BANGKOK – Thai police have arrested an American who fled a 25-year jail sentence in the US for kidnapping, sex trafficking and other crimes, officers said on May 7.

According to a Thai police statement, Selva Delano Mudaliar was sentenced to at least 25 years’ jail by a court in the US state of Oregon in March, on 11 counts that also included strangulation and coercion.

The 37-year-old fled to Thailand while on parole and lived there for more than three months, “frequently changing hotels and apartment”, according to the police statement.

He was arrested on May 7 at a condominium in Bangkok after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation asked the Thai authorities for help, and he now faces extradition.

“It is believed that Mudaliar knew that he was wanted by the police,” Mr Korkiat Wutthijamnong, a senior officer with the Royal Thai Police’s Human Trafficking Prevention and Suppression unit, told reporters at a press conference.

He added that the Thai police were concerned Mudaliar would commit similar acts of sexual violence in Thailand as he did in the US.

Mr Michael Chai, legal attache at the US Embassy in Bangkok, thanked the Thai police for their assistance. AFP