British citizen arrested in Thailand for smuggling babies' corpses

Thai police show the remains of six babies' bodies wrapped in gold leaf at a news conference in Bangkok. Photograph: Reuters

A British citizen has been arrested in Bangkok on suspicion of smuggling human infant corpses for use in black magic rituals after the bodies of six babies were found in a suitcase in a hotel room, Thai police have said.

Chow Hok Kuen, 28, a British citizen born in Hong Kong of Taiwanese parents, was arrested in Bangkok's Chinatown and was being held for possession of human remains, according to reports.

The bodies belonged to babies aged between two and seven months, Wiwat Kumchumnan, sub-division chief of the police's children and women protection unit, told Reuters, though other reports suggested they were aborted human foetuses rather than dead full-term babies. Photographs obtained by Reuters appeared to show corpses too small to have survived to term.

Some of the remains had been covered in gold leaf, said police, apparently for use in black magic rituals.

Chow was staying at a hotel in Khao San Road, Bangkok's backpacker area, but the bodies were found in a separate hotel, after police received a tipoff that infant corpses were being offered to wealthy clients through a website advertising black magic services.

The authorities said the remains were bought from a Taiwanese national for 200,000 baht (£4,000) and could have been sold for six times that amount in Taiwan, where it is thought they were to be smuggled.

Black magic rituals are still practised in Thailand, where street-side fortune tellers offer ceremonies to reverse bad luck.

Kuen faces one year in prison and a 2,000-baht fine if he is found guilty.

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the man's arrest, but would not confirm his name or any details of the allegations against him.

"We can confirm the arrest of a British national in Bangkok on 18 May," said a spokeswoman. "We stand ready to provide consular assistance."