Billionaire’s playboy fugitive son who fled UK after student, 23, raped and murdered told ‘you can’t hide forever’
THE grieving father of a murdered student has begged an Arab billionaire's son to return to the UK to face a trial, saying "you can't hide forever".
Prime suspect Farouq Abdulhak fled to Yemen in his dad's private jet after a 23-year-old Norwegian, Martine Vik Magnussen, was raped and strangled back in 2008.
Farouq Abdulhak fled to Yemen after Martine's killing
Her body was discovered under debris in a rubbish chute at an exclusive block in London's West End, where fellow student Abdulhak, 22, rented a flat.
But there is no extradition treaty between Britain and Yemen, where Abdulhak has hid under the protection of his family.
Last night British detectives branded the billionaire playboy a “coward” as they called for him to return to the UK.
He has chosen to flee, chosen to hide, hoping this matter would all go away — the actions of a coward
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge,
Addressing Abdulhak, Martine's father Odd Petter Magnussen told the : “In today’s globalised world, you cannot hide for ever from the oldest and most serious crime known to man — the rape and murder of a woman.
"I appeal to you to return to the UK to assist the police in finding out what happened to Martine.
“I regard you as a coward unless you take responsibility for your actions.”
The 23-year-old student was strangled after she went out to celebrate her end-of-term exams at Mayfair's Maddox nightclub in 2008.
Her partially-concealed body was found in rubble in the basement of flats in Great Portland Street in central London on March 16 2008.
A post-mortem examination gave her cause of death as compression to the neck.
She had also been raped and an inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court in 2010 recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.
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Ms Vik Magnussen was last seen with Abdulhak — son of billionaire sugar magnate Shaher Abdulhak — as the pair left the nightclub in the early hours of March 14.
They both studied international business relations at the private Regent's Business School in Regent's Park.
Abdulhak remains the only suspect and Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "It must be clear to Farouk Abdulhak, the person sought in connection with Martine's murder, that this matter is not going to go away and that his status as a wanted man will remain.
"The dignity, resolve and courage shown by the Magnussen family over the past 12 years has been in stark contrast to the conduct of Abdulhak.
