Canadian paedophile suspect mum over charges
Posted: 21 October 2007 1644 hrs

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BANGKOK: A detained Canadian paedophile suspect has said nothing about allegations that he sexually abused young boys across Southeast Asia, a Thai police official said Sunday.

Christopher Paul Neil, who was arrested in Thailand on Friday following a global manhunt led by Interpol, was "smiling and chatty" during questioning but refused to speak about the child sex allegations, the official said.

"He smiled a lot and talked a lot. He answered questions about his family, the schools he graduated from and other casual topics," said Police Lieutenant General Wimon Pao-In.

"But once questions turned to the child sex allegations, he stopped smiling, only saying that he did not want to answer questions," Wimon said.

The 32-year-old schoolteacher was caught after Interpol made a groundbreaking appeal for the public's help in finding the man seen in 200 Internet photos showing him abusing a dozen young Asian boys.

Neil could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted over accusations that he abused a nine-year-old Thai boy in Bangkok four years ago, police said, adding they were collecting more evidence from Interpol.

"We are getting more information from Interpol to strengthen the case against him. Interpol has a lot of pictures showing him sexually abusing boys. Some pictures showed him having oral sex with boys," Wimon said.

Canada's Broadcaster CTV reported that Neil had denied the allegations against him, saying in a jailhouse interview that he had a "good defence". He also said he did not want to be extradited to Canada.

On Saturday, a Thai court granted a police request to extend Neil's detention in a Bangkok prison by at least 12 days.

The suspect, who is from a suburb of Vancouver, flew to Bangkok from South Korea on October 11, when security cameras documented his arrival at the airport.

He was found on October 19 in Nakhon Ratchasima, around 300 kilometres northeast of the capital.

Neil's face had been digitally swirled in the incriminating photos, but German computer experts reconstructed the images which Interpol then posted on its website along with its public appeal for help.

The operation was codenamed "Vico" because the images were believed to have been taken in Vietnam and Cambodia in 2002 or 2003.

More than 300 people replied to Interpol's appeal, with five people on three continents offering critical information, the agency said in a statement on its website.

- AFP/yb