BANGKOK (AFP): An Australian accused of murdering a teenage girl in Thailand and abandoning her body in a suitcase pleaded not guilty in court on Friday, citing self-defence.
Simon Peter Carman, 45, was arrested at a Bangkok airport in June as he prepared to take a flight back to Australia, after the 17-year-old victim's friend had reported her missing.
The young woman's body was found in a suitcase near a railway track in Pattaya, a seaside resort city south of the capital Bangkok.
Police said she died of suffocation.
Carman appeared on Friday at Pattaya Provincial Court, where he denied all charges, citing "self-defence and a mistaken belief about the victim's age", a court statement said. It did not elaborate further.
The Australian is charged with murder, concealing a body and taking a minor aged between 15 and 18 for indecent purposes.
The court denied Carman's bail application after prosecutors opposed his release, saying he posed a flight risk. The next court date was set for October 12.
Police previously said CCTV footage showed him entering a condominium in Pattaya with the girl and leaving that evening carrying a large black suitcase.
The case put the spotlight on Pattaya, which is popular with foreign tourists for its beaches and nightlife, but also has a reputation for sex tourism. -- AFP
