Fugitive arrested

A 37-YEAR-OLD Australian man accused of stealing a $750,000 luxury boat in Thailand and sailing it to Australia has been arrested in the NT.

Owen Van Duren is accused of fleeing Thailand, where he was appealing a jail sentence for the brutal assault of two airline hostesses during a flight between Bangkok and Sydney last year.

Commonwealth prosecutors withdrew their charges over the same alleged midflight assault last month, but he is facing charges in the NT over the vessel he allegedly sailed with his brother.