KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the two British medical students who were stabbed to death in Kuching, Sarawak on Wednesday.
Najib in his Twitter posting also called for those responsible for the death of Neil Dalton, 23, and Aiden Brunger, 22, to be brought to justice.
“My condolences to families and friends of Britons Neil Dalton and Aidan Brunger. Those responsible for their deaths must be brought to justice,” he tweeted.
The Newcastle University students were on an exchange program with Borneo Medical Centre and were doing their internship at the Sarawak General Hospital.
They were supposed to have ended their three month stint here today.
In the 4am incident on Wednesday, Dalton and Brunger were believed to have been highly intoxicated when they were arguing at a coffee shop in Abell Road when a group of four men, who had come from a pub, told them off.
Sources said one of the students flipped a table and slapped one of the men before leaving. The four men, aged 19 to 35, then chased after Dalton and Brunger before attacking and stabbing them.
Police later launched a manhunt and three out of the four suspects were picked up at their houses in Green Road, Kampung Gersik and Kampung Pulo, Kuching hours after the incident.
The fourth suspect was picked up at his home in Kenyalang Park at 4.45pm on the same day.
In KUCHING, police received clearance from British High Commission officials for a post-mortem to be done on the two British students at 11am today (Friday).
State deputy police commissioner Datuk Dr Chai Khin Chung said an official from the British High Commission will be present during the procedure to represent the next of kin.
"We have yet to receive any information on the arrival of the next of kin here as of now," said Chai.
He said said the four suspects admitted to the killing of two Britons during interrogation.
"They have admitted to the crime and under the law it would take at least seven to 10 days before they are charged for their offences. We are also working closely with the prosecution team, where they will decide how they should be prosecuted," said Chai.
Police have classified the case as murder under the Penal Code, and the accused could face 20 years jail or death sentence.
Meanwhile, a British High Commission spokesperson said the victim's families were already notified and they were constantly being updated about the latest developments. However, the spokesperson was unsure when the victims’ families would claim the remains.
"We have a local consular staff assisting us with the case and any developments will be known at a later date," she said.
Kuching was rocked by the case as murder is something rare for the locals. Some city folk laid flowers near the bus stop in Abell Road where the two Britons were stabbed.
One of the notes left at the bus stop read: "May both of your souls rest in peace. Condolence to family and friends. Deepest sympathies from Good Sarawakians."