Pathologist slams Anna Jenkins’ son during inquest

 

Penang Hospital forensic pathology chief Dr Amir Saad Abdul Rahim leaving the inquest.

GEORGE TOWN: A government pathologist has ticked Anna Jenkins’ son off for claiming that Malaysian authorities mistreated her remains by handing them over to the family in a box.

Penang Hospital forensic pathology chief Dr Amir Saad Abdul Rahim told an inquest into her disappearance that Anna’s remains were packed in a box according to procedure and handed over to her son Greg.

In April, Greg told Australian news outlets that the Malaysian authorities were “callous” when he went to claim his mother’s remains. He claimed when he had asked for a better protective plastic to fit Anna’s remains, he was told to “break the bones so they could fit into a jar”.

At the inquest today, Amir said the packing of bones was done according to standard hospital procedure in the handling of skeletal remains. He said when Greg had come to claim Anna’s remains, he was asked how he wanted the bones to be repatriated.

While explaining how the cause of death was determined, Amir asked DPP Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim if he could say something.

He then criticised Greg, accusing him of sullying Malaysia’s reputation.

“He (Greg) told us that he has his own way of managing (the remains). By right, he should have engaged a funeral director to arrange the repatriation. It is the responsibility of those claiming the remains to do so.

“He (Greg) himself did not have any respect for his mother’s remains,” Amir told coroner Norsalha Hamzah.

Amir said the Australian High Commission’s consular officer Tina Soosai was also told about the arrangements that the Jenkins family ought to make.

Earlier, Amir revealed that 34 pieces of bones were found at a construction site where Anna’s personal effects were also found in June 2020. He said most of the bones were scattered, with some showing damage likely caused by heavy machinery such as backhoes.

He said since there was no soft tissue sample, there was no way to tell if Anna had injuries prior to her death.

“We concluded that the bones belonged to Anna after a DNA test. There was no obvious pathological feature seen from the bones during an anthropological examination.

“However, we were unable to determine the cause of death from the post-mortem,” he said.

Khairul then asked if this was the case, how was the death certificate issued under Anna’s name with the time and date of death.

Amir said it was the hospital’s procedure to issue a death certificate after a post-mortem was carried out or a Pol 61 notice was issued. The notice concerns an order to carry out a post-mortem on an unidentified person and is issued by a magistrate or the police.

The family’s lawyer S Raveentharan then asked how the bones had been kept after the post-mortem. Amir said they were kept in a plastic bag and later placed in an unsealed box.

The inquest continues tomorrow. - FMT