PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Friends of Estonian model Regina Soosalu are raising funds to help her family send her remains back to her homeland.
Soosalu's friends who have set up a Facebook page named "In Loving Memory of Regina Soosalu 7/Dec/1984-1/Jul/2014" said the money would also be used to hold a memorial here for her friends and family in Kuala Lumpur.
"We are looking into starting a fundraiser for her family in Estonia and are discussing this with the family," wrote the page administrator to The Star.
In addition, they are also looking at the possibility of getting a lawyer to hold a watching brief for Soosalu's family.
Estonian honorary consul to Malaysia Col (retired) Datuk Harbans Singh said he had advised the family to come to Malaysia and have her body cremated due to the high cost in sending it back.
He said one foreign airline had quoted a staggering RM120,000 (S$46,720) to take her body home.
"I have also advised the family it would be better for them to come here and speak directly with the police about the investigations," he said.
Police had informed him that they may need to retain Soosalu's body for investigations until the middle or the end of next week.
Harbans said he had also spoken to Soosalu's friends about raising funds for the family.
To date, police have released two of the seven people detained in relation to the murder of the freelance model who was mysteriously found dead in Pulau Rawa recently.
Johor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Hasnan Hassan said the two were released on Tuesday after police recorded their statements and other relevant details in regard to Soosalu's death.
"The other five are still being detained to assist in investigations," he said in a statement on Sunday.
The statement, however, did not state whether Soosalu's boyfriend Tunku Alang Reza Ibrahim was one of the two released.
It was reported that Soosalu, who was on a short vacation with her boyfriend, was initially thought to have drowned on July 1.
However, police later classified the case under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
Soosalu and Tunku Alang Reza were also reportedly involved in a drug case in January and were even brought to court in May to face charges.
