Edinburgh bar manager facing Thai prison over 'mistaken' phone theft loses job

Rory McColl, 37, travelled to Thailand alone on March 9 to clear his head following the recent breakdown of his seven-year relationship with his fiancée.

However, he was arrested on his first night in Bangkok after picking up a stranger's phone in a bar, mistakenly believing it to be his own.

His father, John McColl, has now revealed that his son's employer, Buck's Bar, has terminated his contract as a manager at their Grindlay Street branch in Edinburgh – a decision he described as "kicking somebody when they're down."

The family claims the bar initially accepted in writing that the incident in Thailand was a misunderstanding, but cited that Mr McColl was already on a "final warning" for a previous workplace issue. He has been given four weeks' pay in lieu of notice.

"In normal circumstances, if you're on a final warning, you can expect your employment to be terminated," his father told us. "But in these exceptional circumstances, I think that's rather unfair."

It comes as Mr McColl prepares for a preliminary court hearing on Tuesday, April 28, where he will officially plead not guilty. His legal representative intends to submit email correspondence from the phone's owner as evidence that the incident was a misunderstanding.

In an email seen by the Evening News, the woman, named only as Melina, wrote to Mr McColl: "I have accepted your apology and I do believe that this was a genuine mistake.

"Because of this, I want to express that I would be okay if the charges were to be dropped. However, I also understand that this decision ultimately lies with the authorities."

The prolonged ordeal has taken a heavy emotional toll on the 37-year-old, who has a 12-year-old son back home.

"He is always asking for his daddy," Mr McColl’s father said. "He FaceTimes him, and we reassure him that he is definitely coming back."

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Mr McColl spent two nights sleeping on a concrete floor in a Thai police cell following his arrest. His passport remains confiscated, leaving him confined to a budget hotel in the coastal city of Pattaya.

The family also shared further details of how Mr McColl was preyed upon by a scammer posing as a lawyer following his release from the cells.

The man allegedly set up bogus 10pm court meetings with police who never arrived, and demanded extra cash to "fast-track" the case.

"He said to Rory... 'We can't go today because we've not got the right judge. The judge will send you to prison. We need to get a better judge,'" his father added.

The family later discovered the scammer had also registered Mr McColl’s £1,000 bail money in his own name.

The crisis has cost John and his wife Helen nearly £5,000 to date, covering legal and living costs in Thailand, as well as his monthly rent payments in Edinburgh. A GoFundMe page has been launched to help ease the financial burden.

While the family hopes for a full acquittal, they have been advised that if convicted, Rory could be served a one-year suspended sentence.

Because the incident happened in a bar during the evening, Mr McColl was specifically charged with "theft by night."

Under Thai law, committing a theft at night is considered an aggravated offence. This elevates the penalty to a minimum of one year and a maximum of five years in prison, alongside a fine.

Buck's Bar has been contacted for comment.

A GoFundMe page set up by Rory’s sister Joanna to help cover spiralling legal and living costs can be accessed here.