More than four years after he carried out the first and only attempted hijacking at Chek Lap Kok airport in a desperate bid to return to his Golden Triangle village, the mystery gunman is stuck in Hong Kong in diplomatic limbo.
Todd Salimuchai, 34, has been rejected for asylum by 17 countries, including Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, which the opium-poppy- growing region straddles, as well as the mainland. No nation wants him, mainly because of his criminal record.
He was released from jail this month after serving a prison sentence for the hijack on July 31, 2000, in which he took a cleaner hostage and took over an empty Cathay Pacific jet, holding police at bay for 21/2 hours.
The Immigration Department is still trying to determine his place of origin so it can send him back, or at least confirm that he is truly stateless.
Police originally thought he was from Myanmar, but its consulate in Hong Kong denied that. Even today, immigration officials say they cannot authenticate Mr Salimuchai's claims about his origin.
He has maintained he grew up in a poppy-growing village of about 200 people called Hassan, on the edge of northern Thailand along the Mekong River. The village does not appear on available maps and it is unclear whether, if Hassan exists, it belongs to any country or is in a disputed region with no government control.
'He has no travel documents. We believe he has not told us the complete story, so we have to keep trying to find out the facts,' a department spokeswoman said.