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Murdered Estonian model’s friend suspects she was heavy drug user, says report

Enam individu direman bantu siasatan kematian model

Murdered Estonian model Regina Soosalu was suspected to have been a heavy drug user before she died‎ in Pulau Rawa, a close friend of Soosalu told The Star.

"I believe that she often‎ got intoxicated and took party drugs for fun. This could have turned into addiction," the friend was quoted as saying.

The friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Soosalu had appeared to have lost weight, an indication of heavy drug use, and suggested this was why the model had spent a lot of time on Pulau Rawa.

"I was worried for her but she was there with her boyfriend, so I thought she would be okay," she told The Star.‎

Yesterday, The Star reported that Soosalu and her boyfriend Tunku Alang Reza Tunku Ibrahim, 28, had been involved in a drug case earlier this year and were charged in the Magistrate's Court on May 12 with possession of 5.84g of cannabis.

The couple pleaded not guilty and were released after paying a total of RM7,000 in bail.

Their lawyer Bustaman Menon Abdul Hamid Menon told The Star the case was ongoing and was last mentioned on May 25.

Tunku Alang Reza, who has links to a member of a royal family, was detained by police to assist investigations and remanded for seven days.

Johor CID chief Datuk Hasnan Hassan confirmed Tunku Alang Reza's arrest, which brings to seven the total number of people detained in connection with Soosalu's murder.

All of the suspects who have been arrested so far in connection with the model's murder were believed to have been on Pulau Rawa when Soosalu's body was discovered on the beach on July 1.

The Star quoted sources as saying those arrested were a bartender, two boatmen, a resort manager and an acquaintance of Tunku Alang Reza.

The police have yet to decide what further action to take, although they are currently questioning the seven people detained in the case.

"We will have to wait for all the lab test results and then decide on further action. We are also investigating if they (the suspects) tested positive for drugs," Johor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Hasnan Hassan told The Star.

He said Soosalu's body would only be released to her family in Estonia after investigations were over.

Soosalu was initially thought to have drowned but suspicious wounds on her body led to police reclassifying her death as murder.

The case has attracted national interest, and comes on the heels of a separate case involving the body of the British tourist found last month on Tioman Island after he went missing while hiking in the jungle. – July 12, 2014.