British graffiti vandal finally released from Thailand. A backpacker who daubed ‘Scousse Lee’ on a historic fortress in Thailand will celebrate the New Year back at home in Britain after friends and family paid his £2,400 fine.
Lee Furlong, 23, was caught on CCTV vandalising the 800-year-old Tha Phae Gate in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, in October.
Police quickly tracked him down and locked him up. Furlong, originally from Liverpool, was heavily mocked over the mindless graffiti attack where he managed to misspell “Scouse”.
He had faced the grim prospect of ten years in a Thai prison before his family agreed to stump up the money.
The Sunday People can reveal Furlong flew back into the UK days before Christmas.
He is staying with mum Michelle Furlong at her home in Crosby, Merseyside.
Treated
Michelle put a picture of her son arriving home on Facebook and wrote: “No better feeling than getting your loved one back where they belong.
“No anger or rebuke just love, overwhelming love!”
Pals are saying Furlong was treated unfairly by Thai authorities and denied access to vital epilepsy medication while behind bars.
One friend wrote on Facebook: “No one on this Earth deserves this kind of treatment for nothing, over a stupid wall that means nothing even to themThailand people.”
Furlong, who now lives in Kent, was arrested along with Canadian national Brittney Schneider, also 23.
Ms Schneider sprayed “B” on a separate line below where Furlong had tried to change “Scousse Lee” to “Scouser Lee”.
Tha Phae Gate was built in the 13th century as a fortress to protect Chiang Mai from attackers.
