Got him! Kohl arrested outside embassy

Without a passport, German fugitive arlo Konstantin Kohl was having problems surviving in Bangkok after his escape from the airport. An attempt to get one, put him back in jail.

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Cops catch Kohl outside his embassy

WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM

A handout photo released by the Thai Immigration Police shows German fugitive Carlo Konstantin Kohl, an alleged leader of a criminal gang in Germany. (EPA photo)

Police have arrested German criminal Carlo Konstantin Kohl, who had been on the run since giving his security escort the slip at Suvarnabhumi airport two weeks ago.

Kohl, 25, was apprehended outside the German embassy on South Sathon Road yesterday, Immigration Bureau commissioner Panu Kerdlappol said.

Immigration police immediately took the suspect to the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court to face a charge of illegal entry. He was fined 6,000 baht and handed a two-year suspended jail term, Pol Lt Gen Panu said.

The suspect is now being held at the Immigration Bureau’s Suan Phlu office. He will be taken to Suvarnabhumi airport today for a re-enactment of his escape.

The German and Australian embassies would be contacted to take the suspect out of the country, the bureau chief said.

Kohl was being extradited to Germany after completing a prison term in Australia for a string of robberies when he managed to escape his security escort during a stopover in Bangkok on May 15.

‘‘He had never visited Bangkok before. I said earlier he would be caught soon as he had neither a passport nor money to help him escape. He finally emerged from hiding and was caught,’’ Pol Lt Gen Panu said.

A source said the suspect told investigators he had sought permission from his two Australian security escorts to take a shower at the airport before he fled.

He entered the bathroom and opened a shower door, but then decided to use the opportunity to escape, the source said. He then walked from the eastern wing of the airport to the western wing before finding a tool that he used to cut the electricity supplying a fire-exit alarm. Then he fled the airport.

The source said Kohl had about US$100 (3,021 baht) in his pocket at the time of his escape. He took a taxi downtown and handed all the cash he had to the driver.

The taxi driver dropped Kohl outside a large temple in an unknown area. The suspect eventually found a German restaurant where he spoke to staff members. He asked them for a bank account number, then called his younger sister and asked her to transfer 15,000 baht to the account. He hid in Bangkok for several days before contacting the German embassy to apply for a temporary passport.

He was arrested as he showed up at the embassy, the source said.

cop – (informal) a police officer ตำรวจ (คำสแลง)
embassy – a building where a group of officials work who represent their government in a foreign country สถานทูต
criminal – someone who has committed a crime, i.e., someone who has carried out an illegal activity or action ผู้ที่ทำผิดกฎหมาย
give the slip – to escape from someone หนี
security escort – a person or group of people or vehicles that travels with somebody/something in order to protect or guard them คนคุ้มครอง
apprehended – arrested; caught by the police ถูกจับ, โดนจับกุม
immigration bureau – the government agency dealing with people entering and leaving the country and those who want to live there สำนักงานตรวจคนเข้าเมือง
commissioner – the head of a particular police force in some countries ผู้ตรวจการณ์
immediately – happening right after something else with no delay; right away ทันที
suspect – a person who is thought to have committed a crime ผู้ต้องสงสัย
Criminal Court – a court which hears criminal cases, i.e., cases where people are accused of breaking a law and where punishment involves going to jail. ศาลอาญา
charge – an official statement accusing someone of committing a crime ข้อกล่าวหา
illegal – against the law อย่างผิดกฎหมาย
fine – to be required to pay an amount of money because you have broken the law ปรับเป็นเงิน
suspended jail term – a situation when the court decides that the person who has been proven guilty of a crime does not have to undergo the punishment given, usually under certain conditions รอลงอาญา
re-enactment (of a crime) – repeating the actions of a past event, in this case, of a crime แผนประกอบคำรับสารภาพ
contact – to communicate with someone  ติดต่อ
release – to make known to the public เปิดเผย, ให้ข่าว, ปล่อยข่าว
fugitive – someone who has been accused of doing something illegal and is trying to avoid being caught by the police ผู้หลบหนี
alleged – claimed to be true although not yet proven ที่ถูกกล่าวหา
criminal – illegal; against the law ผิดกฎหมาย, นอกกฎหมาย
extradite – to officially send back someone who has been accused or found guilty of a crime to the country where the crime was committed for a trial ส่งตัวกลับ
prison term – a length of time someone is required to stay in prison ระยะเวลาที่จำคุก
string – a series of similar or connected events that happen one after the other การเรียงต่อเนื่องของเหตุการณ์หรือสิ่งต่างๆ
robbery – the crime of stealing money or goods from a bank, shop/store, person, etc  การปล้น, การโจรกรรม
emerge – to come out of ออกจาก
source – someone who gives information แหล่งข่าว
investigator – someone whose job is to officially find out the facts about something – ผู้สอบสวน,  ผู้สำรวจ, ผู้ตรวจสอบ
seek – to try to obtain or achieve something พยายามได้มา
permission – allowing someone to do something การอนุญาต,การอนุมัติ,การยินยอม
flee (past form: fled) – to leave a place or person quickly because you are afraid of possible danger หนี
opportunity – a chance to do something, or a situation in which it is easy for you to do something  โอกาส
wing – one of the parts of a large building that sticks out from the main part ปีกอาคาร
alarm – a loud noise or a signal that warns people or wakes them in the morning สัญญาณ
cash – money in the form of notes or coins เงินสด
eventually – at the end of a period of time or at the end of a process ในที่สุด
apply – to make a formal request for permission to do or have something ขอ
temporary – done or used for only a limited period of time, i.e., not permanent ชั่วคราว
show up – to arrive at a place แสดงตัว, ปรากฏตัว