Perth man accused of killing Thai teen says he’s not an ‘evil monster’

A Perth man accused of killing a Thai teenager and hiding her body in a suitcase claims he is not an “absolute evil monster”.

Simon Peter Carman claimed to Nine newspapers that he was the victim of a street hustle gone wrong.

The 46-year-old has spent the past four months behind bars in Thailand, fighting claims he intentionally strangled the underage girl to death.

In the new interview from jail, the former truck driver said he had good reason not to call police the night 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla, nicknamed Cake, died.

Carman is facing the death penalty or life over the alleged murder.

He was seen on CCTV walking hand-in-hand with the 17-year-old to his Pattaya apartment in June.

She was never seen alive again.

Carman said they got into a physical struggle after he claims the teen threatened him with a pocket knife to his throat, demanding money.

Speaking through a telephone behind a large glass panel and bars, he said he pinned her to the ground before she died.

An autopsy found the teenager died from suffocation and a brain injury.

Carman told The Age he was 100 per cent certain he didn’t restrict the teen’s airway.

“I could physically see her breathing,” he said.

"She had, like, a floral dress on, and I could see her ribcage and stomach going up and down."

Last month, he confessed in court to hiding the girl’s body in bushland near railway tracks.

Carman says police corruption was the reason he didn’t call for help.

He claimed he had once been breath tested by “fake police” who allegedly coerced him into paying 20,000 Baht ($850).

Carman originally denied all charges against him, including murder.

However, he changed his plea to one of the charges after a judge said leniency would be on his side if he admitted to concealing the teenager’s body.

Carman returns to court in December.