KOTA KINABALU: A night out for two friends turned tragic when one of them was killed and the other left in critical condition following a fight at a pub in Bandaran Berjaya early on Sunday (June 16).
The victim, aged in his 20s, was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, while his friend was also warded at the same facility.
Kota Kinabalu police chief Asst Comm Kasim Muda said the deceased victim was stabbed multiple times with a sharp object following an altercation with a suspect at the entertainment spot.
He said the two friends, who were Indonesians and crewmen of a fishing vessel, had proper personal documents.
"They had gone to the nightspot to have a good time," he said when contacted.
He said they were alerted by a worker at the entertainment outlet about the incident at 2am, adding that a police team reached the scene 10 minutes later.
"Both the victims were seriously hurt and were rushed to the hospital where one of them was confirmed to have died," ACP Kasim said.
"Our investigations found that the fight took place due to a past misunderstanding," he added.
He noted that the brawl had started inside the entertainment outlet.
"We are still trying to identify those involved in the fight, but so far, we believe there is one suspect," he said.
ACP Kasim said the person believed to be the suspect was caught on the outlet’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera.
"The case is being probed under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder," he said, adding that the victim’s body has been sent for a postmortem to ascertain the actual cause of death.
