One of these suspects, a local fishmonger named Zulkipli Abdullah, was charged with the double murder, which made international headlines as crimes against tourists in Malaysia was extremely rare.

[1] After a short but highly reported trial that concluded in March 2015, Zulkipli was found guilty of murdering both Dalton and Brunger, and sentenced to death by hanging.

[3] On 6 August 2014, outside a bar in the Jalan Padungan area of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, two British nationals Aidan Brunger and Neil Dalton, both 22, were stabbed and died from the attack.

[8] About 500 family members, friends from school and Newcastle University attended Dalton's funeral at St Peter's Church in Belper.

Jane Calvert, dean of undergraduate studies for Newcastle University Medical School, offered her condolences for the victims, who were noted to be hard-working students who left a good impression on friends and teachers around them.

[23] It was later confirmed that only one of the suspects would be charged with murder, while the remaining four were re-classified as prosecution witnesses; three of them saw the crime, while the fourth helped dispose of evidence.

The main suspect, a fish seller named Zulkipli Abdullah, was charged with two counts of murder at the Kuching Magistrate's Court on 19 August 2014.

[24][25] At the time of his indictment, Zulkipli was a native of Kampung Gersik in Kuching and the only child of his parents, and his mother Fatimah Sauli reportedly pleaded for mercy on her only son.

Afterwards, when Brunger and Dalton decided to leave the cafe and walk back to their backpackers lodge about 2 km away between 4am and 4.15am, Zulkipli gave chase after the two men and was followed by his friends.

[33] The prosecution argued in their closing submissions in rebuttal that the attack on the victims was unprovoked and there was no gang fight occurring as Zulkipli had claimed in his defence.

Having rounded up the aggravating and mitigating factors alike, the trial court was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that there were sufficient grounds to convict Zulkipli of murder.

Forensic pathologist Michael Biggs appeared in court to testify that the two men had sustained "sharp force injuries" as a result of the stabbings.

The prosecution argued that Zulkipli's death sentences should stay, given that he had, in a fit of anger, savagely and mercilessly wielded a knife to attack and kill two strangers from a foreign land and there was premeditation based on the use of knives in this case.

The prosecution also cited that having committed the double murder "in such a gruesome, heinous, savage, vicious, violent and brutal manner", Zulkipli was clearly demonstrating "a blatant disregard for the sanctity of human life".