Gary Glitter refused entry to Hong Kong

By Noppawan Bunluesilp

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Disgraced glam rocker Gary Glitter has been refused entry to Hong Kong after arriving from Thailand where he was also barred, a British foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.

When asked what would happen to the 64-year-old Briton, released this week after serving nearly three years in a Vietnam prison for child sex abuse, the spokesman replied: "It's a matter for the Chinese authorities."

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was allowed to board a Thai Airways flight to Hong Kong even though immigration police at Bangkok airport said he would be deported to London "as soon as possible".

Having been booted out of Vietnam on Tuesday at the end of his sentence, police said Glitter feigned ear and heart problems in Bangkok to miss a connecting flight to London, apparently fearful of a hostile reception in Britain.

There was no sign of Glitter several hours after his arrival in Hong Kong. The city's airport arrivals gate was shut after midnight, with the last of the day's passengers, including those from Bangkok, believed to have passed through.

Glitter was allowed to wander freely in the no-man's land of Bangkok airport for nearly 24 hours despite being officially declared persona non grata in Thailand.

Police said health checks had revealed his assertions of having heart and ear conditions had been bogus.

A Thai immigration official confirmed Glitter had left Bangkok, even though two hours earlier authorities had said he was on a one-way ticket to London.