In spite of the fact that Thailand has a long-standing reputation as a sex destination, it actually ranks rather low on my preference list of countries. The point is: Western men's sexual market value is quite low in Thailand.
This is easy to overlook because Thai's are exceptionally friendly and polite… to everyone, even those they consider of much lower social status.
But in a way, Western foreigners in Thailand are white niggers, which is a rather unfamiliar position to find oneself in when one comes from a rich European country.
Yes, Western men (and in fact: all foreign men) have an easy time picking up a Thai girl. Prostitutes. They can also marry of have live-in arrangements. With prostitutes beyond their prime, or good girls beyond their prime, or girls who have never really had a prime, appearance-wise.
If you walk through the streets of Bangkok there are indeed many beautiful women around, nowadays even more so than 25 years ago when I first visited Bangkok. But very few of them (almost none) are with Western men.
Oh yes, you do see a lot of foreign men with Thai wives, but usually neither the husband nor the wife are attractive.
In spite of the fact that so many foreign men have sexual contact with local women, Thai men by and large are not jealous (as, for example Philippine or Indonesian men when local girls are with foreign men), and this clearly has to do with the fact that most of these sexual relationships between foreign men and Thai women are low class. There are exceptions, of course, but they are rather rare.
Thai men, overall, have little reason to be jealous of foreign men for another reason, too: Thai women generally prefer Thai men. Only when they have a hard time to qualify for Thai men, they consider foreign men. And there usually is a silent understanding (with other Thais' that is) that they do so for economic reasons.
I have heard countless stories of foreigners loosing all their property to a Thai wife, and then to have been left alone.
If I compare this to a neighboring country:
I have heard countless stories of foreigners having secured a residence permit in the US or another Western country for a Philippine wife, and to have been left alone after the Philippine woman was securely admitted to that country.
That tells you something about preferences.
Thai women usually do not aspire to live in another country. But they take your money alright… many of them, anyway.
(Please note that I do know of long-term genuine love relationships between Western foreigners and Thai women, but not of many. And please note, furthermore, that some Thai ex-prostitutes, especially when they have aged, appreciate to find an old low-class Western husband, and that they can be good wives. But it's a kind of love on the fringes of society; the solidarity among losers… the drunkard with a swollen nose and the ex-prostitute with a swollen lip.)
Yes, sometimes I do see a foreigner with a Thai woman who not so long ago was beautiful… but now she visibly is a bar girl, and that's turn-off. I don't go with girls who go with anybody who gives them 500 or 1000 Baht. Thai men, likewise, do not consider prostitutes anything but low-class. But many of them, nevertheless, use their services. I'd say: it's the culture, here… facilitated by polite manners.
But even though commercial sex may be rather gentle in Thailand when compared to the harsh settings in most parts of the world, I am really and honestly against all establishments for commercial sex. I think that such establishments should be taxed out of business.
In a country were prostitution is as obvious as it is in Thailand, non-prostitutes will go a long way to send a clear signal to all of their surrounding that they are not prostitutes. I theorize that the more prevailing prostitution is in a country, the more disinclined young woman will be towards eye-to-eye contact with men they do not know, and the less they will allow men they do not know to approach them with some small talk. Sometimes, the public atmosphere in Bangkok is like in an elevator… where everybody tries hard to look past everybody else.
Why not say something? Why not strike a conversation? Why not comment on the beauty of a young woman standing next to you?
Well, you can do that in Indonesia, but in Thailand, this would be very inappropriate. (Please note that the disadvantages of Indonesia are of another kind.)
I also theorize that because there are so many "bad" girls in Thailand, parents try hard to install in their young daughters that they are "good" girls. "Good" girls are non-sexual. And most Thai girls learn this lesson very well.
You will, for that reason, be rather surprised how unsexual Thai girls are who are not prostitutes, and who haven't been married. This, again, is something that puts Thailand in the bottom half of my list of preferred countries.
My preferred partners are young women who have not yet given birth to children, and who have a pronounced sexual interest in an attractive man who can also offer an interesting and above-average lifestyle. That's easier to find in other Asian countries.
On the other hand, for men who are far below average and have a hard time to find anybody at all in their own countries, Thailand is the right place to go to. Even such types can still find an ex-prostitute in Pattaya.
