S.F. financier in Thai court in child sex abuse case

Rafael D. Frankel, Chronicle Foreign Service
Chronicle staff writer Stephanie Salter contributed to this report
Thursday, May 15, 2003


Bangkok -- Handcuffed, barefoot and wearing a white face mask to protect against the SARS virus, San Francisco financier Thomas Frank White appeared in Thailand criminal court Wednesday for the first of eight scheduled hearings to determine whether he will be extradited to Mexico to face charges of alleged child sex abuse, child prostitution and providing drugs to minors.

White, 68, a multimillionaire who made his fortune in San Francisco in investment securities and discount online stock brokering, has been held in Bangkok's Remand Prison since Feb. 13, two days after he was arrested at the request of the Mexican government.

Mexico issued warrants for White's apprehension in 2001 for crimes he allegedly committed against eight boys, ages 10-16, at his villa near Puerto Vallarta.

Through his attorneys, White has denied wrongdoing and termed the charges "entirely baseless" and "not credible."

According to Thai Special Prosecutor Piyathida Jermhunsa, extradition hinges on the prosecution showing evidence that White committed acts in Mexico serious enough to earn at least a one-year sentence there as well as in Thailand. The three-judge panel also must unanimously find that there is no political motivation behind the extradition and that Mexico would do the same for Thailand were the roles reversed.

White faces a daunting challenge in trying to avoid extradition. Both the Thai prosecution and defense attorneys said they could not remember a case where extradition was not granted.

"Nobody ever gets out of extradition," said White's secondary counsel, Kunacha Chaichumporn. "It's just a matter of time."

White's lead attorney, Kittyporn Arunrat, did not attend Wednesday's hearing because of duties in an unrelated case, which caused a postponement of the proceedings until July 4.

White is also named as the defendant in a California civil suit filed by Daniel Garcia, 20, of Modesto. He accuses White of sexually molesting him when Garcia was a minor. Garcia was in the Bangkok courtroom Wednesday along with his mother and attorney.

When arrested, White had been living since June 2002 in a luxury housing development in Jomtien Beach, Thailand, near the resort town of Pattaya.

White's extradition hearing could last as long as five months, with the final session scheduled Oct. 10. The prosecution is to call its first witness July 4, and wrap up its case in only a few half-day sessions. The defense is scheduled to begin Aug. 22.

Standing a head above everyone else in the courtroom, White wore maroon shorts and a matching short-sleeved shirt. He showed no ill signs of his three months in prison, where he shares a cell with about 20 other men and sleeps on a blanket over concrete.

White's spirits have risen lately after an initial onset of depression, his attorney Chaichumporn said, and he has made friends with other foreigners in the jail. He is able to order food from Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken for delivery to the jail. Aside from high blood pressure, for which he takes medicine and receives weekly visits from the jail doctor, White is in good health, according to Chaichumporn.

©2003 San Francisco Chronicle Press