TWO people have been arrested over the murder of an Irish citizen who was found brutally stabbed to death in his Malaysian apartment in bizarre circumstances.
The body of IT technician Brian Patrick O'Reilly, 50, was discovered on Monday evening at MBf Tower in George Town, Penang, where he had recently moved to for work.
South African-born O'Reilly – who travelled on an Irish passport he was entitled to through his heritage – had been hit over the head with a frying pan and received knife wounds to his throat and stomach, while his arms and legs were bound with a shoestring and piece of cloth.
Police also found a cryptic note beside his body written on a piece of paper torn from the popular self-help book The Subtle Art Of Not Giving a F*ck by US author Mark Manson.
The note read: "I respected the police & still do but justice sometimes has to be gained. I hate you mafia killing scamers [sic] I love my girl and she is dead."
An Indian man, aged 43, and a Chinese woman, 37, have been arrested but police are still searching for another man who is believed to be the main suspect.
Mr O'Reilly had been living and working at MBf Tower in George Town, Penang for less than a monthThis third suspect, described as "fair-skinned", told a property agent who knocked on Mr O'Reilly's door on Saturday that the Irishman was feeling unwell and to come back another time.
The murder was not discovered until Monday evening when the property agent arranged for a locksmith to open the door to Mr O'Reilly's apartment.
According to local media, CCTV footage from the building shows Mr O'Reilly and three others entering an elevator last Friday night before all four were seen leaving the building several minutes later.
The prime suspect, who was carrying a suitcase, was spotted leaving the apartment and driving away in an Audi shortly after noon on Saturday.
Mr O'Reilly had only arrived in Penang in recent weeks after being transferred to Malaysia from Singapore by his employer First Lookout Marketing.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said it stood ready to provide consular assistance to the Irish citizen's family if requested. However, he confirmed there had been no request by Tuesday night.
The two arrested suspects appeared before a local magistrates court this morning for a remand hearing, reports the Malay Mail.
Senior Assistant Registrar Musa Maria Azmi allowed a three-day remand order for the man and woman until Friday.
Police are awaiting the results of a post-mortem carried out at Penang General Hospital on Tuesday to confirm Mr O'Reilly's exact cause of death.
