Son gives evidence at Malaysian coroner’s examination of Anna Jenkins’ disappearance

The family of an Adelaide grandmother who vanished in Penang is finally achieving justice, with a Malaysian coroner examining the final days of Anna Jenkins amid ­serious flaws in the local police investigation.

Annapuranee “Anna” Jenkins, an Australian Citizen who is missing in Malaysia since December 13.

The family of an Adelaide grandmother who vanished presumed murdered in Penang is finally achieving justice, with a Malaysian coroner examining the final days of Anna Jenkins amid ­serious flaws in the local police investigation.

In a major breakthrough, Jenkins’ son Greg was granted permission to give evidence in Penang on Friday where he recounted how after his mother disappeared in 2017, police were reluctant to mount any significant investigation. It was the first time the Jenkins family had been allowed to raise its concerns with local authorities.

Coroner Norsalha Hamzah granted Mr Jenkins a full day to testify last Friday and ordered the inquest run the full five days this week to determine how Anna Jenkins died and whether the investigation was adequate.

There are suspicions local police in Penang were reluctant to draw attention to the discovery of Jenkins’ remains at a multimillion-dollar housing complex for fear of jeopardising sales at the off-the-plan project.

‘Anna’ Jenkins with her son Greg. Picture: Greg Jenkins

Mr Jenkins broke down several times on Friday as he recounted how he had travelled to Penang to visit the crime scene after his mother’s physical remains and personal effects were discovered by construction workers at the project.

He told The Australian that the process of giving evidence had been harrowing but “hugely important” as until last week, the family had never had a chance to raise its concerns formally.

“But we are very grateful to the coroner because it feels like for the first time Mum’s voice is finally being heard. It has taken us five years to get here, but finally we have a chance to honour Mum’s memory. As hard as it is, it is hugely important.”

Annapuranee “Anna” Jenkins was 65 when she vanished upon returning to her birthplace in 2017 to visit her ailing mother in Penang. She disappeared in George Town on December 13 after catching an Uber following a visit to a local dentist en route to her mother’s aged-care home, and was never seen alive again.

Since then, her husband, Frank, and children Greg and Jen have faced an ongoing ordeal where Greg Jenkins has made 25 self-funded trips to Mal­aysia at a cost of $200,000 over four years to conduct his own investigations after local police showed little interest in the case.

Mr Jenkins has travelled more than 73,000km across Mal­aysia, distributing 12,000 posters and stickers seeking information about his mother and interviewing more than 1000 people.

On a visit in 2020, he found personal effects and physical bone remains of his mother while searching the construction site of the housing development where her body was found. They included fragments of jawbone and items identifying his mother, including a wooden crucifix she always carried, her favourite cough lollies, one of her shoes and a pen from the Clare Country Club in SA’s northern wine region.

Mr Jenkins broke down as he told the coroner of his distress not just at finding her remains but then being told by police that they had “no intention” of conducting their own investigation of the crime scene. He said police were “aggressive” in telling him they had already looked at the crime scene and there was no need for construction work to stop to search for more of his mother’s remains.

The coronial investigation has angered Malaysian police, who have been trying to argue that Mr Jenkins interfered with the investigation.

Detective Zali Hanapi claimed at the inquest earlier this year the devoutly Christian Anna Jenkins may have been involved with drugs, and last week suggested she may have been fleeing from domestic violence.

When pressed for evidence of domestic violence, police said a wind cheater she was wearing that bore the word “escape” may have been a signal she was trying to flee. Both allegations have distressed the Jenkins family and been dismissed as “baseless and absurd”.

Mr Jenkins tried to reassure the Malaysian police last week the family did not want to embarrass anyone, but simply get answers. “We’re not trying to fight the system, but we’re trying to help,” he said in evidence. The inquest resumes on Monday.