+++
Please note: I have been writing on sex in Asia for 25 years. A few years ago, I still had a customer-service approach. I provided information so that those who bought my books or subscribed to my websites could improve their chances of getting laid, even if and when these readers or subscribers were just very average, or below average men.
I now have a more elitist approach. I believe that every man who really is interested in optimal sex should first work on himself to be an attractive person. That means: if you are fat, reduce; don't drink; don't smoke; groom yourself; if you live in a foreign country, learn the language; be educated; read; study; work, so that you have money to spend; nowadays, nobody has to have ugly teeth; and if you are rich enough, but beyond 40, you may want to invest in a facelift. If you are attractive, you can have a good sex life, even if you are already of an advancing age.
If you don't want to follow that advice, you will have to go with no sex, or you will have to buy it from prostitutes, or "marry" an ex-prostitute. And yes, you can find them in Pattaya.
Between the next two "+++"-delineations follow just slightly edited paragraphs I have written in previous years when I still had the above-mentioned customer-service approach. From a literature perspective, these paragraphs may be lacking even more than my other work, but they do communicate some practical information which to write I would now be too lazy because anyway, I have little interest in Thailand.
+++
Pattaya
If you are around 60, and look it, or if you are overweight, or quite ugly, and not really rich, your best bet for a love relationship in Thailand is Pattaya.
Except for some business districts in Bangkok, young Thai women are less fashion and beauty concerned than their sisters in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and certainly Singapore. In competitive Singapore, you will only score if you are a good-looking young man, or famous, or very rich.
Of the other three countries, Malaysia probably has the highest expectations in this regard.
But for disregard on male looks, nothing beats Pattaya. There are so many substandard Western men living in Pattaya that the local average for Western men, with respect to physical attractiveness, is way below the average anywhere in Europe and the US, and below the averages for Malaysia and Indonesia.
If, as a Western man, you are considered moderately attractive in Europe or the US, you will be considered a good-looking guy in Pattaya.
Whether you are considered rich, considered attractive, considered intelligent, considered educated, and even whether you are considered healthy, all depends on our environment to which you are compared. Among the blind, the one-eyed is king.
Meaningful sexual relationships (with an element of love) come much easier if you are above average in the environment where you live. And for those who are below average at home in the US or Europe, Pattaya is a real chance to become above-average.
Young and not-so-young Thai women in Pattaya are different from those in Bangkok or up-country. A good number of them may be working sporadically in the sex industry. But in comparison to the Patpong area of Bangkok, the sex industry in Pattaya is laid-back and far less hard-core.
Many thousands of Western men live in Pattaya, among them many pensioners, and most of them have steady Thai live-in partners, with a much smaller number actually married. Thai girls in Pattaya do NOT primarily see Western men as tourists, even if they actually are tourists, but consider them actual or potential residents of Pattaya, and, yes, as potential permanent or temporary life partners.
In order to evaluate your chances of a meaningful sexual relationship in Pattaya, it is necessary that you develop an understanding of the social fabric of the city. Pattaya now has more than 100,000 inhabitants, with Western foreigners a very strong minority.
In the seventies, Pattaya was just a small fishing village with a beautiful beach. Its closeness to Bangkok predestined it to become a major tourist destination, especially during the boom years of the early and mid-80s. And yes, for many years, Pattaya was the world's formost destination for sex tourists.
In all of Asia, Thailand traditionally has the most lenient approach towards long-term or permanent tourists. I know people who have been living in Thailand on tourist visas for 20 years!
On a normal tourist visa, including two extensions, you can stay about 5 month. In order to qualify for the next 5 months, all that is required is a brief (as short as one hour) exit to one of the neighboring countries.
If even such a same-day-return trip to a neighboring country is too much bother for you, you can also avail of 1-year non-immigrant visas.
Thailand indeed makes it easy for foreigners to settle in the country, which is in stark contrast, for example, to Indonesia. If you have stayed in Indonesia on two consecutive tourist visas of 60 days, you better do your next consecutive entry with a new passport, or stay out of the country for a few months.
It is easy to settle in Pattaya, not only because of immigration matters but also because suitable houses and apartments are in ample supply, and rents are cheap. 200 dollars a month gets you a nice 2-bedroom detached house, and a room with private bathroom can be as cheap as 50 dollars a month. If your taste and means are more upscale, you can have your own villa, complete with swimming pool, from foreign housing developers and building contractors at a price that would just buy you a small studio-type apartment in the West.
