Gold Coast woman Claire Johnson to be released from Thailand detention centre tonight according to local reports
There are reports Gold Coast woman Claire Johnson will be released from a Thai immigration detention centre after nine days of being held against her will.
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AFTER nine days trapped inside a Thai detention centre, there are reports a Gold Coast woman could be on her way back to Australia tonight.
Claire Johnson, 46, spent the last 18 months solo travelling around the world on a working holiday and had been on the home stretch when she was detained in Bangkok this month.
Thai journalists are reporting Ms Johnson is due to be released at 5pm local time (8pm AEST) tonight, and deported back to Australia at 8pm (11pm AEST).
She is expected to arrive in Sydney on Friday morning.
The German Press Agency’s Thailand and Laos correspondent Hathai Techakitteranun said the Gold Coaster had been held for overstaying her visa.
#Thailand immigration chief told me she will definitely be sent back to #Australia tonight at 8 pm local time and that the reason for detaining her is that she overstayed her Thai visa. #ClaireJohnson https://t.co/JuWwOTNssN
— Hathai Pia (@HathaiPia) January 17, 2019
Sky News South East Asia correspondent Siobhan Robbins also confirmed the news.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade refused to comment on her release, citing privacy obligations.
Relieved friends and family said they were overjoyed, and hoped to have Ms Johnson back on Australia soil soon.
Juliet Potter, who raised the alarm after receiving a string of frantic text messages from her friend on Monday afternoon said she was “relieved” after hearing the reports.
Ms Johnson, who also went by the name Claire Licciardo professionally, lived on the Gold Coast for nearly 20 years and was well known in the cosmetic surgery industry.
For many years she operated medi-travel trips for Australians going overseas for cosmetic procedures.
Ms Johnson left the Gold Coast a year and a half ago on a working holiday and had been intending to come back to Australia before she was taken to a Thai immigration detention centre earlier this month.
She had been due to fly back to Australia on the 12th of January, after she was picked up by Thai officials and ordered to pay a 3000 Baht fine ($A130), but had not been allowed to board the flight.
Two days later, on Monday afternoon she sent a string of desperate text messages to Ms Potter begging for help.
“Help me,” the texts read. “Call yhe (sic) media. Embassy.”
“Serious. Help. Goita (sic) go. Theu (sic) r taking my phone cant talk. So scared.”
Ms Johnson packed up and travelled overseas for more than a year after a difficult divorce on the Gold Coast and had been in living in “her second home” of Thailand since June 2018.
She travelled to the country “three to four times a year” for 13 years, she told Facebook followers, sharing insights to business meetings in the medical industry during her most recent visit.
There had been talk of returning to the Gold Coast for Christmas to see friends, but they were quickly scuttled when Ms Johnson lost her passport in late September and had to apply for another.
Friends she met on the road described a series of paperwork troubles she had encountered in recent months, but said she remained upbeat about her trip.
In early November Ms Johnson spent a week with a NSW woman who had travelled to Phuket for a cosmetic procedure.
“She said at the time ASIC had frozen her company and she didn’t have access to money. Her bank also froze her accounts,” the woman told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
“She was meant to come back to Australia with me but had trouble getting a new passport, last I spoke to her she was coming here on the 5th of January.”
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An American traveller who celebrated New Year’s Eve with the Gold Coaster said she remembered there being problems with Ms Johnson’s visa.
“I remember her mentioning something about her visa needing to be renewed or extended but she didn’t seem concerned about it,” the woman said.
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“She actually was more concerned about having money because she was saying that there were some issues and was having to send paperwork to get things back in order.”
Ms Johnson had been enthusiastic about starting a new life in Sydney’s northern shores upon returning to Australia and had secured a home in Palm Beach, NSW in the weeks leading up to her detainment.
Two months ago she wrote about how excited she was to return to Australia.
“Feeling motivated, excited to come back, looking forward to seeing my friends, family and cats and looking forward to moving back to Sydney and new opportunities and adventures!” Ms Johnson said.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman confirmed they are assisting Ms Johnson but declined to comment on why she is being held and why she was not allowed to board the plane home.
“The Department of Foreign affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to an Australian woman detained in Thailand in accordance with the Consular Services Charter,” the spokeswoman said.
The spokesman said DFAT is also working closely with a member of Ms Johnson’s family in Australia but declined to give further information.
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