Transvestite key in capture of Christopher Neil

Oum, a 20-year-old transvestite in Pattaya, was a two-year friend of Neil who was wanted by Interpol for raping boys under 15 in many countries.

After the Thai police received requests from Interpol to help locate Neil who entered Thailand on October 11 from South Korea, they received a tip about Oum.

Police visited bars and karaoke clubs in Pattaya to find Oum and learned that Oum and Neil went to Chaiyaphum, Oum's hometown.

Police also learned that that Neil went to see Oum after arriving in Thailand and that Oum took Neil to Chaiyaphum after learning from the media that his friend was wanted by Interpol.

Police travelled to Chaiyaphum but learnt that the pair had already left the province for Nakhon Ratchasima to live with Oum's cousins.

Police said Neil did not resist arrest when police raided the one-storey house where he lived with Oum.

"The suspect was quiet. He wasn't agitated, he didn't say anything at all," Lieutenant General Pongsapat Pongcharoen told reporters at a press conference in Bangkok.