The family of deceased Australian national Annapuranee Jenkins has expressed hope that the inquest to be held in Penang from Monday (March 28) to April 1 will not declare that the latter had died of "sudden death".
Her son, Gregory Steven Jenkins (above), said he has been seeking justice for his mother, who went missing in Penang in December 2017, and the family would be very disappointed to get a verdict of "sudden death".
She was 65 at the time she went missing.
Gregory, 42, is currently in Penang to attend the inquest, which will be presided by coroner Norsalha Hamzah, assisted by the state director of the Penang Prosecution office, Kahirul Annuar Abd Halim.
Anna's family will be represented by lawyer S Reveentharan.
"What does that mean, sudden death? How do you come to that conclusion by having only 18 bones (out of 206 of the human body), we want to know what happened to the rest of the bones at the construction site, where mom's remains were found," Gregory told Malaysiakini in an interview.
Remains found
The remains of Anna, as she is known to family and friends, were found on June 14 and 15, 2021, 900 days after a missing person’s report was lodged, on Dec 5, 2017.
On June 14, Gregory received images of items belonging to his mother from an anonymous source, and the police were alerted of the matter via the Australian Diplomatic Mission in Malaysia.
The remains were found in an ongoing construction site within the compound of the Penang Turf Club along Batu Gantung, by a construction worker.
According to Gregory, no immediate response or action was taken by the authorities.
On Aug 12, 2020, a team of forensic experts consisting of one assistant superintendent of police (ASP), 4 inspectors , 4 sergeants and one corporal, conducted a search and found bone fragments.
On January 13, 2021, 154 days after the first search, the forensic team did another search and found more bone fragments.
No actual cause of death
A death certificate was then issued for Anna without the actual cause of death identified.
Gregory also expressed much dissatisfaction with the way police had handled the investigation into his mother's disappearance.
He claimed he had to carry out his own investigation into the matter despite the case having had 11 investigating officers (IOs) over four years.
He said the family is kept in the dark when IOs are changed, without any rhyme or reason.
"If this happened in Australia, I think mom's remains, or potentially mom would be found alive. Here, there are many things missing (in the probe), which is why our family had to do it ourselves," he added.
Due process
Police have firmly maintained that all due process had taken place in their investigation into Anna's disappearance.
State police chief Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain told the media that police had thoroughly investigated the matter from the day Anna was reported missing.
Mohd Shuhaily added that statements from 15 people were recorded throughout the course of the investigation.
He ruled out any foul play based on the analysis done on Anna's bone fragments.
Since the incident, Gregory has embarked on a strenuous journey to seek answers and closure to his mother's death.
With the help of a friendly security firm, he scoured the island and mainland, and other parts of Malaysia for any evidence which may lead to his mother's death.
He put up thousands of posters and stickers on the tragic incident to raise awareness and seek information on the case.
"We visited hospitals and police stations, and in the early days, some of the police stations were not even aware there was a missing Australian citizen," Gregory claimed.
"I visited morgues, disability, welfare, refugee and immigration centres; I walked through streets, drains, sewers, anywhere we believe we could find some evidence of mom," he added.
"I was chased by one of your giant lizards, an iguana, which I later found out was a crocodile. I was even chased by gang members at the construction site where I tried to find mom's remains," he alleged.
Many missing people not found
Gregory urged Malaysians to take a keen interest in the case as it now went beyond his mother or family interests.
He noted that between 2017 and November 2021, over 10,500 people are missing, with 4,471 being persons under the age of 18.
"That's huge, it even looks like a bigger problem than Covid-19," Gregory muttered.
"Is something going to change when it comes to missing persons?
"Hundreds of people that we dealt with in Australia, friends and family, those who follow the story, all of them said that they will not be visiting Malaysia, which is sad because Malaysia is such a beautiful country," Gregory said.
"For every foreigner who comes here, for every Malaysian family, a mother, father, sister or brother or children who has gone missing, you would want to know that police is going to do everything they can to help you and show empathy. Sadly that is not the case here," Gregory added.
Not attacking the police
However, Gregory denied that he was here to attack the police or paint a negative perception of them, noting that the force is 'brilliant' when it came to their handling of drug trafficking cases.
He simply wants them to know that he is not going away, and his review of the case so far is not personal.
"What would mom want? I can guarantee that mom would not just say to let it go. as a family, we have proven over the last four years that we will not accept anything that is below expectation," Gregory said.
He is all praise for the Malaysian public who has shown him care and sympathy wherever he went, that they expressed similar misgivings about the police, noting that people were following the case closely.
"However, the police are the force that everyone turns first to seek help in such cases, and it is hoped that they are sympathetic and not biased," he quipped.
Background:
Dec 5, 2017 - Annapuranee (Anna) and her husband Frank Jenkins entered Malaysia and stayed in Hotel Jen, Penang. The purpose of their visit was mainly to visit Anna's ailing mother, who was under the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor, an old folks home in Batu Lanchang.
Dec 13, 3pm - Anna attended her dental appointment at Goh Surgery in Jalan Burma, Pulau Tikus. She has been seeing this dentist since 2012.
After the appointment, she headed to visit her mother. The dentist’s receptionist helped Anna engage a Uber driver.
She was last seen at the dentist.
Dec 13, 7pm - When Anna failed to return to the hotel, Frank contacted his daughter Jennifer Bowen, who was then in Australia. Jennifer got in touch with hotel manager O Odayppan.
Together with Frank, Odayppan searched for Anna by driving him around for six hours. However, Anna was nowhere in sight.
Dec 14 - Odayppan lodged a missing persons report at the Jalan Pattani police station. No statement was taken from Frank at the time.
According to the Uber driver, Anna was dropped off at the SJK (T) Ramakrishna along Jalan Scotland at 4.45pm.
Dec 15 - Anna's son Gregory, arrived in Penang and began searching for Anna, claiming that their missing persons report were not given "due urgency". - Mkini
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