Manisuk, the kamnan of tambon Tha Yang, said the marijuana was well hidden. Villagers moved the car's roof to the house of the village head, who inspected it after smelling something odd. He found the drug by chance, then called police. BANGKOK POST/AGENCIES 18th May 2008 Yes the smell in Thai heat would be unbearable

Briton arrested for allegedly buying sex from 8 underage teenagers

Pattaya - Police arrested a British tourist after found him inside his rented luxurious mansion with eight teenage boys ranging from 14 to 18 years old. Michael Terrance, 58, was arrested at 7:30 pm at the mansion in Chon Buri's Bang Lamug district on Saturday. Police said he had already had sex with one of the boys while the seven others were waiting for him in the living room when police raided the house. The eight boys told police that they were delivered to Terrance by Chalee Kengthanyakorn, 45 who works at a pub in Bangkok. They said Terrance gave Chalee Bt2,000 for each of them but Chalee deducted Bt1,000 each. Terrance declined to talk to police, saying he would consult his lawyer first.
The Nation 21st May 2008

Briton arrested for allegedly buying sex from 11-year-old boy
Pattaya- A British tourist has been arrested for allegedly buying sex service from a 11-year-old boy, police said.Police said Dee Christopher, 41, was arrested at his rented house in Chon Buri's Bang Lamung district at 7 pm Sunday.Police found the boy with him. The boy told police that Christopher picked him up while he was walking in a soi and he was given Bt500 in exchange for the sex. Source: The Nation 21st May 2008

Ex-UK policeman held for sex trafficking

A former British police officer has been arrested in Bangkok as part of an international crackdown on a sex trafficking ring in London last month that resulted in nine Thais being arrested. Police allege that Ian Shuttleworth, 42, acted as a job broker, luring and smuggling Thai women into Britain for a gang based in London. Mr Shuttleworth was arrested at his rented room in the Villa building on Soi Suan Phlu in Sathorn district. The former police officer runs a company providing bodyguards for Thai VIPs in the Sukhumvit area, according to Central Investigation Bureau deputy chief Pol Maj-Gen Panya Mamen.His arrest was based on a complaint filed by a sex worker rescued in Scotland and later deported to Thailand. Details of the prostitution ring surfaced last month, when London police arrested 15 people, six of them Thais, and freed 60 women in the biggest human trafficking bust in London. Three Thais were also arrested in Bangkok. The victim, believed to be among the 60 women freed, said she met Mr Shuttleworth in September last year. He was posing as a job broker and advised her to work as a waitress in England, where she was promised a good salary. Her father then took out a 530,000-baht loan to finance her trip and the job brokerage fee. Mr Shuttleworth arranged her French visa application. She was taken into England by crossing from France. At a Thai restaurant in London, she was sold to a woman she knew as Mrs Mam for 28,000 (about 1.76 million baht). Her passport was taken from her. She was held captive and forced to work as a prostitute in places around England, including London, Coventry, Wellingborough, Wellingham and Lincoln, and then Scotland, where she was rescued. Based on her complaint, police charged Mr Shuttleworth with conspiracy in trafficking and trading women in a sex business. The charges apply to offences committed abroad. "Most victims were duped into going into debt and offered a well-paid job at a restaurant in England. Each victim was sold through a bidding process and each fetched 1.7 million to two million baht,'' Pol Maj-Gen Panya said. Police believe that one Thai female victim is still missing in England and have alerted British police. They also seized a notebook computer and 110,000 baht in cash. Pol Maj-Gen Panya advised job seekers to go to police and the Employment Department if they have any suspicions about overseas placements Source: Bangkok Post 22nd May 2008

Australian accused of pushing Thai wife out of window in Singapore

Singapore - An Australian man was charged in a Singapore court with attempted murder in pushing his Thai wife out of a fourth-floor window, news reports said on Wednesday. Jason John Porteous, 35, was accused of shoving Pimchanok out of the bedroom window of their condominium, The Straits Times said.Porteous, a Singapore resident doing administrative work, was sent for psychiatric assessment. He is scheduled to appear in court again on June 3. If convicted, Porteous faces life imprisonment, caning and a fine.His wife, in her early 30s, has been in an intensive care unit since the incident on Sunday.Neighbours told the newspaper they saw her lying on the ground
Beside a drain, bleeding and unable to speak.The woman, her husband and sister had moved to the city-state two to three months ago. Source: DPA 22nd May 2008

Japanese man found dead at Bangkok condo along with Thai girlfriend
A Japanese man fell to his death from his room on the fifth floor of a Bangkok condominium.
Police also found the body of his girlfriend inside the room of Fushita Manabu, 31, on the ground at Nana Condominium on Soi Sukhumvit 4 at 3 pm.His girlfriend, Juthalak Khamluechai, 26, was apparently killed from severe wounds on her face and head, police said.A condominium resident told police that she saw the Japanese man and Juthalak walking together to their room at 7 am and did not see them again until the man fell to his death.
The Nation Source: 24th May 2008

British man robbed by woman he met through internet chat site

Police are looking for a woman who together with a friend robbed a British man she had met through an internet chat site, getting away with cash and goods worth more than 100,000 baht. Sattahip Police Station received a complaint on the morning of May 15 from Roger Stephenson, 56, to say that a woman he knew as Jae had stolen money and valuables from his room at Beach Villa Vipawadee Condominium in Najomtien, fleeing with her friend on a motorcycle.
Pol Col Supathee Bunkrong, superintendent at Sattahip Police Station, Pol Lt Col Chettha Kichawan, deputy superintendent of crime suppression, and a number of other officers went to examine Stephenson’s room. They also questioned the condo security guard, who confirmed the building had CCTV. The officers made arrangements to view the footage. Stephenson stated that he used to have a travel company, and brought tourists to visit Thailand. After he retired he came to live in Thailand. He had made contact with Jae through the internet chat site thailovelink.com. She had asked to meet him at his residence. Two women had arrived on a motorcycle and he had taken them to his room. They had proposed cooking a meal in the apartment, and while the friend was busy in the kitchen Jae asked him to make love to her in the bedroom. They had not finished when Jae asked if she could go outside for a minute to send her friend back to Rayong. She said she would be right back. Jae had dressed and left the bedroom. Stephenson said he came out and discovered his money and property had disappeared. He called for the security guard but the women had already gone. He said that the theft of his mobile phone was something he greatly regretted, as it had all the numbers of his family and friends overseas.
Police know that the motorcycle has a red license plate bearing the number 1719, issued by Pattaya Police Station, and are pursuing enquiries. Source Pattaya Mail & email to us. 24th May 2008. If you have seen this motorcycle please call the Hotline Pattaya Police on Police: Telephone. Tourist Police: 195,1699, 429371, 425937. Pattaya Police Station: