By: Stephen Then

MIRI, MALAYSIA: An enraged young husband beat his friend to death, claiming that the man had tried to have sex with his semi-naked wife after a group drinking spree.

The two men, believed to be labourers in their early 20s, confronted each other outside a shophouse in the city near the Mega Hotel-cum-shopping complex at 1am.

They kicked, punched and smashed each other's heads against the shophouse wall until one of them slumped motionless on the five-foot way.

The fight was witnessed by dozens of horrified onlookers, as the shophouse is located in the part of the city famous for its pubs and nightlife.

Policemen rushed to the scene and arrested a suspect.

Witnesses said that before the fight, the two were part of a group of men on a prolonged drinking binge which had started the night before.

Around 1am, the two men were heard quarrelling and fighting in a room at the top of the shophouse before they both came down and fought in the street.

The dead man was found wearing only his underwear and a T-shirt.

A young woman at the scene, believed to be the wife of the suspect, was taken to the central police station for questioning.

"The woman said that the man (who died in the fight) had gone to her room while her husband was still drinking in the shop below, pulled down her underwear and tried to 'kacau' her."

The husband came up, found the friend trying to have sex with the wife and attacked him.

Both of them then fought with each other inside the room and chased each other to the street below.

Miri deputy police chief Supt Ismail Idris confirmed that the the husband was under arrest.

"We are investigating the case as murder," he said.

This article was first published in The Star on June 24, 2008.