Irishman brutally murdered in Malaysia: reports

An Irishman has been brutally murdered in Malaysia, with his body found tied up and covered with stab wounds in a high-end condominium, reports said on Wednesday.

Brian Patrick O'Reilly's body was discovered Monday in George Town, on the northern island of Penang, where he had been working as an IT manager for about a month, official news agency Bernama reported, citing police.

Two people, a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s, have been arrested as part of investigations. Police are also hunting a "fair-skinned foreign man", The Star newspaper reported.

The 50-year-old's hands had reportedly been tied together with shoelaces and his legs were bound with cloth. As well as showing signs of being stabbed, police believe he may have been hit with a pot and frying pan.

Three people were seen entering the condominium with O'Reilly late Friday, and then left shortly afterwards.

"A check of the man's home found a safe in one of the rooms had been ransacked and there were signs of a struggle," local police official Che Zaimani Che Awang was cited as saying by Bernama.

A cryptic handwritten note with an angry message directed at "scammers" was found next to O'Reilly. His blood-soaked body was discovered by a property agent who was visiting his condominium.