BANGKOK, Thailand - Well he's gone and my contact at one of the Western embassies here summed it up nicely - "Thank God for that."

Like the diplomats, I was beginning to wonder if Gary Glitter's limbo status in the transit lounge of the airport was going to turn into a farce for weeks or even months. I had visions of that film "Terminal," starring Tom Hanks, who ends up living at in the transit lounge of an airport.

This time, though, instead of sympathy for Hank's fictitious refugee character stuck in a bureaucratic hiatus, I have nothing but scorn for Glitter. Although he protests his innocence, he clearly appears to be doing his best to evade going back to Britain and signing the Sex Offender's Register.

Like the other 30,000 or so offenders on the register he will be forced to notify the police of his address and give them warning of any plans to travel. British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has now, with typically convenient timing, unveiled plans to toughen up the rules, meaning perhaps sex offenders could have their passports confiscated.

In all the ridiculousness of the media chase surrounding Glitter - from Vietnam, to Bangkok, to Hong Kong and back to Bangkok and then finally to London - it's easy to forget that this man has saddled his victims with a legacy of suffering, guilt and untold psychological scars, that will reverberate throughout their adult lives. He appears to show no remorse and now seems to be living under the deluded impression that somehow he will be able to restart his singing career.

Clearly, Glitter needs treatment and supervision, and I sincerely hope he will never come back to Southeast Asia again.