Brit Held After Babies' Bodies Found In Luggage

A British citizen has been arrested in Thailand after the bodies of six babies thought to have been used in a black magic ritual were found in luggage in a Bangkok hotel room.

Chow Hok Kuen, who was born in Hong Kong of Taiwanese parents, was detained in the city's Chinatown area and is being held for possession of human remains, police said.

He faces one year in prison and a 2,000 baht (£40) fine if he is found guilty.

Authorities believe the 28-year-old was trying to smuggle the bodies to Taiwan. It was not clear where they came from.

Wiwat Kumchumnan, of Bangkok police, told reporters the suspect planned to sell the remains to clients who believed they would become "lucky and rich".

"The bodies are of children between the ages of two and seven months," he said. "Some were found covered in gold leaf."

Officers had reportedly received a tip-off that the bodies of dead infants were being offered to wealthy clients through a website advertising black magic services.

The corpses were bought from a Taiwanese man for 200,000 baht (£4,000) and could have been sold for six times that amount in Taiwan, police said.

Kuen was staying at a hotel in Khao San Road, in the capital's backpacker area, but the bodies were found in a separate hotel.

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