SEREMBAN – The Dusun Resort's former manager, Helen Todd, today told the coroner’s court here that the resort was a safe place, despite one or two broken fences in the western side of the resort.
Todd, 77, said there have been no incidence of burglary or intruders at the resort, and that it was a safe place as she and her family have been living there for the past 30 years.
“My husband and I have lived on this property for more that 30 years with my two children and grandchildren. It has always been a safe place for my family and, despite some open fences that could allow anybody to climb up to the deck and balcony, nobody ever did. We never had burglaries or intruders in any of our houses,” she said.
Todd, the 38th witness at the inquest to determine the cause of French-Irish teenager Nora Anne Quoirin's death, said this when testifying on the 18th day of the proceedings before coroner Maimoonah Aid. Today's proceedings were held online due to the conditional movement control order (CMCO).
Asked by the family’s counsel, Louise Azmi, if she had noticed a gap in a fence at the back of the resort and if Nora Anne could have climbed it to get out, Todd, who is also a shareholder of The Dusun, said, "The fence at the back is almost flat to the ground but she would still have to climb over it.”
To another question by The Dusun Resort's counsel Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar on whether she had seen Nora Anne’s family on the day they arrived on August 3, last year, Todd said she saw them at 5.30pm as she, her husband and grandson were swimming in the pool.
“I saw Quoirin's family walking down the stairs, all dressed up for a walk with walking shoes and long-sleeved shirts, and they passed the pool up to Berlin gate... after that, I didn’t see where they went,” she said.
Meanwhile, The Dusun Resort's manager Nur Asmaq Lokman, 30, said that, before the family's arrival at the Sora House villa, only 13 families had stayed in the same villa from July 5 to August 2 last year.
The 39th witness said during the period, a faulty window latch in the villa had yet to be repaired.
“I think it (faulty latch) has been like that for a long time. In July, I asked Adam (resort worker) to look for the latch and Adam tried but could not find the same one and I said it was alright as Sora would be renovated in October. So, we let the matter rest,” she said.
Asked by Maimoonah on the reaction of the children of the couple – Meabh Jaseprine Quoirin and Sebastien Quoirin – as she briefed them on the facilities in the villa a day before Nora Anne went missing, Asmaq said she was only aware of the reaction of Nora Anne’s younger brother, Maurice Arthure, who appeared to be very active and talked a lot.
“Nora was quiet and when I was explaining that the window can be opened if it was hot, Nora was sitting in the spiral staircase,” she said.
Nora Anne, 15, went missing on August 4 last year, a day after she and her family arrived in Malaysia for a two-week holiday.
Nora Anne’s body was found nine days later near a stream about 2.5 km from the resort, following a massive search operation.
A preliminary post-mortem report revealed the teenager had died of gastrointestinal bleeding due to prolonged stress and hunger.
Inquest proceedings continues tomorrow. – Bernama, November 23, 2020
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