Rory McColl, 37, from Edinburgh, arrived in Bangkok on 9 March for a 12-day trip, according to multiple reports. On his first night, he picked up a woman's phone in a bar by mistake, leading to his arrest after bar staff called the police. McColl spent two days in a concrete jail cell after the arrest. According to BBC News - UK, his mother Helen McColl described the conditions as horrendous, saying he was on a concrete floor with only a plastic water bottle for a pillow.
McColl was released on bail after paying police £1,000, but his passport was confiscated, preventing him from leaving Thailand. For the last seven weeks, he has been living in a hotel in Pattaya. His parents, Helen and John McColl, have been in touch with him via FaceTime. According to BBC News - UK, John McColl described the situation as incredible, noting that the injured party says she knows it is a misunderstanding and does not want to press charges.
Then he was cuffed and taken to the cells. He was there for two nights - he told us it was horrendous. He was on a concrete floor and all he had for a pillow was a plastic water bottle.
While in the cell, a man claiming to be a lawyer approached McColl and offered to represent him. McColl paid the man twice, but his family became suspicious. According to BBC News - UK, Helen McColl described how the man stood by him in court and promised to help him return to his son but never followed through. On one occasion, the man told McColl to travel two hours to court only to send him away, saying the judge was not favourable. Helen McColl said alarm bells rang when no action was taken.
The woman whose phone was taken appears to corroborate McColl's story in an email exchange seen by the BBC, but its authenticity has not been verified. It remains unclear what specific charge McColl faces under Thai law, whether the woman has officially dropped charges, and what the current status of the preliminary court hearing is. The identity and role of the man who claimed to be a lawyer are also unknown. It is not yet known whether the UK government will provide consular assistance to McColl. According to BBC News - UK, Helen McColl described the unknown as scary, saying they do not know for certain what will happen now.
Rory told us this man stood by him in court and told him he would help to get him back to his son but that never happened. The one time he told him to come to court, he sent him away again and told him: 'It is not a good judge today, this one will send you to prison.' Alarm bells started to ring when the guy asked Rory to travel two hours to court then sent him away again and when no action had been taken at all.
It is just the unknown that is scary. We don't know for certain what will happen now and that is what keeps us up at night.
It is incredible that Rory could go to jail on a charge where the injured party says she knows it is a misunderstanding - and does not want to press charges.