Australian man in Thai murder case claims he acted in self-defence

In a rare interview granted by Thai authorities, Simon Peter Carman, an Australian citizen charged with killing 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla in Pattaya, maintained that he acted only to protect himself from a stabbing. He told one outlet that he had given the girl a small sum of money, that she demanded more, and that she produced a knife, prompting a struggle that ended with her becoming limp. Police say they captured CCTV of the pair entering his condo hand-in-hand, later finding the victim’s body in a suitcase dumped near railway tracks.

The Pattaya police investigation concluded last week and the dossier will be sent to the local prosecutor’s office, which has a deadline of 18 September to bring formal charges. Carman faces four indictments, including murder, concealment of a corpse and abducting a minor for indecent purposes, carrying a possible death sentence or life term. The victim’s father has called for the harshest punishment, describing his loss as a deep heartbreak.