Irishman found murdered with cryptic note

GEORGE TOWN: An information technology manager from Ireland was found murdered on Monday evening (March 4) in his Penang condominium unit at Bangunan MBF in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah here, along with a cryptic note.

George Town police chief Che Zaimani Che Awang said the victim, identified as Brian Patrick O’Reilly, 50, was stationed here by Singapore-based company First Lookout Marketing, The Star Online reported.

He said police believe the deceased, who moved in on Feb 4, was hit with a pot and a frying pan, stabbed in the stomach and slashed on the neck.

Che Zaimani said police also found a handwritten note near the victim which read: “I respected the Police & Still Do But Justice Sometimes has to be Gained. I Hate you Mafia Kiling Scamers, I Love My Girl”.

The note was written on a piece of paper which appeared to be torn from the popular selfhelp book The Subtle Art Of Not Giving a F*ck.

The body was discovered by a property agent who wanted to get from O’Reilly the keys to his office, which was next door, to fix the air-conditioning there, the New Straits Times (NST) reported.

“The property agent had contacted the deceased on Saturday (March 2) to get the keys from him but to no avail,” said the police chief.

“When he failed to reach the deceased, the property agent, along with a representative from the condominium management, had gone to his unit,” he added.

“As soon as they knocked on the door, a fair-skinned man walked out, informing them the deceased was unwell and all appointments had to be cancelled.”

When another attempt by the property agent to contact O’Reilly on Monday failed, he called the victim’s company in Singapore which advised him to get help from a locksmith to enter the residential unit.

There they found the Irishman’s body soaked in blood lying in the master bedroom.

Che Zaimani said the surveillance camera in the lobby of the condominium showed four men - one Indian and three Caucasians, including the deceased - entering a lift to his unit on level 12 on Friday (March 1) evening, Sin Chew Daily reported. All four of them left the building several minutes later.

“Early on Saturday, a man had registered himself to go up to the deceased’s unit,” said Che Zaimani. “And around noon the same day, a man carrying a suitcase and believed to be the suspect left the building in an Audi.”

“The deceased is believed to have been dead for less than 24 hours before he was found,” he said, adding that the victim’s hands were tied with a shoestring and his legs were bound with a piece of cloth.

The case is being investigated for murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.