Man held over cruel emails
Wreckage ... Patong beach, Phucket
By MIKE SULLIVAN
Crime Editor (
www.thesun.co.uk)
A MAN was under arrest last night after families of missing Britons were sent bogus Foreign Office emails saying loved ones had died.
One heartbroken mother was told her son was dead only for him to ring the next day to say he was safe.
Police believe dozens of distraught families received the sick emails after posting details about missing relatives on the Sky News website.
The fake messages, claiming to be from the Foreign Office Bureau in Thailand, said their loved ones had been confirmed as dead.
Heartbroken Henry Simon, 62, whose son Piers was found dead in Thailand after an agonising five day search, said: “There are some really sick people out there.
“When Piers was missing our friends and neighbours used the internet to look for news and posted messages on websites.
“It is deplorable to think anyone would take pleasure in sending hoax messages like this.
“I feel so sorry for anyone who has received these emails.”
The cruel con is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police specialist crime computer unit.
They arrested a man at his home in Lincolnshire.
A spokesman said: “We would like to reassure the public that these messages are hoaxes. The British Government would not use email to convey news of the death of a loved one.”
A MAN aged 40 was last night charged with sending a malicious communication and causing a public nuisance. He has not been named, for his own safety