By: Rashitha A. Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR - A man claimed he went for a meal with a woman companion after beating up his wife - only to find her dead when he came back.

The wife's body, covered with a comforter, was found in a pool of blood on the floor of their hotel room in Kepong here.

The couple, from Chemor, Perak, were here to look for jobs and had been staying at the hotel since checking in last Friday with a 20-year-old woman friend.

Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Zakaria Pagan said the couple had a big fight between midnight and 4am, after the husband accused his 30-year-old wife of having an affair with another man.

He said the husband assaulted his wife with a hot water flask and an electric cable and then stripped her naked.

Their friend, who was in the room when the fight occurred, was also injured when she tried to stop him.

After he cooled down, the man and the friend went for a meal at a nearby restaurant.

"When they returned at 5.30am, they knocked on the door but there was no response," ACP Zakaria said, adding that they could not get into the room as they gone out without taking the key.

They then sought the help of hotel staff to open the room door.

ACP Zakaria said they found the wife's body lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

The husband then wanted to leave the scene with the woman companion, but she refused and locked the room door.

The man then left in a blue Nissan Vanette bearing registration number WNB 5698.

Policemen who arrived at the hotel unit at 6am found bruises on the wife's face, head and body.

"There were blood stains on the walls of the room," ACP Zakaria said, adding that the husband was believed to have been under the influence of drugs during the fracas.

The couple, who are cousins, have been married for nine years but do not have any children.

Police are looking for Zulfikar Ali Moideen to assist in investigations and those with information on his whereabouts are urged to contact the nearest police station.

The case has been classified under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.

--The Star/ANN