KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — A Caucasian man considered the primary suspect in the murder of an Irish national in Penang last week has fled the country, according to the police.

Penang police chief Commissioner Datuk T. Narenasagaran was quoted saying that the police are working with the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) to track him down.

"The suspect left the building in an Audi, carrying a suitcase. He was last seen going out from the building where victim Brian Patrick O’Reilly, 50, was staying,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

"He is key in our investigation.”

It is believed the suspect was the person who wrote a cryptic note left near the victim’s body, which read:  "I respected the police & still do but justice sometimes has to be gained. I hate you Mafia killing scamers. I love my girl. She is...”

Yesterday, two people believed to be the victim’s friends were remanded for three days to assist in police investigations into the case.

Last Friday, O’Reilly was found covered in blood in the master bedroom of his condominium unit in MBF Tower at about 5.15pm, with his hands bound using shoelaces and his feet tied with cloth.

The 50-year-old’s body had slash wounds on the neck, stab wounds on the abdomen, and signs of being hit with a wok.

The victim, who had worked as an information technology manager for a Singapore-based company, was dead less than 24 hours before his body was discovered by a real estate agent.