Pfeifer, 49, was arrested at his rented apartment in Bang Tao on Tuesday night just hours after a nationwide manhunt for the Czech was ordered by deputy national police chief Pol Gen Wuthi Liptapallop.
Wanted under a red notice by Interpol, Pfeifer was wanted in the Czech Republic for sexual offences with minors, including intentional passing his HIV infection. (See story here.)
When his sentence was handed down by video conference yesterday afternoon while Pfeifer remained in a cell in the below-ground level at Phuket Provincial Court, the judge revealed that Pfeifer had been staying illegally in the country since August 5, 2015.
Khao Phuket (click here), the Thai-language sister publication to The Phuket News, was present when the sentence was handed down.
However, despite the severity of his overstay, the judge handed down the sentence of a fine of only B1,000 fine and a two-year prison sentence, which was suspended.
Under the ‘Good Guys In, Bad Guys Out’ campaign by the Thai Immigration Bureau, which came into effect in 2014 and was marked by news headlines around the world, Pfeifer was to be mandatorily fined B20,000 and banned from re-entry for 10 years. (See story here.)
Asked how a judge could hand down a sentence less than the mandatory penalty by law in this case, Phuket Immigration Chief Pol Col Kantawat Pongsatanbordee told The Phuket News this afternoon, “I am busy. I am not available to comment.”
Calls to Phuket Provincial Court this afternoon went unanswered.
Only weeks ago did Phuket Immigration have a Frenchwoman living in Phuket deported from the Kingdom of Thailand after she was found to have overstayed her tourist visa by 103 days. (See story here.)
– Additional reporting by Tanyaluk Sakoot