A father is potentially facing imprisonment in a challenging Thai prison after mistakenly picking up a woman’s phone at a bar, his relatives revealed.
Rory McColl, a 37-year-old from Edinburgh, recounted how he unintentionally took the woman’s phone, mistaking it for his own shortly after arriving in Bangkok on March 9.
Despite acknowledging the mix-up, Rory was accused of theft and spent the initial two nights of his trip in an unsanitary cell, as per the Daily Record.
Following the payment of £1,000 for bail to secure his release, Rory had his passport confiscated by authorities, leaving him stranded in Thailand for nearly a month awaiting a court hearing.
His sister Joanna McLaughlin expressed concerns that her brother could receive a jail sentence, emphasizing that Rory’s arrest stemmed from a misunderstanding. She explained that he typically kept his phone in his pocket but had temporarily stored it in a travel waist bag where he kept his valuables.
Joanna elaborated that when Rory couldn’t find his phone in his pocket, he saw a similar one on the bar, mistakenly assumed it was his, and placed it in his pocket. Unfortunately, the actual owner of the phone witnessed this and reported it to the police, leading to Rory’s arrest and the confiscation of his belongings.
Rory described enduring distressing conditions during his two-night stay in a Thai jail cell. Joanna mentioned that after his release, he sought assistance from the Embassy, only to be informed that they couldn’t intervene in criminal matters.
Currently residing in a modest hotel in Pattaya, Rory, who works at Buck’s Bar in Edinburgh, awaits his uncertain future. The prospect of facing notorious Thai prisons like Klong Prem Central and Bang Kwang Central looms over him.
To support Rory with living expenses and legal fees, his loved ones launched a GoFundMe campaign.
Joanna highlighted the financial strain, noting the high costs of legal representation, bail money, and police-related expenses that Rory has had to bear. She expressed the urgency to bring Rory back home, underscoring his responsibilities to his son and job, and the family’s distress over the looming threat of a wrongful jail sentence.
