KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Lawyers representing the family of a Malaysian student found dead in Taipei said today that the death certificate released by Taiwanese authorities had determined her cause of death as murder by manual strangulation.

"According to the death certificate, she died of homicide and manual strangulation.

"It is not suicide. The death certificate is in the hands of the family,” said lawyer Kitson Foong.

Taiwan media reported that a 24-year-old Malaysian woman, only named as Chai, who was studying mass communication at a Taipei university, was found dead at her apartment on October 13.

Police then remanded Chen Bo Yan, who was reported to have claimed to be Chai’s boyfriend, as the main suspect in the case on October 17.

"The family weren’t aware of the relationship between them and does not know the young man. We will leave the investigation to Taiwan police,” said Foong when asked if Chai’s family were aware of Chen’s existence before this.

Foong said that Chai’s family have appointed a Taiwanese lawyer to advise on legal procedures and provide options concerning civil suits for wrongful death in the Taiwan courts.

"The family want the investigation and prosecution process to be started swiftly and thoroughly.

"Justice to the family is when the actual perpetrator is prosecuted and brought to book,” said Foong when asked by reporters about the Chai family’s response to Chen’s arrest.

The family and their legal representatives also urged the public and media to refrain from spreading rumours and engaging in speculation and to respect their privacy during this time of grief.

They added that they are planning to disable the comments function on Chai’s social media accounts to stop Internet users from posting negative comments and rumours.

The family also expressed their gratitude to Taiwan authorities for providing them with continuous victim support ever since Chai’s death was discovered.

Chai’s body was cremated in Taiwan and her ashes brought back to Malaysia two days ago.