BANGKOK - SHAMED British glam rocker Gary Glitter was stuck at Bangkok airport on Wednesday after faking illness to avoid boarding a flight to Britain following his release from a Vietnamese prison for child sex abuse.

The fallen star, whose real name is Paul Gadd, flew to Bangkok after being booted out of the communist southeast Asian country on Tuesday, the day the 64-year-old completed his three-year sentence.

He had a connecting flight to London but refused to board the plane, apparently fearful of the hostile media and public reception he is certain to receive in Britain, where he has already served jail time for child pornography offences.

Major General Pongdej Chaiprawaj, head of Bangkok airport immigration police, said Glitter had faked an ear condition to avoid boarding.

'He claimed to have tinnitus in his ears and declined to board the flight to London,' Maj Gen Pongdej said, adding that Glitter had been declared an 'undesirable' and would not be allowed into Thailand.

'He is banned from entering because he was jailed and he could pose a threat to domestic morality,' he said.

Glitter, his face partially hidden by a baseball cap and scarf, is now stuck in limbo in the 'no man's land' part of the airport.

Gives tabloids the slip
After being holed up for more than 12 hours in a transit lounge rest area called the Louis Tavern, Glitter disappeared through a fire-door into the bowels of the airport escorted by a dozen immigration and airport officials.

He declined to speak to reporters, other than to say he was 'fine'.

The British tabloid press, which had more than a dozen reporters on his Thai Airways flight from Vietnam, said he had collapsed in a bedroom at the Tavern, complaining of heart problems and demanding hospital treatment.

Despite huge interest in the story in Britain, Glitter managed to shake off many of the British reporters in Bangkok.

They had checked their bags through to London and so had to take the onward flight.

After three years in a Vietnamese jail, Glitter had nothing more than his passport and a small amount of hand luggage.

Travellers are allowed to spend only 12 hours in transit in Thailand before they are deemed to have violated immigration law. It is unclear whether police will use force to put him on a plane.

The next Thai Airways flight to London departs around 1am on Thursday.

In a prison interview with an official Vietnamese newspaper shortly before his release, Glitter said he wanted to go to Singapore or Hong Kong to revive his music career, although it is very unlikely any Asian country would be prepared to admit him.

He is blacklisted in Cambodia, where he spent several years in hiding before moving quietly to Vietnam.

The British press eventually unearthed him in 2005 in the southern resort town of Vung Tau. He tried to flee, but was arrested at the airport and convicted soon afterwards of having sex with two young girls.

Glitter is best known for his bouffant hairstyle, high heels and 'glam rock' 1970s hits such as 'Rock and Roll (Parts 1 % 2)", 'Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)' and 'I'm the Leader of the Gang (I am)'. -- REUTERS