There are many other practical benefits of living in Pattaya. Any travel guide or Pattaya web site will inform you about food and golf courses, the beaches and the bars, and even on meeting points for people of your home country.
With conditions for foreigners so favorable in Pattaya, it is no surprise that thousands have chosen to settle in the city.
So much on the foreign component of the Pattaya social fabric.
The Thai component can by and large be divided into three: original residents and their offspring (a small minority), migrants from other parts of Thailand who have come for business and employment opportunities, and young Thai women (sometimes with local male cohorts) who arrive with the intention to mingle with foreign men, usually for short-term or long-term economic benefits.
Many of these young Thai women have already been married to Thai men (usually not the male cohorts, if any, with whom they arrive in Pattaya). Thai marriage bonds often are not very strong, and divorces are a mere formality. A good number of divorced young Thai women, for economic or other reasons, are willing to give it a try with a foreign man, and a preferred destination for those with an according mind set is Pattaya.
So, if your interest is a meaningful relationship, how to go about it?
Hanging out at bars and buying out one of the girls there is probably not the best approach. Your best bet will be to hang around at restaurants (not bars) owned by one of your countrymen, and to have a young woman introduced by the restaurant owner's Thai wife or live-in partner. The wife or live-in partner will likely be eager to introduce a friend or female family member.
Depending on whether it will disturb you or not if the girl or young woman has worked in a nightlife scenario, you can go searching yourself in particular ways. Many young women in Pattaya who do not work in a bar are nevertheless considering a Western man. You can look for them among the girls working as waitresses or shop girls. However, many of them will have a boyfriend. Asking for help from the Thai wife or live-in partner of one of your countrymen who is running a restaurant will likely produce a quicker result.
Even if you are around 60, look it and feel it (sexually), you are about to enter a new life, with much more sex than you thought you'll be able to handle at your age. And if you should have problems to match your new libido with an according staying power, there is always Viagra. Or, if your interest wanes, you can try some testosterone-boosting tongkat ali.
Bangkok
In Bangkok, your best prospects are around universities, especially the Ramkhamhaeng Open University on Ramkhamhaeng Road (north of Sukhumvit Road).
Ramkhamhaeng University is the largest in Thailand. Everybody who went through school can enroll there. It costs very little, and the university and lecturers don't care whether students attend classes. Students are not required to wear uniforms
All of this is quite different from traditional universities, such as Chulalongkorn University (near Lumpini Park). At traditional Thai universities, students wear uniforms and are required to attend classes, and parents have to pay rather high tuition fees.
Around Ramkhamhaeng Open University you stand a good chance of getting to know one, or several, or many young Thai women who came from up-country to study in Bangkok, and are likely to be hard up, financially. This is your ideal prey.
These young women usually have not yet been married, and usually wouldn't consider for themselves to become a prostitute, or work in a bar, but having a steady boyfriend who can support their livelihood. (The problem still is that they will normally prefer a Thai man over a foreigner.)
Stay away from the nightlife districts of Bangkok. Girls you meet there are likely to have high professional skills in parting you from as much of your money as possible, while letting you have in return as little as possible. Not an inviting prospect.
Upcounty
If you are looking up-country for a sexual relationship with a young Thai woman, you will likely have to marry. This can either be a formally registered marriage or a marriage conducted only at a Thai wat by Buddhist monks. You will have to pay a so-called "sin sot" to the parents for obtaining their daughter, and a so-called "tong man" to the girl.
Young Thai men typically have to shall out the equivalent of about 2000 dollars for the "sin sot", and about a quarter of that amount for the "tong man". The "tong man" is given as gold jewelry. As a foreigner, the Thai parties involved will likely aim for about four times these figures for both the sin sot and the tong man.
If the girl is not a prostitute, it is very unlikely that you will get anywhere sexual without having to make these payments, and without having to go through the Buddhist ceremonies. You can rather easily get around the official registration, so a separation later on will at least not require any formalities. Especially in poor Thai regions, many parents are much more interested in the "sin sot" than the fact that the marriage is officially registered.
