Missing Aussie woman’s family to push for inquest if there is foul play

GEORGE TOWN: The family of missing Australian Annapuranee Jenkins (pic), whose bone fragments were found in a bush near the Penang Turf Club, will push for an inquest if there are elements of foul play in the case.

One of their lawyers, S. Raveentharan, said they were waiting for the post-mortem report before deciding on the next course of action.“Once the police investigation is completed, and if there is any suspicion of foul play or wrongdoing involved, we will push for an inquest to get to the bottom of the matter.“For now, we will leave it to the police to complete the investigation, ” he told reporters yesterday.

The press conference was organised by Annapuranee’s son Greg.

Besides Raveentharan, the legal team comprises Senator Yusmadi Yusoff and Jason Ong, who is Kebun Bunga assemblyman.

Annapuranee, who was born in Parit Buntar, Perak, had returned for a routine visit to Penang with her Australian husband before she vanished after getting off an e-hailing ride on a busy street in 2017.On June 24 this year, police found human bone fragments and personal belongings in a bush near the Penang Turf Club in Jalan Batu Gantung, believed to be linked to Annapuranee.

Penang police chief Comm Datuk Sahabudin Abd Manan had said then that the DNA samples acquired from her family member matched the remains found at the site.

Raveentharan said Greg had prepared a 418-page log recording the chronology of events in his mother’s disappearance in Malaysia till the latest development, adding that it would be handed over to police.

Greg, 40, said there were many unanswered questions in relation to his mother’s disappearance.

“My mother’s remains were discovered within a 2km radius from her last known or seen location.

“Had the authorities taken proactive steps and conducted a thorough search at the vicinity, my mother would have been found and rescued.“We, the Jenkins family, shall seek justice, the truth and a closure for our beloved mother, ” he added.

In December 2017, Annapuranee, 66, left her hotel for dental treatment at a clinic in Pulau Tikus.

Later, with the help of the clinic staff, she hailed a car from a ride-

hailing service with instructions to head to the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged in Batu Lanchang to visit her ageing mother.

On the way there, she told the driver to stop at the main intersection between Scotland Road and Batu Gantung.

Due to the busy traffic, the driver stopped near the Sri Ramakrishnan Orphanage to drop her off. She hurried out of the vehicle and, within minutes, disappeared from sight.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Soffian Santong said a Bukit Aman forensics team was still conducting investigations at the scene.

“The team of forensics investigators from Penang Hospital, Bukit Aman and the Penang police contingent has found several more human remains, which will be sent to the Chemistry Department for DNA comparison, ” he said.