Friend says: Why would anyone do it to her?

A Singaporean student was found dead in a Brisbane hotel early on Tuesday.

Ms Meena Narayanan, 27, (right) had horrific wounds, Australian police said.

A man, who also had stab wounds, was suspected to have stabbed her in the stomach.

Detectives are investigating if the student was to be involved in an arranged marriage, The Australian reported on its website.

Her body was found in a third-storey room at the Travelodge hotel in Upper Mount Gravatt.

A staff member called the police after hearing screams from the room. Police forced their way in just after 12.30am.

They found the body and a man with suspected self-inflicted wounds. He was taken to hospital, where he was under police guard.

The man, 31, an Indian from South Africa, was in serious condition on Tuesday night.

KNIFE SEIZED

A knife was also seized by the police.

Detective Inspector Tod Reid said the woman's family was assisting the police in their investigations.

Her brother had arrived in Brisbane from Singapore but did not speak to the newspaper.

"Her family are quite distraught obviously and we're speaking with them at the moment to gather background," Inspector Reid said.

In February last year, the student had written on social media that she was enjoying her life after passing an exam.

She wrote: "I'm very happy. Today marks another milestone in my life. A lot has happened and is still going on. Goes to show that when going gets tough… the tough gets going. However I wldnt have made it half as far without the support from my loved ones. You know who u all are!"

According to online profiles, she had worked in ­finance and accounting positions in Singapore and was studying for a masters in business at the Queensland University of Technology.

In Singapore, a friend from Ms Meena's Christchurch Secondary School days, Mr Lenny Lim, said those who knew her were in shock.

A friend in Australia had sent him a link to a video clip of the news.

Mr Lim told The New Paper: "When I told the rest of my secondary school friends, a common response was 'Don't play such a sick joke'.

"I really hoped it was all a joke."

Mr Lim, 30, a PR director, had last seen Ms Meena in 2010, when he bumped into her at the airport. She was on her way back to Australia after spending her holiday in Singapore.

He said: "I don't understand why anyone would do anything like this to her. You wouldn't think that this would happen to anyone as nice as her. "She was always pleasant, always smiling and she had no enemies."

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