Anna Jenkins insult: Family handed mum’s remains in unsealed bag
The family of Adelaide grandmother Anna Jenkins who disappeared in Malaysia have been handed her remains – in an open bag inside an unsealed box, continuing a saga of heartache.
SA News
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An Adelaide family’s four-year hunt for justice for their mother has had insult added to injury – Malaysian authorities have handed them the remains of Annapuranee “Anna” Jenkins in an open bag inside an unsealed box.
It is the latest heartache for her children, Greg and Jennifer, who have dealt with a botched investigation, unsubstantiated claims during an inquest that Mrs Jenkins, 66, was “involved with drugs”, and an inquest adjournment due to poor police preparation.
The investigation was so lax following the disappearance during a holiday in Penang, Mr Jenkins offered a reward for information which led to him conducting his own search where he found his mother’s skull and spine fragments discarded on a construction site.
The family’s long fight for an inquest finally saw one start late last month, then adjourn until June 7, and the family also has fought for their mother’s remains to be returned.
Mr Jenkins has now been given an unsealed bag of bones in the expectation he would accompany them back to Australia.
Mr Jenkins now has lodged a formal complaint with Malaysian police over the conduct of the chief investigator, the now retired Sgt Zali Hanapi.
The complaint alleges the retired officer “gave false statements to the Honourable court while testifying under oath.”
It also alleges he failed to “discharge his duty diligently” during the investigation and lists 17 instances to back the complaint.
These include failure to impound and check multiple CCTV recordings of sites crucial to the investigation, failing to check for bloodstains or signs of a struggle in the Uber Mrs Jenkins was in before she went missing, and failure to launch a murder investigation when her bones were found.
The complaint also notes Mr Jenkins, who has been isolating in Penang as a Covid close contact, finally received his mother’s remains in an unsealed bag in an unsealed box to accompany back to Australia.
Mr Jenkins said Sgt’s Zali testimony that his mother was ”involved with drugs” – which was made with no further evidence – was the last straw.
“I had to file this complaint as mum and dad no longer have a voice here in Malaysia and that doesn’t give the police the opportunity to slander and discredit mum and dad’s relationship and character,” he said.
“We as a family are very close and very tight, and if they think they can throw out false accusations, you better believe that we will fight back twice as hard.”
Family stunned by bombshell drugs claim
Earlier, the inquest into the disappearance of the Australian grandmother was rocked by an accusation from the officer initially in charge of the botched investigation that she “was involved with drugs”.
The now-retired Sgt Zali made the claim on the stand in Penang and said he had something written on a notepad – but was unable to produce the notepad or any other evidence to back the allegation.
It is the first time such a claim has been made since Malaysian-born Mrs Jenkins, 66, of Glenelg East disappeared while on holiday with husband Frank on December 13, 2017.
The family is furious at the accusation. Her son Greg Jenkins broke down in tears during a video link with The Advertiser, saying his mother hated even taking Panadol.
“It makes me absolutely furious and absolutely disgusted,” he said.
“I was so angry in court I burst into tears. It’s got the potential to tarnish Mum’s image and our family’s character. It was the first we have heard of it and everyone in the courtroom including local media who have followed the case closely were absolutely flabbergasted.
“This same officer once told a colleague that I give him a headache, this case gives him a headache, and he wants to retire soon.”
The family’s legal team has asked for the construction site where Mrs Jenkins remains were found in 2020 to be closed down while investigations continue in case there is more evidence there.
Thursday’s hearing also heard from nuns at the Little Sister of the Poor aged-care home where Mrs Jenkins was to visit her 101-year-old mother — police did not interview them until more than a month after the disappearance after allegedly suddenly leaving an Uber ride midway there.
The inquest has been adjourned until a date to be fixed after the Coroner and Penang’s Director of Public Prosecutions demanded more investigative work be done by the police.
Menacing Ukrainians, mystery friend
Earlier, the inquest heard Mrs Jenkins made a distress call to her husband shortly after disappearing on Penang Island.
In the call, Mrs Jenkins told her husband Frank two Ukrainians she did not know had “arrested her” and were demanding her passport.
The call was from a mainland Malaysian number, not her mobile phone, and it was the last contact she made. There is speculation it was part of a ransom plot.
She also said she wanted to be back at the hotel by 6pm – 40 minutes after the call was made. A frantic search by Mr Jenkins and hotel staff followed, and police were subsequently informed the next day, but Mrs Jenkins was not seen alive again.
She was on holidays with her husband and went missing after a dentist appointment in George Town on Penang Island on December 13, after suddenly leaving an Uber ride.
In a dramatic twist, the inquest will be adjourned to a date yet to be fixed after a dentist gives evidence on Thursday. The Director of Public Prosecutions wants the break after criticising the investigation and demanding police do more work and provide more information.
Mrs Jenkins’ son Greg said the adjournment of the inquest was both frustrating and heartbreaking.
“From my end it was heartbreaking to hear there is going to be an adjournment, but I am kind of happy with the DPP who has identified all those gaps (in the police investigation) that we’ve been screaming about for the last four and a half years,” he said.
Mr Jenkins noted that if the missing woman had been a “young, good looking caucasian woman” rather than a Malaysian-born grandmother the case would have received much more prominence.
He said authorities had not released all the paperwork including witness statements which has hampered their lawyer’s ability to prepare for the inquest.
Mrs Jenkins’ daughter, Jennifer Bowen, said the family were still “holding their breath” to see if the full details of what happened to their mother were finally revealed.
“It is hard to think about any kind of closure because every time we think it is around the corner the goalposts keep changing,” she said.
The Jenkins family are bitterly disappointed with police efforts — Mrs Jenkins’s possessions and remains only came to light in a construction site after they offered a reward, and it was son Greg who subsequently searched the site and found skull and spine fragments that DNA tests showed belonged to his mother.
The inquest heard from the Uber driver who was the last person known to see her alive. Tan Tiang Guan, 64, was driving Mrs Jenkins from a dentist to visit her 101-year-old mother in the nearby Little Sisters of the Poor aged care home.
He gave evidence in English saying Mrs Jenkins, a devout Catholic, suddenly asked to be dropped at a Hindu orphanage where she was to meet a friend – the family know of no such friend and no such person has come forward.
He said she was dropped off at the site shortly before 5pm, and the distress call was made at 5.22pm.
The Jenkins family’s legal team sought to ask the Uber driver about his financial affairs, any criminal background, and why a devout Catholic would suddenly want to stop mid-trip to visit a Hindu site, but were prevented by the Coroner as the questions appeared to treat the driver as an accused suspect.
The legal team intends to ask the Coroner to hold a inquest sitting at the site the remains were discovered, in a bid to illustrate just how far it was from the Uber drop-off point.
The family questions whether the grandmother could have walked the 1.8km through jungle between the two points.
Greg Jenkins said if the Coroner orders a new investigation by police into the case, he hopes a new, neutral team is appointed.
“We don’t want to go though the same bullcrap we have dealt with so far,” he said.
The Jenkins’s chief legal counsel, Raveen Tharan, said he would leave no stone unturned to find what happened to Mrs Jenkins and if necessary “we will drag the chief of police … to answer the why, when, how and what, the shortcomings they have missed in this case”.
“Police have to pull up their socks and work – was she brutally murdered?” he said.
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