For foreigners anywhere in Asia, it's a long way to an official marriage, and chances are you get what you are after without having to go into a formal marriage. It will be easy to blame unfavorable circumstances, and you will never have to admit that you didn't intend a formal marriage in the first place.
Officially, marriages in Thailand are undertaken at the district office. Among Thais, formalizing a marriage is a matter of half an hour. If there are no disputes on property matters, divorces between Thais, too, are a matter of just half an hour. Divorces, like official marriages, just require both parties' signatures.
When one party (usually the male) is a foreigner, matters are much more complicated. For the marriage to be legally valid, a declaration of no legal impediment from the foreigner's embassy will be needed. But the embassy will only issue such a declaration with full documentation from the hometown of the foreigner who allegedly wants to marry in Thailand. This takes time and requires that the foreigner returns home.
But actually, you don't want to marry officially. And for Thai parents, especially in the provinces, officialdom, after all, is not the primary concern.
So, how to find a "wife" up-country?
Your chances are best in the North and Northeast.
Thais by and large have a very practical, down-to-earth approach to matters of love and sex. You can articulate openly to anybody with whom you are in conversation that you would like to find a "mia". You will be surprised how many people will offer to introduce you to some distant family members.
But beware: not every young women that is introduced to you and initially professes interest will actually want to go the distance … not even the distance to the defloration night. Foreigners have come to Thailand in search for sexual partners for many years, and many with the clear intention to find a wife, and not to mingle with prostitutes. Thais, even in remote provinces, have learned that this, too, can mean easy money.
Be prepared for the following schemes:
A really beautiful young women may be introduced to you by a go-between. She'll be shy, but charming, and will spend time with you, though under the close guard of relatives so that nothing sexual can occur. Marriage plans are discussed. And at about that time, the go-between will approach you to borrow money. Or money will be needed for an emergency in the family of the would-be bright (please pay attention to the fact that she is a would-be bride, but not a will-be bride). This is a situation in which many foreign men will feel it would be inappropriate to refuse. But they should. They should make it clear that economic aide will be forthcoming only after the marriage.
In most cases, the marriage will anyway not happen, whether the money is borrowed, or the emergency aide provided, or not. The sole purpose of the whole exercise, from the onset, often is just to part the foreigner from his money. Remember: in Thailand especially central Thailand, in spite of all the politeness, foreigners are usually considered underclass. Their sexual market value is below that of Thais. Young Thai women, if they can have it their way, clearly prefer Thai men, even when they are much poorer that foreign suitors. By contrast, in many other Southeast Asian and Asian countries, the sexual market value of foreigners is higher than that of locals.
And for me and like-minded men, these other Asian countries are more appropriate destinations.
+++
Laws
One of the laws that deals with sexual matters in Thailand is the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act. Only those above the age of 18 have the right to work as prostitutes.
According to the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act, a child is "a person who is not yet over 18 years of age" (on the other hand, I have known many women at the age of 17 who were not children but mothers of children, and mature adults).
The Thai Civil and Commercial Code states that indeed, marriages can be contracted when both parties are seventeen (17) years of age. However, with reasonable ground, a court can permit marriages at even a younger age. (The discrepancy between the marriage law and the "child" definition in the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act stems from the fact that the marriage law dates from a time when NGOs with anti-sexual agendas were far less active.)
On rape and statutory rape, Title IX Section 277 of the Thai Penal Code (Offences relating to sexuality) states:
Paragraph 1:
"Whoever has sexual intercourse with a girl not yet over thirteen (13) years of age, with or without her consent, shall be punished with imprisonment of seven (7) to twenty (20) years and a fine of fourteen thousand (14,000) to forty thousand (40,000) baht, or with imprisonment for life.
Paragraph 2:
"If the offence according to the first paragraph is committed with the participation of several persons, or by carrying or using a gun or explosives, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment for life.
"If the commission of the offence according to the first paragraph of Section 277 causes:
"1. grievious bodily harm to the victim, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of fifteen (15) to twenty (20) years and a fine of thirty thousand (30,000) to forty thousand (40,000) baht, or imprisonment for life.
"2. death of the victim, the offender shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life.
"If the commission of the offence according to the second paragraph of Section 277 causes:
"1. grievious bodily harm to the victim, the offender shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life.
"2. death to the victim, the offender shall be punished with death.
