Seremban nun succumbs to head injury

SEREMBAN : Sister Juliana Lim, one of two nuns attacked at a church here last week, died without regaining consciousness at the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital here today.
The 69-year-old nun of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus (IJ) Order, who suffered severe head injuries, was in coma after being battered by her assailant.
She breathed her last at 3.25pm.
Negri Sembilan police chief DCP Datuk Osman Salleh said with Lim's death, the investigation will now cover murder, robbery and assault.
Lim, who hails from Malacca, and fellow nun Sister Marie-Rose Teng, 79, had both suffered serious head injuries following the vicious attack in the compound of the Church of The Visitation on Jalan Yam Tuan here about 6.30am on May 14.
Teng, who had also sustained severe head injuries in the attack, was discharged from hospital on Sunday.
Osman said police have yet to identify the sole assailant, but investigators are hoping to get closer with clues they have gathered so far.
There were no witnesses, but police who interviewed Teng after she recovered from the trauma of her ordeal on Thursday learnt that the attack was carried out by a sole assailant.
Police have also obtained several recordings of public closed-circuit television cameras installed in the vicinity of the crime scene and are scrutinising the footages to identify the attacker, who is described as being of average height.
The man, had arrived at the church on a motorcycle wearing a full-face helmet, and proceeded to batter the nuns on their heads, before making off with a handbag containing a few ringgit and a mobile phone belonging to one of the women.
The heinous attack on the nuns drew condemnation from various quarters, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
In a statement issued today, the IJ Order's provincial secretariat urged the media to respect and accord space to Juliana's family members and the members of the Order to grieve and come to terms with their loss.
Among those who conveyed their condolences to Lim's family were Apostolic Nuncio Joseph Marino, Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam, Archbishop Emeritus Soter Fernandez and Church of the Visitation parish priest Father John Gnanapiragasam.
Gnanapiragasam said the funeral mass will be held at the church at 1pm on Friday.