Malaysian faces hanging for murder of British student doctors in Borneo

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/19/malaysian-murder-charge-british-medics

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A Malaysian man is facing the death penalty after being charged with the murder of two British medical students in Borneo.

Zulkipli Abdullah, 23, a fishmonger, was on Tuesday charged with the fatal stabbing of the Newcastle University students Neil Dalton and Aidan Brunger on 6 August.

The murder charge carries a mandatory penalty of death by hanging.

Four other Malaysians will appear as prosecution witnesses, the Sarawak deputy police chief Chai Khin Chung told AFP news agency.

He said three of the men had seen the crime, while the fourth had helped dispose of evidence.

Wearing orange overalls, Abdullah was led into a magistrates court in Kuching where he was charged. No plea was entered.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said officials were in contact with the families of Dalton and Brunger.

An inquest into their deaths was opened in Derbyshire on Monday and adjourned to 30 September. Derby and South Derbyshire coroner's court heard the men were stabbed following a row in a cafe or bistro in Kuching on 6 August.

The pair, who were on a hospital work placement in Borneo, have been awarded posthumous degrees by Newcastle University.

In a statement last week, Brunger's family said: "The family is so proud that, whilst he has been unable to complete his degree, he will be remembered as Dr Aidan Brunger."

Dalton's parents said: "We are just a normal family and cannot believe what has happened.

"Neil was a caring, thoughtful and witty young man, who never thought twice about helping others. He achieved so much and made so many friends in a short time. We are so very proud of him."

Brunger, of Rainham, Kent, and Dalton, of Ambergate, Derbyshire, had completed four years of study.