The body of Brian Patrick O’Reilly, 50, was found sprawled in a pool of blood at his MBf Tower apartment by a colleague at 5.15pm. His feet were bound with cloth and his arms tied with a shoelace.

Police believe he may have been dead since Friday night.

The body was discovered by a real estate agent at the apartment after calls to O’Reilly went unanswered.

The agent had tried to reach him for the keys to his office at Menara BHL Bank next door for air-conditioning maintenance works.

Investigators at the scene said he was likely struck on his head with a cooking pan and his throat cut with a knife. There was also a stab wound to his stomach.

Northeast district police chief Che Zaimani Che Awang said closed-circuit television cameras showed O’Reilly leaving the apartment last Friday at 9.57pm.

Zaimani said a local man who registered as a guest to visit O’Reilly was recorded entering at 6.23am on Saturday.

At 12.09pm on the same day, a lone Caucasian male was seen leaving the apartment carrying a bag. Investigators believe him to be the murder suspect.

“We feel this man is the key suspect in the murder. He was seen leaving the apartment in an Audi car.

“We also conducted a forensic investigation at the scene and lifted fingerprints and took DNA samples,” Zaimani said.

A note found at the scene read: “I respect the police and still do but justice sometimes has to be gained. I hate you mafia killing scammers. I love my girl and she is dead.”

The note was written on a piece of paper which appeared to be torn from the first page of the book, “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***”.

A post-mortem will be conducted at the Penang Hospital today.