An Australian man has pleaded not guilty in court to charges of murder and concealment of a body in connection with the death of a teenage girl in an eastern Thai tourist city.
Simon Peter Carman was arrested in June after 17-year-old girl Tunchanok Donhomla was reported missing in Pattaya City, about 150km southeast of Bangkok, and a suitcase containing her body was found soon afterward.
Prosecutors indicted Carman, 45, on Thursday, according to Pattaya City Police.
He was also charged with two counts of committing indecent acts on a minor.
The Pattaya Provincial Court said in a media release on Friday that Carman consulted with his lawyer and denied all charges, saying he was acting in self-defence and he did not know the girl's real age.
It said his request to be released on bail was denied due to flight risk.
The court scheduled an October 12 hearing to examine the evidence.
Carman is being detained at Pattaya Remand Prison.
A conviction on the charge of premeditated murder carries the possibility of a death penalty.
Police said the girl was last seen on security footage walking into a condominium with Carman.
He was later seen leaving the building alone with a large suitcase.
Security footage showed him loading it onto a motorbike and riding into a deserted area along the railway.
Carman was arrested at a Bangkok airport before boarding a flight to Australia.
Police said subsequent questioning led them to the suitcase with the girl’s body.
In a police interrogation video shared online by Thai media, Carman said he was defending himself because the girl was threatening him with a knife.
