A CONVICTED drug dealer and rapist who was arrested following the death of a woman who fell from a Thai balcony has appeared in court.

Reece Vella, previously arrested over the death of a Thai prostitute, appeared over videolink from Worcester Crown Court on Monday.

We reported how Thai police arrested Vella after Wannipa Janhuathon fell to her death in Pattaya, Thailand in early 2018.

Vella reportedly was having ‘strange and extravagant’ sex with the then 26-year-old before she plunged five floors from an apartment balcony at The Cosy Beach View complex, according to national media.

The 27-year-old, previously of Highfield, Callow End, near Worcester, who was unrepresented at the crown court hearing, told the judge he had been represented at a previous hearing at the magistrates court.

The court heard Vella is alleged to have failed without reasonable excuse to comply with the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

However, he was not formally arraigned for breaching the terms of the Sex Offender Register when he appeared in court.

He told the court: “This is just a breach of an order.

"I flew out of the country when I was on bail.”

Paul Whitfield, prosecuting, said: “Mr Vella is quite right.

"He left the country and flew to Thailand in November 2017 and returned to this country and was arrested on June 4 this year.”

Mr Whitfield said Vella had a previous ‘exemplary record’ of notifying police of any change of circumstances.

The Worcester News previously revealed that Vella was sentenced to four years and nine months in a young offenders institution for rape and common assault in 2012.

In that case, the former Royal Logistics Corps soldier raped a teenager after he became jealous over her at a party.

Vella is scheduled to be sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on August 5 for being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.

Judge Robert Juckes QC adjourned the hearing until then so he had ‘the overall picture’.

Vella was remanded in custody.