Australian man arrested, accused of abusing boys

Immigration police have arrested an Australian man accused of sexually assaulting seven boys in his apartment in Tak province's Mae Sot district.

Immigration Bureau chief Sompong Chingduang at a press briefing yesterday identified the suspect as 43-year-old Adam James Fog, who allegedly lured the minors, who all hailed from Myanmar, to his apartment.

Pol Lt Gen Sompong said the suspect was an English teacher who had worked in the district for three months. He said the victims were no older than 15 and they were allegedly offered food and games.

The suspect was arrested following a tip-off from the Children and Women's Nursing Home (CWNH) in the province. The organisation alleged that the boys had been sexually abused by the Australian national.

The apartment was raided, and the boys were rescued by immigration police and CWNH staffers. Four grammes of methamphetamine were found hidden in a small coffee box in the apartment, according to the authorities.

Police later arrested a Myanmar couple who took care of the boys prior to the alleged crimes taking place.

All three are facing charges stemming from drug possession. Mr Fog also faces charges of entering the kingdom without permission as well as sexually assaulting minors.

In a separate case, immigration police in Samut Prakan and Bang Kaeo police arrested a 29-year-old Thai man, identified as Terd, for allegedly smuggling Vietnamese women into the kingdom to work as prostitutes.

The sex services were advertised on Twitter.

Pol Lt Gen Sompong said if online users were interested, they would contact Mr Terd via Line to book an appointment.

He said the Vietnamese nationals would receive 1,100 baht, while Mr Terd collected 200 baht.

An undercover officer posing as a customer, made an appointment and was told to go to an apartment in Bang Bo district. A Vietnamese woman, identified as Trieu, was arrested along with Mr Terd.