By Alisa Tang

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — The American suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey killing was articulate and polite but was dismissed as an English teacher at a prestigious Bangkok school for being too strict, a school official said Friday.

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John Mark Karr, 41, remained under detention in an immigration police jail on Friday, a day after his stunning admission that he was with the 6-year-old beauty queen when she was killed in Boulder Colo., in 1996.

He is to be transferred to the U.S. to face charges of first degree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault.

Karr worked only two weeks before he was fired from his job as an English teacher in the elementary school at Bangkok Christian College, said Banchong Chompowong, assistant director of the school's English immersion program.

"He was qualified to be a teacher. He had a diploma and has experience in teaching in Bangkok for some time," said Banchong.

He said Karr was so strict with his class of first-graders that parents had complained to the all-boys school, which is considered among the best in the city.

But Banchong said Karr was clean-cut, polite, articulate, did well in his interview and had a resume detailing experience in countries from the U.S. to Japan, along with other schools in Bangkok.

"John Karr came to us with a good resume and with credentials, but then we allowed him a trial (period) with students, we found he was too strict," Banchong said.

He gave some children "time outs," where he forced students to sit quietly and not participate with other classmates.

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