“He arrived at the Immigration facility at Soi Suan Plu in Bangkok yesterday afternoon (May 7), after he was fined about B2,500 or B3,000 by the Phuket Provincial Court for overstaying,” Maj Tosapon Kitilap of the Phuket Immigration Office told The Phuket News today (May 8).
“His health is fine and normal. He can walk and eat well,” Maj Tosapon added.
Mr Maclean, 50, will be deported to United Kingdom. He has also been banned from re-entering Thailand for five years, Maj Tosapon confirmed.
“He has not been deported to the United Kingdom yet. We don’t know when that will happen. That depends on the dertation process being conducted by the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok,” he added.
Mr Maclean, 50, originally from Brisbane, Australia, was safely taken into custody at about 3pm last thursday (May 2) after Phuket Immigration officers entered the ninth-floor condo at the “Supalai Park at Phuket City” complex on Nakorn Rd in Phuket Town from a fire truck ladder.
The officers smashed a window to gain entry to the rear of the condo while regular police officers kept Mr Maclean occupied by talking to him through the front door. (See story here.)
Mr Maclean, who had suffered extensive weight loss from his four months locked inside the condo, was immediately taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for medical attention.
However, Maj Ekkachai Siri of the Phuket Tourist Police told The Phuket News that Mr Maclean had refused medical treatment at the hospital. Instead, he elected to face the overstaying charge and undergo the deportation process immediately. (See story here.)
Mr Maclean’s permit to stay expired on Feb 21 while he was still locked inside the condo, which he had refused to leave since Jan 14 amid a dispute with the landlord over the failure to provide receipts for rent that he said he had paid.
The owner of the condo has assured police that the rent was never paid.
In an email to The Phuket News when the situation began in January, Mr Maclean explained that he needed the rent receipts to provide to Phuket Immigration as proof of his residence while applying for a long-term permit to stay in the country.