Title IX Section 285
"If the commission of the offence according to Section 277 is against a descendant, a pupil under one's care, a person under one's control or official authority, or a person under one's tutorship, guardianship, or curatorship, the offender shall be subject to a punishment which is heavier by one third.
Title IV Section 279
"Whoever commits an indecent act against a child not over thirteen (13) years of age, with or without her consent, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding ten (10) years or a fine not exceeding twenty thousand (20,000) baht, or both.
"If the offence according to the first paragraph is committed by threatening by any means whatever, or by violence, or by taking advantage of the child being in a condition of not being able to resist, or by causing such child to mistake the offender for another person, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding fifteen (15) years or a fine not exceeding thirty thousand (30,000) baht, or both."
From the above paragraphs, it is clear that statutory rape and statutory sexual molestation is established when sexual acts are committed with a girl who is not yet 13 years old.
However, this doesn't mean that sexual acts with consenting girls over 13 years of age would be legal. According to the Thai Prostitution Prevention an Suppression Act, sexual acts are illegal with a person under 18 years of age, if these acts happen in a prostitution setting. However, it is difficult to judge under what circumstances exactly sexual acts with, for example, a 16 or 17-year-old girl would fall under punishment by this law.
According to the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act, "prostitution" means: "The acceptance of sexual intercourse, or the acceptance of any other act, or the commission of any act, for sexual gratification of another person in a promiscuous manner, in order to gain financial or other benefit, no matter whether the person who accepts such acts and the person who commits such acts are of the same or opposite sex."
The definition is correct in that it states that prostitution is characterized not only by the aim for financial or other material benefit, but also by its promiscuous manner. A sexual relationship with a 17-year-old steady and faithful girlfriend who is financially supported, is not prostitution because she is not promiscuous.
Section 8 of the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act states:
"Whoever, for sexual gratification of himself or of a third person, commits sexual intercourse or any other sexual act against a person who is over fifteen (15) years but not yet over eighteen (18) years of age, with or without his or her consent, in a place for prostitution, shall be punished with imprisonment of one to three years and a fine of twenty thousand (20,000) to sixty thousand (60,000) baht.
"If the commission of the offence as specified in the first paragraph is committed against a child not over fifteen (15) years of age, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of two (2) to six (6) years and a fine of forty thousand (40,000) to one hundred and twenty thousand (120,000) baht.
The above paragraphs on sex with a person between 13 and 18 years do include the clear provision "in a place for prostitution".
Sure, brothels and the kind of Turkish baths and Ancient massage houses common in Thailand are places of prostitution. But how about one's hotel room, or one's own rented house? How about girls that are picked up on the street? How about a young prostitute becoming a man's steady live-in girlfriend whose livelihood is entirely supported by that man?
As the law clearly stipulates the condition "in a place of prostitution", variations as explained above must make a difference.
Apart from the above provisions on clients of prostitutes below the age of 18, the Thai Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act deals at length with punishments for procurers of prostitutes (above or below 18 years), parents who collude in having a child (not yet 18 years of age) enter prostitution, as well as owners, supervisors, and managers of places of prostitution.
Section 11 of the Prostitution Preventionand Suppression Act states:
"Whoever is the owner, supervisor, or manager of a prostitution business or a place for prostitution, or controller of a prostitute in the place of prostitution, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to fifteen (15) years, and a fine of sixty thousand (60,000) to three hundred thousand (300,000) baht.
"If the prostitution business or place for prostitution as specified, has a person not yet over eighteen (18) years of age performing the act of prostitution in such a place, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of five (5) to fifteen (15) years, and a fine of one hundredthousand (100,000) to three hundred thousand (300,000) baht.
"If the prostitution business or place for prostitution as specified, has a child not yet over fifteen (15) years of age performing the act of prostitution in such place, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of ten (10) to twenty (20) years, and a fine of two hundred thousand (200,000) to four hundred thousand (400,000) baht."
+++
Cases
The following two newspaper reports suggest that it is a bad idea, indeed, for foreigners to have anything to do with Thais below the age of 18, even if the intention may be that of a social worker.
http://www.thaivisa.com/index.php?514&backPID=514&begin_at=640&
swords=Source&tt_news=22
29-11-02
Farang falls to his death from 15th floor of condo
Foreign resident, 44 year old Sean Parlaman fell to his death from the 15th floor of Star Beach Condominium in Jomtien last Saturday afternoon.
