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GEORGE TOWN – Greg Jenkins broke down twice when testifying at the inquest into his mother’s death. Annapuranee Jenkins’ partial remains were found at a construction site here some five years after she went missing in 2017.
In a lengthy testimonial which lasted almost an entire day, the 42-year-old teared up and paused when he was shown photographs of his beloved mother’s belongings, and when he recalled how he was informed that the DNA of the skeletal remains matched his mother’s.
The Australian confirmed that the items in the photographs belonged to his mother.
Greg was replying to questions raised by his counsel S. Raveentharan, who is holding a watching brief on behalf of the Jenkins family here.
The inquest is held before coroner judge Norsalha Hamzah here.
Among the interesting revelations was that the police failed to show up for the first appointment set for the family at the Jen Hotel on the evening of December 15, 2017 – two days after Annapuranee went missing.
The next day, Greg and his father Frank finally met up with the investigating officers led by a “Sjn Zali and Insp Fikri.”
Greg informed the coroner’s court that he was also left puzzled at the officers initially declining to check the handphone records of the family and of Annapuranee.
Answering deputy public prosecutor Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim, who is also the Penang prosecution director, Jenkins said that he did not want to touch any of his mother’s clothing and items in her room at the Jen Hotel initially – because he had viewed crime procedural TV shows which depicted that such items which can be collected as evidence should not be disturbed.
When asked how many times he met the police before returning to Australia after his mother went missing in Penang on December 13, 2017, Greg replied around three times.
“We wanted to meet the police as much as possible, but we found that they were (somehow) reluctant to meet us,” he said.
Greg also recalled how he had meticulously tried to offer his assistance to help the police after his mother was missing initially, but felt that he was rebuffed by them.
He noted that Zali had allegedly uttered to him on one occasion that Greg’s persistence was giving him a headache just when he was about to retire from the force, and Zali felt that Greg should just return to Australia.
Greg also told the court that he was informed by Penang Turf Club officials that Berjaya Group was the site’s landowner.
He also believed the site was part of the luxurious housing project called Kensington Gardens.
Malaysian-born grandmother Annapuranee, 67, went missing after getting off from a ride using the e-hailing platform Uber along the busy Scotland Road on December 13, 2017.
Her remains were found later at a construction site near the Penang Turf Club in 2020, followed by an inquest (coroner court) that was established by the police to determine her cause of death.
Annapuranee was visiting her mother here when she mysteriously went missing before her skeletal remains were uncovered by construction workers in 2020 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She was born in Parit Buntar and was married to Frank Francis Jenkins, who was then an officer with the Royal Australian Air Force in Penang.
She had relocated to Adelaide with him.
They have two children and two grandchildren from their marriage.
Norsalha later adjourned the hearing to Monday when senior district police officers are expected to be called up to testify.
Separately, Greg, in an interview with the Australian media via an online webinar, told them that despite the financial challenges, the family will continue to persevere so they can find justice for Annapuranee. – The Vibes, October 14, 2022.
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