Edinburgh dad in Thai jail tells of prison hell for '˜kidnapping son'

A locked up Edinburgh dad has told of his prison torment after being jailed in Thailand for attempting to bring his son home.

Jodie Smith - from Edinburgh travelled to Thailand in February after his estranged wife abducted their son Joleon in November 2017. He is now being held in Thailand on child abduction charges

41-year-old Jodie Smith revealed that he shares a cell with at least 50 people after he tried to take him 10-year-old son home after his ex took him away from the Capital.

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Speaking to The Scottish Sun, he said that he was arrested at Bangkok Airport for alleged trespassing at his ex’s house in a remote village.

He attempted to fly home with his son after stating that he feared for his son’s safety after he claimed he was allowed to drink vodka and whisky.

The carer admitted that he feared his estranged wife Jintra Jummaimuang Smith was neglecting their son, claiming that his son had begged him to come with him.

He faces a 5-year wait in jail after tracking his son down and attempting to take him home after his wife had fled with him to Thailand.

He enlisted the help of Abducted Angels charity boss Sean Felton, who flew with him to help.

Speaking to the Sun about the ordeal Jodie said: “I’m innocent of the charge against me.

“I love my son. He’s my life and I’d have moved heaven and earth to get him back home safely with me.

“I wanted to bring him back for school and all his friends.

“So I don’t feel I did anything wrong by trying to bring him home to a safe and loving environment.”

“I’d tried over and over again to get in touch with Jintra, to make her see sense, but she wouldn’t reply.

“We went out to the village where Jintra’s house was. She wasn’t there and then Joleon ran out in tears shouting, ‘Dad!’

“I noticed that he had a nasty injury to his leg and I quizzed him about it. He told me he had fallen off a motorbike.

“Joleon was crying that he wanted to come home, that he’d had enough. He also admitted to me that he’d been drinking whisky and vodka.

“He’s a 10-year-old boy for God’s sake — I just couldn’t believe it.

“I was absolutely furious that his mother could allow that to happen.

“So I told him, ‘Go into the house and get your passport.’

“Sean and I waited outside and we didn’t set foot inside the house. Joleon went and got his passport.”

He added: “Joleon wanted to come with me and he was injured.

“I tried to contact Jintra and she even sent me a text saying, ‘He will have a better life with you.’

“I thought that I was in the clear and we could head back to Edinburgh.”

“Every morning we are woken up at 6.30am, and at 8am they play the national anthem and everyone has to stand out of respect. Breakfast follows at 8.30am then the cell is unlocked.

“We are allowed to walk in the perimeter and exercise yard until 4.30pm, when we have to return to our cell for the night.

“Even the guards here have said that they can’t seem to understand why we are both there.”