Disgraced glam rocker Gary Glitter back in town: Cambodian minister

PHNOM PENH April 30 - Disgraced 1970s rock star Gary Glitter, who was convicted on child pornography charges in Britain, has returned to Cambodia and bought property, minister of women's affairs Mu Sochua said Friday.

Mu Sochua said she did not know how the glam rock icon, real name Paul Gadd, had managed to get back into the country after being kicked out twice, most recently in October, and barred from re-entering.

``He has a house, he has bought property and local authorities have confirmed to us that he has said he wants to stay in Cambodia quietly,'' Mu Sochua told AFP, adding that he apparently returned just weeks after his last expulsion.

``What I am saying is that with his past record, I don't think he should.''

The minister said she was concerned about the message Glitter's presence sends out about Cambodia, which has a reputation as a centre for sex tourism.

She feared he may be allowed to stay until a complaint is heard against his original expulsion in 2002.

``The role of the police now that he is here is to provide security ... This is not an accusation of him committing any crime here, but I am asking the ministry of interior why he has been given the right to stay,'' she said.

A senior ministry official told AFP that he was aware Glitter was back but he had committed no crime. He said the ministry would take action against him if they received orders from the government.

``Nobody has told us what to do with him now he is back. We are waiting for orders, if there are any. He has committed no crime here,'' he said.

Immigration police declined to comment.

Glitter's previous visits to the kingdom, which battles to cope with foreign sex tourists who prey on its children, caused a furore among women's and children's rights activists who called for him to be expelled.

In 1999 Glitter was convicted for possessing 4,000 hardcore pornographic photos of boys and girls aged between two and 10, for which he was sentenced to four months in jail.

Minister Mu Sochua said Glitter had purchased a house in Ta Khmao, a well-heeled suburb on the outskirts of the capital.

Cambodia has earned a reputation as a haven for paedophiles due to lax law enforcement, corruption in the courts and the easy availability of young boys and girls who are forced into prostitution by poverty. - AFP