‘Cake’ might have been any teenager, anywhere
What’s on in the World, our foreign correspondents’ free weekly newsletter, is sent every Thursday. Below is an excerpt. Sign up to get the full newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Ban Bo, Thailand: No one in Thanchanok Donhomla’s family remembers exactly when or why he adopted the nickname “Kek”.
But they know he’s tired of his father’s original, tongue-in-cheek title.
“I named him Dukdik,” Thongchai Donhomla said with a smile, remembering this memory. It means something similar to something restless.
He “complained that it sounded like a puppy’s name”.
So Cake was.
In the painful two weeks since his fateful encounter with a slow-talking, slow-moving Australian near Pattaya, Thailand, the name has traveled the world as a symbol of disadvantage and the symbiotic depths of a rampant, unregulated sex scene populated by foreign men.
While these may be true, those who knew Cake best will remember him differently.
We recently spent an evening and morning with his extended family and villagers in the nondescript little Thai town of Ban Bo, about 600 kilometers northeast of tall grass and railroad tracks, where 17-year-old Cake’s tiny body was found inside a suitcase.
They were warm and welcoming; Even though they had little to share, they were trying to offer us dinner and were willing to talk.
Like any father, Thongchai was disturbed by the police report which stated that his daughter and her accused killer, Simon Peter Carman, “agreed to perform sexual services” after meeting near Jomtien Beach at 3am on June 25.
As Thongchai told us, he had excitedly gone on vacation to Pattaya on June 16 to “see the beach” and promised to return soon. As soon as he arrived, he called to let him know that he had succeeded.
Thongchai rushed to Pattaya when he was told his daughter was missing. During the journey, he received the sad news that the woman was found dead.
Carman, 45, claimed self-defense, according to investigators. Thai media reported that the two argued over just $20.
It’s clear that Cake is very popular at Ban Bo; He is a responsible teenager who takes care of his great aunt and younger cousin Wayu, to whom he promises to bring clothes home from the big city of Pattaya.
Thongchai said he sometimes washes people’s dishes to help his family with expenses.
If he had burning personal ambitions, he kept them to himself.
The cake was also alone. The victim of bullying at school, she and several friends spent long hours in Thongchai’s room, a boxy room with the window plastered for privacy.
Still in the corner, a ring light for making social media videos and a poignantly worn old photo album sat next to his body, which had escaped cremation, as did his other worldly possessions. He said Cake would sometimes bring it up and have Thongchai go through the faces and names.
She loved to wear make-up and beautiful dresses. She smiles that her father called her a “dinosaur” when he teased her about her clothes.
If it weren’t for the circumstances of his birth and geography, Cake could have been any teenager anywhere.
Support is available on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
Take notes directly from our foreign country reporters about things that make headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What’s on in the World Newsletter.
Zach Hope is a Southeast Asia correspondent. He is a former reporter for the Brisbane Times.Connect via email.
