Son of missing Glenelg woman Annapuranee Jenkins told to break her bones to fit them into an urn

The family of an Adelaide grandma whose remains were handed to them in an open bag were then given the “disgusting” advice to break her bones to fit them in an urn.

It was an emotional reunion between Greg Jenkins and his sister Jen when he touched down in Adelaide with the remains of his mother Annapuranee “Anna” Jenkins on Tuesday morning.

The 66-year-old grandmother’s bones were cruelly packaged in open bags inside a cardboard box by Malaysian authorities.

When Mr Jenkins asked if they could be resealed in something else, he said he was told he would have to break the bones.

“They were trying to say that if I put them into a jar I would have to break the bones,” he said.

Greg Jenkins arrives at Adelaide Airport and is greeted by his sister, Jen Bowen. Picture Dean Martin

Greg Jenkins and sister, Jen Bowen, hold the remains of their mother, Anna Jenkins, which were given to them in a bag inside a box. Picture: Dean Martin

“I was pretty disgusted, there was no empathy and there was definitely no mincing my words on what I thought of that suggestion.”

Mr Jenkins said he planned to have her remains forensically examined in Australia.

“That’s something that we really want to do just because we certainly don’t trust the process because it’s let Mum down so many times.”

He said the fight was not over.

“At this stage, in terms of the grieving process for me, it’s tying on the boxing gloves even tighter and going in there fighting,” he said.

“I know exactly where my end point is. Mum will not be another statistic in Malaysia.

“Mum’s death will come at a cost to the Malaysian police in terms of change.”

The Glenelg East woman vanished after taking an Uber ride following a trip to the dentist during a holiday in Penanag in December 2017.

Her disappearance sparked a desperate plea from Mr Jenkins and his sister Jen Bowen, to help find their mother.

A botched investigation by Malaysian authorities followed, prompting Mr Jenkins to offer his own reward for information.

This led to him conducting his own search where he found his mother’s skull and spine fragments discarded on a construction site.

Missing women Annapuranee 'Anna' Jenkins’ husband Frank Jenkins and daughter Jen Bowen . Picture: Bianca Di Marchi

After fighting for those remains to be returned, Mr Jenkins was given an open bag of bones inside an unsealed box, in the expectation he would accompany them back to Australia.

On Tuesday, he did.

SA-Best MP Frank Pangallo said he would contact the office of forensic science personally to have the remains examined.

“We need to be sure that the remains that have been returned are those of Anna Jenkins,” he said.

“I don’t think the family can be confident that it is (her remains), given what they’ve been through.

“I think a lot of things need to be answered and the Malaysian authorities obviously can’t answer them.”

After a four-year fight for justice, which caught the attention of the South Australian Government, an inquest into Mrs Jenkins disappearance was launched.

The hearing started last month and has already heard unsubstantiated claims from the chief investigator that Mrs Jenkins was “involved with drugs”.

With the inquest set to resume on June 7, Mr Jenkins intended to return to Malaysia alongside Mr Pangallo to continue to seek justice.

“We’ve identified a lot of gaps that should have been done and the Director of Public Prosecutions has found the exact same,” Mr Jenkins said.

He said the Malaysian people are rallying behind the family.

One of the flyers being posted up around Penang, Malaysia, for missing Adelaide woman Annapuranee Jenkins.

“We’ve got a lot of people that feel as though this could be the platform where they’re going to get potentially reform,” he said.

“They’re trying to push for change. The police cannot act the way they do and get away with it.”

Mr Pangallo said he is exploring options for an additional coronial inquest to be held in Australia.

Under the act, an inquest can be held if a person disappears in any place who originally resided in South Australia.

“We’ll have a discretion in conducting an inquest and I’m going to urge them strongly through the family.”

Mrs Bowen praised her brother’s courage to finally bring their mother home.

“I think my brother has a lot of healing to do – he found his own mother’s remains,” she said.

“He’s just incredible in his perseverance to do right by Mum and our family.”

Mr Jenkins has since lodged a formal complaint with Malaysian police over the conduct of 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.

Greg Jenkins (right) with legal team from Raveen Associates, (L-R) Asmeeta Rajendran and S. Raveentharan, at an inquest in Malaysia. Pictures: Jen Bowen

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.

The inquest is expected to continue on June 7 after prosecutors demanded more investigative work be done by the police.