Glitter denied entry to Hong Kong

BANGKOK, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Former British rock star and convicted child abuser Gary Glitter, released from a Vietnamese jail, has been denied entry to Hong Kong, officials said.

Glitter, a 1970s glam rocker whose real name is Paul Gadd, was released from 27 months in a Vietnamese prison this week after serving a sentence for having sex with children. He was attempting to gain admission to Hong Kong Wednesday night but has been kept at the airport by Chinese officials, the British Foreign Office told The Independent.

Glitter's moves appear to be an attempt to avoid returning to Britain where Home Secretary Jacqui Smith says he will be met by detectives keen to put him on the country's official sex offenders' registry, authorities said.

Glitter had earlier been warned by Thai immigration officials he wouldn't be granted entry to that country because he posed a threat to "domestic morality." He was originally set to fly to Britain after arriving in Bangkok from Vietnam Tuesday, but then refused to leave the airport's transit lounge for 20 hours and complained of health problems.

After a round of negotiations with Thai officials, Glitter permitted to board a flight to Hong Kong, The Telegraph reported.