GEORGE TOWN – The coroner’s court will give its verdict tomorrow (Friday) in the inquest into the mysterious disappearance and death of Australian grandmother Annapuranee Jenkins, ending a case full of intrigue riddled with allegations of complicity and police negligence.
Coroner Norsalha Hamzah is to deliver her verdict in the inquest, which has lasted more than a year and heard from over a dozen witnesses.
Malaysia-born Jenkins, a grandmother of two and wife to Frank Jenkins of Adelaide, disappeared in Penang on December 17, 2017, after a dental appointment en route to visit her now-deceased mother at the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the infirm.
Her partial skeletal remains were found at a Penang construction site three years later.
Speaking to The Vibes, her son Greg Steven Jenkins yesterday said he and his immediate family members have high expectations that the coroner’s verdict will go a long way towards securing justice for his late mother.
He said he was also informed that Australian High Commissioner Justin Lee might also attend court to hear the coroner’s verdict.
The family’s counsel S. Raveentharan, meanwhile, said he hopes the coroner will make a wise and courageous decision.
“It is indeed a compelling case, and there are circumstances to warrant a landmark decision,” the former Batu Uban assemblyman from PKR told The Vibes.
Oddities and speculations
The first oddity in the case is that the 66-year-old had demanded to exit her ride-sharing vehicle midway at Scotland Road, near the Ramakrishna Orphanage, where she was last seen alive.
The initial police report lodged by her husband Frank led to speculations of possible kidnapping by a Ukrainian who wanted her passport.
One of the several investigating officers of the Royal Malaysian Police dismissed this, testifying that there was allegedly no evidence to support a kidnapping bid.
A second point of interest was an unverified diary jotting that implied Jenkins, called “Anna” by her family, wanted to leave her family for unspecified reasons.
Her partial skeletal remains were found three years later, in 2020, at the site of a luxury development project, Kensington Heights, off the Penang Turf Club. The discovery, which happened during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown, was made by a construction worker who later sought a reward from the family.
A third point of intrigue is that part of the remains were first buried by the worker’s supervisor without any report being lodged, as it was “common” for building contractors to uncover human or animal remains when clearing land.
Then, came other contradictory testimonials on Jenkins’ death.
Quest for closure
In the midst of all this, Greg expressed frustration repeatedly about his inability to obtain better cooperation from police in the search for his mother.
He described his mother as a kind soul – a typical middle-income housewife who adored her family.
Greg has come from Australia frequently to traverse Penang since 2017, as well as the peninsula in a vain attempt to locate his mother. The family also engaged a private security firm for assistance.
However, their search came to nought in 2020, when the family was formally told that the skeletal remains matched Jenkins’ DNA profile.
Greg had also engaged Australian authorities from the Royal High Commission, Adelaide politician Frank Pangallo, and Australian parliamentarians, including Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, for help.
He and his sister Jennifer had also established relationships with both Malaysian and Australian media practitioners in hopes of finding justice for Jenkins.
Pangallo, meanwhile, told The Vibes he felt the entire investigation into Jenkins’ disappearance and suspected murder “has been a farce from the day she vanished without a trace”.
“I totally support Greg and his family’s call to have his mum’s case reopened and reinvestigated – with the involvement of the full force of the South Australian Police.
“I have also written to the South Australian Coroner requesting that he conduct a coronial inquiry into her death in Adelaide.”
“I also hope the (Malaysian) coronial inquiry findings finally give Jenkins’ devoted family some sort of closure,” Pangallo said, adding that there was “a level of incompetence” in the handling of the case.
“The family is hoping against hope for a conclusion that can lead to justice being served.” – The Vibes, May 11, 2023
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