Russian pianist suspected of child rape leaves Thailand (Roundup)

Jul 8, 2010, 10:40 GMT

Bangkok - Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev left Thailand for Dubai early Thursday despite charges of raping a 14-year-old boy that require him to return within 12 days, officials said.

'He was a passenger on the flight for Dubai, where he was scheduled to fly on to Moscow,' an official for Emirates Airline said in Bangkok.

Pletnev - a renowned pianist, composer and founder of the Russian National Orchestra - was arrested Monday in Pattaya, a beach resort 100 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, on charges of raping the Thai boy.

He was released Tuesday on bail of 300,000 baht (9,375 dollars) and ordered to report to court every 12 days.

Pattaya court, which initially barred Pletnev from leaving the country, later agreed to his lawyers' request that he could leave on the condition he return by July 18, police said.

'This is a very strange case,' Pattaya Immigration Police Colonel Arthitsawit Kamonrat said. He said it was odd that police at Pattaya's Bang Lamung district, where Pletnev was arrested, did not object to his request for bail and permission to leave the country.

'Now we will have to wait until July 18 to see if he's jumped bail or not,' Arthitsawit said in a telephone interview with the German Press Agency dpa.

Pletnev, a part-time resident in Pattaya where he owned several houses, has been under investigation for child abuse by police and children rights groups for months, police said. A 14-year-old Thai boy was willing to testify that Pletnev abused him, police said.

'I'm very sure he won't come back to Thailand,' said Supagon Noja, a spokeswoman for the Child Rights Protection Group in Chonburi province, where Pattaya is located.

The musician claimed he was innocent. If found guilty of raping a minor, Pletnev faces up to 20 years in jail.

According to Pattaya-based child-protection groups, the pianist had a history of child abuse at the resort, which is notorious for its nightlife and prostitution.

'We've been working on his case with the police for a long time now and finally had him arrested,' Supagon said, 'and he's gotten away so easily.'