Foreign Minister Penny Wong has expressed horror over the death of a Thai teenager whose naked body was discovered crammed into a suitcase, allegedly murdered by an Australian man. Simon Peter Carman, 45, was arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday and later charged with the murder of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla.
Minister's Response
“It’s a horrific case and I think we’ve all been horrified by what has happened and our sympathy goes to the friends and family,” Wong said. She noted that she was “bound by privacy obligations” when discussing the level of consular assistance provided to Carman. “We obviously provide consular assistance to Australians overseas where required,” Wong added.
Limited Consular Help
Former homicide detective Charlie Bezzina said the assistance will be “very limited.” “Having been involved with a number of cases overseas ... (the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) are obligated to look after Australian citizens but they are very limited because you are at the beck and call of the host country,” he told 7NEWS.
Carman faces the death penalty in Thailand if convicted. Thai police allege he met the teenager in the coastal resort town of Pattaya, about two hours south of Bangkok. It is alleged he engaged her for sexual services, but a dispute over payment led to her being strangled and placed in a suitcase.
Evidence and Arrest
CCTV footage allegedly showed the pair holding hands as they entered his apartment, but only Carman was seen leaving. Police found the teen’s body stuffed in a suitcase and dumped in grass near a railway track, a short distance from the beachfront. Carman was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport while allegedly preparing to flee to Australia.
He was charged with concealing and moving a body, and abducting a minor for indecent purposes. It is understood he has not yet appointed a lawyer but has denied the allegations, claiming self-defence and stating the teen held a knife to his neck. “I feel bad for what happened to your daughter,” he said in a message to the teen’s family after his arrest. “It was out of my control.”
Background
Until eight months ago, Carman had been living in an industrial unit in Rockingham in Perth’s south. Neighbours said he survived on a disability pension after suffering a neck injury while driving trucks, and that he told them he was leaving for Thailand to have surgery before selling his possessions and disappearing. The investigation continues.