The incident occurred after Pattaya criminal investigators paid a visit to Parlaman to question him on allegations of child abuse - a case which was still pending in court.
Parlaman agreed to meet with officers in the lobby of the condo block. Officers requested that he accompany them to the police station for an interview.
Parlaman told police he wanted to give his condo and car keys to a friend before he left with the officers. Police waited in the lobby while Parlaman went upstairs to hand over his keys to the friend. Shortly after Parlaman departed, the officers who were still waiting in the lobby heard a loud thud outside the building. Rushing to investigate, they found Parlaman's shattered body on the ground.
Sean Parlaman said he had been working with street children who were stuck on the merry-go-round of drugs and prostitution and hung out in South Pattaya's Sunee Plaza. He said he wanted them to find a better way of life and tried to recommend they connect with a number of charity organizations in the city and the region who are set up to help them.
Despite being told by a long-term resident, "If you think that these organizations have no connection with the police and the places you're trying take them out of then you are naive," he continued his work and in the end it was these organizations who accused Parlaman of sexual abuse against the children he had been helping.
On September 30th Parlaman was arrested and charged with sexually molesting a 12-year-old child attending the Fountain of Life Center.
The accusations, which he adamantly denied until his death, came from two people: a teacher posing as the child's guardian and the manager of the street kids' home in Banglamung.
Parlaman was accused of putting a bruise on the young boy's neck. But Parlaman said it occurred while the boy was playing with his friends.
The child, whose family is very poor was taken away and placed in a welfare institution. Distressed and wanting to go home the child was allegedly forced to admit to the incident in court.
Out on bail, Sean Parlaman continued to protest his innocence. In a letter to this office Sean Parlaman wrote; "After the October 30th deposition the questioning went badly for the prosecution, so the police pulled out the phony complains against me from May where the bar owner (Daeng) used some of his kids to 'get even' with me over his arrest."
The case was reported in this publication earlier this year with Daeng, the apparent owner of what was once called the Sports Bar in Sunee Plaza being arrested for the propagation of child prostitution. The Sports Bar has since changed its name with Daeng still operating the establishment.
Sean's letter continues; "According to someone who has tried to help me and who has 'connections' the boys were being told if they deny those earlier reports (from May) they can be jailed for a long time for perjury."
The reports from May were originally quashed with no hard evidence to support the case. But the later indictment was still under process in the court system and even if Parlaman was found innocent from the September 30th charges he would face another three charges of child abuse held over from May.
This entire situation draws similarities to a case in Chiang Rai, where a volunteer Swiss social worker, Ralph Frishknect was accused of sexually abusing children at the Childlife Center. Reports say that Frishknect had apparently informed several donors regarding misappropriation of funds and was subsequently persecuted, with charges not being made public. The case ended when Ralph was found hanging in his jail cell amidst accusations of police impropriety.
A number of people in Pattaya who knew Sean Parlaman revealed similar improprieties, saying that local police officers appeared as if they were on a witch-hunt, breaking into his apartment and conducting illegal investigations without the occupant's knowledge. Parlaman wrote; "...I want to tell you that I have never abused, exploited or in any other way harmed or taken advantage of anyone. I know that this story will not end up well for me..."
The story has ended and not well. Police have informed the court system that the case be dropped and closed because the accused is dead.
Sean Parlaman's body was transferred to the police forensic institute in Bangkok for an autopsy.
Source: Pattaya Mail, Nov 29, 2002
+++
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/thai-child-sex-charges-are-
payback-says-accused-australian/2005/09/02/1125302742475.html
Thai child sex charges are payback, says accused Australian
September 3, 2005
Christopher Ronald White is behind bars in Chiang Mai Central Prison, accused of serious child sex offences. To hear him talk, the former West Australian policeman, 46, tried to help a poor girl and her family but he was set up, and his actions misconstrued. Behind the brave face is a bitter man.
Just kilometres away, Pan, 16, lies in a public hospital ward. She wears a resigned half smile as she talks about her daughter, who died at birth this week.
For more than three years, from age 13, Pan lived in White's Bangkok house, attended a local temple school - and, by her account, had sexual relations with him, a charge he denies.
