Thais to Deport German Guilty of HIV Scare

A German at the center of an HIV scare involving potentially hundreds of Thai women and girls will be deported to his home country next week, Thai police said Friday. Hans-Otto Schiemann, 54, who claims to be infected with HIV and that he had unprotected sex with hundreds of Thais, was remanded in custody last month on immigration charges. Health officials, police and prosecutors say they are powerless to charge him over his sexual activities, which centered around the northern town of Chaiyaphum. "The court today found him guilty of the immigration charges and sentenced him to 58 days in jail, but as has already served the sentence we will proceed with his deportation, hopefully Monday," Police Lieutenant Colonel Kampol Nonuch told AFP. Schiemann, whose common-law Thai wife of five years has AIDS, has refused to take a blood test since being picked up by the authorities in October. While in custody, he told AFP that he had contracted HIV three years ago and was "like heroin to girls." Neighbors said he drove around the town offering large sums of money to students for sex and also frequented karaoke bars to pick up women. Health officials printed some 2,000 flyers warning students to avoid him and posted banners throughout Chaiyaphum. The authorities said the former German sailor had overstayed his 30-day visa by three years.