Thai sex abuse case: Trial of Canadian accused begins

A CANADIAN arrested last year in a worldwide manhunt after Interpol unscrambled his swirled digital images from internet photos, went on trial yesterday in Thailand, accused of sexually abusing a nine-year-old boy.

Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old schoolteacher who worked in several Asian countries, has pleaded not guilty. He was arrested in Thailand on October 19, 2007, after Interpol issued an unprecedented global appeal to help apprehend him.

Shackled and smiling, Neil waved to a friend and said, “How’s it going?” as he entered Bangkok’s criminal courthouse.