German hid for 30 hours | Bangkok Post: news

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The German convict who slipped his guards at Suvarnabhumi airport spent some 30 hours hiding in the airport before managing to escape, Airports of Thailand AoT chairman Sita Divari revealed yesterday.

The fact he spent so long there undetected has sparked concerns about security lapses at the airport, he said.

Sqn Ldr Sita said an investigation found he had hid in a power generator room before fleeing via a fire exit.

The AoT board has set up a committee chaired by Immigration Bureau commissioner Panu Kerdlappol, who is also an AoT board director, to overhaul security. This includes installing more cameras to cover the entire airport so that any suspect can be located quickly.

“The security cameras may even be installed in concealed places,” he said.

Carlo Konstantin Kohl, 25, was being escorted to Germany after having completed a jail term for several robberies in Australia. He managed to give his two security escorts the slip during a stopover in Bangkok on May 15.

An investigation by airport officials found that Kohl had cut the electricity supplying a fire-exit alarm before fleeing the airport.

Pol Lt Gen Panu blamed the two guards hired by Australian authorities for the escape. They asked to use the airport dayroom instead of the detention room on arrival at the airport, he said.

Australian authorities did not follow procedure by failing to inform Thai Immigration police about the transfer of a transnational suspect.

Pol Lt Gen Panu did not believe any Thai officials were involved in helping the German escape. He said he expected the German convict to be captured soon since he did not have much money and would not be able to get very far.

via German hid for 30 hours | Bangkok Post: news.