Family of murder victim arrives in Ireland

THE family of the murdered Malaysian Chinese woman, Ms Mandy Wong, has arrived in Dublin to oversee the return of her remains to Malaysia.

Meanwhile, another murder investigation has begun in Dublin into the death of a man from the Liberties area who died in hospital yesterday. Mr William Cahill (28) suffered a beating near his home in Basin Street flats in the early hours of Sunday last. Local people said Mr Cahill was beaten and kicked by two men as he lay on the ground.

According to locals, he had been involved in another fight a few days earlier in the same area, possibly with one of the men involved in the attack on him on Sunday.

Mr Cahill was taken to St James's Hospital but failed to recover consciousness. He was kept on a life support machine but showed no sign of recovering from severe head injuries. He was declared dead early yesterday.

Mr Cahill lived with his mother in Basin Street flats. He had a minor criminal record for burglary and theft but there was no indication that the killing was connected with crime. Gardai are hopeful of early arrests.

Meanwhile yesterday the mother and sister of Ms Wong, killed in a rented house in Walkinstown, arrived in Dublin. The family was notified on Wednesday morning about her death and left Malaysia immediately for Ireland. Ms Wong was five months pregnant and had only recently stopped working.

The Garda investigation into Ms Wong's death is said to be still in its initial stages and no arrests have been made. Detectives have spoken to three men who shared the house in Bunting Road with Ms Wong and her boyfriend. All four worked in Chinese take aways in west Dublin.

It is understood that the Garda may employ interpreters as the occupants of the house where Ms Wong lived have poor English.

Ms Wong was strangled in the bathroom, apparently as she prepared to wash her hair on Tuesday night. There is no clear motive for the attack. There were no other injuries and she did not appear to have been sexually assaulted.

Ms Wong worked in the take away food trade in Dublin for two years and is thought to have been preparing to leave after having saved money.

Gardai said there was no sign of a break in at the house where Ms Wong lived. Neighbours said the house had been used by a number of tenants over the past two years but there had never been any previous reports of trouble.

Gardai were called to the house early on Wednesday by a call believed to have been made by one of the tenants who had just returned from work.