I really only got to know Claudia in 2006 after I had left the New Straits Times and had begun to blog actively..
I would usually meet her at the National Press Club.
She was such a pleasant person...and really great to talk with. And that time there was so much to talk about...so much she wanted to know ...
What a shock it was when I saw the news flash yesterday of her untimely demise.
Claudia was killed in a firearm mishap in Lebanon on Saturday. She was 42.
She was most currently working as web producer with Al-Jazeera English news agency in Doha.
She died after a rifle - which she was taking a look at, went off accidentally at about 2.30am local time (about 8.30am Malaysian time).
The incident happened in Baakleen - located about 45km southeast of Beirut.
Malaysian ambassador to Beirut Ilango Karuppannan said shes died shortly after she arrived at a general hospital in the district.
The New Straits Times quoted Karuppannan as saying that Claudia and two Lebanese friends were taking a look at several rifles, when one of it accidentally went off.
“She was rushed to the hospital, but attempts to save her life were unsuccessful,” he told the New Straits Times.
He said an initial police report did not indicate any criminal element in the incident.
Ilango said the embassy was informed of the incident about noon the same day, before it sent officers to the hospital.
He said Wisma Putra had informed Claudia’s family in Malaysia and preparations are being made to fly her body home as soon as possible.
He said her body will be taken to Beirut before it is flown back to Kuala Lumpur.
Claudia began her journalism career at The Sun newspaper and Malaysiakini news portal here.
She arrived in Lebanon on Jan 28 to meet her friends.
May you rest in peace, dear Claudia.
She died from a stray bullet. RIP
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