In an Akha hilltribe village in Burma, overlooking the far northern Thai town of Mae Sai, Pan's father, Aboya, is a happy man. Two of his daughters have foreign boyfriends, elevating his dirt poor life to one with a cement floor and colour TV.
Sitting on low stools in the tiny cement yard, he serves tea in chipped cups without handles, with green bananas and hot peanuts. "I think my daughters have a better life living with the farang," he said through a translator, showing pictures of the girls in swimming pools, at the beach and in well-appointed apartments. "And I like it materially, because I can ask my daughters for things."
Aboya said the older girl's boyfriend gave him 3000 baht ($96) a month, and had paid for his cement house, but White had given little, saying it was enough he was caring for his daughter.
White's story first emerged 10 days ago, when he was paraded for the cameras in Chiang Mai. The accompanying Thai-language news reports accused him of everything from holding a 13-year-old girl as a sex slave for three years to forcing her to perform sexual acts with him in pornographic videos for export to Australia to luring other young girls from Chiang Mai to Bangkok for similar purposes. The reports said 35 pornographic VCDs were confiscated in a raid on his Bangkok home. In fact only two had pornographic content.
The claims were picked up by news agencies and widely reported in Australia.
"My face is all over the West Australian newspapers. They didn't do an investigation; they just arrested me. My career has been destroyed," White told the Herald this week.
He has been charged with having sex with a girl under 15, which counts as rape under Thai law, and sexual harassment and abuse.
"I treated her exactly the same way I treated my own daughter," he said. "I tried to help her poor family; I tried to help her better herself." Asked if he had had sex with her, he said: "No, it would be like having sex with my own daughter."
Pan has a different story. "I met him at the night bazaar in Chiang Mai. I was selling flowers and Ami [another flower seller] introduced him. He asked me if I wanted to come to Bangkok. I am Akha so I have no identity papers. He bought some for me and two weeks later I moved to Bangkok," she said in a mix of broken English and Thai.
At first, she said, he treated her well. He sent her to a local school, once a year he took her to see her father (her mother is dead), and even sent her on a holiday to Phuket. Did they have a sexual relationship? "Yes, since the first time I went to Bangkok," she said.
"I went to Phuket for a holiday, and Christopher told me not to get a boyfriend. I have a boyfriend, and he was angry to me. Then he was choking, beating me, rape. He throw something at me like a vase."
She became pregnant, and the paternity of the baby that died this week is still unclear. DNA tests are being conducted. White said she had stopped living with him by last September.
In the first half of this year she spoke with a social worker in Mae Sai and the investigation into her story began. Police say that a Thai housekeeper who lived at the house has supported Pan's claim.
White's biological daughter, who also lived with them in Bangkok for part of that time, has reportedly dismissed it as lies.
White says Pan is just an excuse and that it is his career that has put him behind bars.
The former policeman has worked as a private investigator and security expert in the region for the past 15 years.
Last year he was hired by Burswood Casino to serve a writ, listed in the West Australian Supreme Court, on Thongthip Aektrakul, a Thai woman with strong political connections in Chiang Mai, who led a high-rolling gambling tour to Perth in February 2001, then failed to pay the bill.
He finally found Ms Thongthip and presented the writ in August last year, in Poipet, a gambling centre on the Cambodian side of the Thai border.
"She said to me, 'Don't come back to Poipet or you will not leave walking'," he said.
The casino bad debts story was published in Thailand on August 22. A day later Chiang Mai police raided White's Bangkok house and arrested him. "[Thongthip's] family certainly have connections here in Chiang Mai," he said.
However, White's claims of a payback arrest are dismissed by Chiang Mai's police investigator on child sexual abuse, Jareewan Puttanuruk.
"The investigation started on June 28, after the case was reported to us by International Justice Mission. The arrest warrant was issued on August 15," she said. "I have no information about him and the casino; I didn't know he was involved in that case."
White has another problem. Last month and in June Australian customs intercepted two packages, with DVDs containing child pornography, sent by a "Ryan White" to an associate in Australia. He admits sending them, saying he was tired of trying to get police agencies in Thailand to deal with the child pornography problem, and hoped to "obtain an awareness of what was happening here".
"I did it to make a difference."
The courts, first in Thailand, and possibly later in Australia, will decide what difference White has made.
