Inquest into deaths of medical students stabbed in Borneo

The inquest into the deaths of two medical students stabbed in Borneo is due to be held today.

Newcastle University students Aidan Brunger, from Kent, and Neil Dalton, from Ambergate in Derbyshire, were killed in the unprovoked attack in Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo in August last year.

The country's high court sentenced Zulkipli Abdullah, 23, to death for the murder in March.

During the trial, it was heard that Abdullah said he wanted to "test his strength" against bigger and taller foreigners before committing the attack.

The prosecutor also said that, after he stabbed the pair, he sniffed the blood on his hands and claimed it smelled nice.

Zulkipli had denied stabbing them but the court ruled that his defence was merely an afterthought, with the attack outside a cafe in the early hours being entirely unprovoked.

The hearing into the deaths of the two 22-year-olds will be held at the Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner's Court at 10am.

Following the court hearing in March, the families of Mr Brunger and Mr Dalton put out a joint statement paying tribute to their sons and calling their murders "senseless".

They said: "Since Aidan and Neil were killed on 6 August 2014, our lives have been shattered.

"They were two exceptional young men with such promise - kind, funny and full of life. Their deaths have left their families and many good friends utterly devastated.

"Neil and Aidan were having a wonderful time in Borneo working in Sarawak Hospital and also travelling around seeing as much of the beautiful country as they could. Both boys said how very welcoming and friendly the people were.

"Our sons would soon have qualified as doctors. Their unprovoked and senseless murders as they were walking home after a night out with other medical students mean that Aidan and Neil will never have the chance to spend their lives caring for and helping others.

"They would have given so much to the world. We are so very proud of both of them and in what they achieved in their all too short lives."