An Australian ex-pat who runs a successful sail boat tour company on the tourist island of Phuket in Thailand has been charged with murder. Mark Pendlebury - known affectionately by locals as 'Captain Mark' as he is never without his captain's hat and pipe - was trying to break up a fight outside Taipan nightclub on Wednesday night. The former Perth businessman, 59, was on his way home from a Patong Rotary meeting when he came across the scuffle, Phuket Wan reported. Mark Pendlebury (right) runs a successful sail boat tour company on the tourist island of Phuket . The 59-year-old man who is from Perth was charged with murder after he tried to intervene during a scuffle . It is alleged Pendlebury stabbed security guard, Sanya Khluewaengmon, after he tried to stop the Australian from filming the fight outside the nightclub about 12.30am local time on Wednesday. 'Before I knew it, I was being badly beaten up. I pulled out my knife and waved it back and forth to defend myself,' Pendlebury told local media from his jail cell at Kathu Police Station. 'A couple of Indians jumped in and with their help I was able to escape a little distance down the street. If the Indian tourists hadn't rescued me, I reckon I would be dead.' Pictures have emerged of Pendlebury that show him with a bloodied arm in a hospital bed, while being interviewed by police. The knife used in the alleged stabbing of a security guard at Taipan nightclub in Patong in Thailand's south . Pendlebury appears to have blood down his arm and is here being interviewed by police in his hospital bed . He is often seen with his captain's hat and a pipe, which earned him the nickname 'Captain Mark' Local media have described him as a generous man who volunteered through the Rotary club. Mr Sanya  was also taken to Patong hospital along with Pendlebury, but hospital staff were unable to save Mr Sanya. He died an hour and a half later. It is understood Australia's honorary consul has visited Pendlebury in jail as his lawyers seek bail for the Australian ex-pat. During his interview with police, Pendlebury said he had pulled out a knife to defend himself against the security guard who had tried to stop him filming a scuffle outside the club . He said he remembered being beaten up badly after he was told to stop filming by Sanya Khluewaengmon . Mr Sanya died an hour and a half after he was taken to Patong hospital from his injuries . Kathu Police Station's superintendent Chaiwat Auikam said investigations into the incident were ongoing. Detectives are going through CCTV footage along with seeking out video taken by witnesses on the night. The 59-year-old has a Thai wife and has been running his business since 2004.
Mark Pendlebury was charged with murder in Kathu in Thailand's south . The former Perth man intervened during a fight outside Taipan nightclub . Pendlebury, 59, claims he was trying to film the scuffle before the incident . It is alleged he stabbed a security guard who was trying to stop him filming . Pendlebury claims he pulled out a knife to defend himself from injury . The security guard was taken to hospital but died an hour and a half later .