‘Monk told us to look for Nóra near river,’ says searcher
THE hiker who discovered the body of teenager Nóra Quoirin in Malaysia last year has said a Siamese monk divulged clues about her final whereabouts.
Search-and-rescue volunteer Chong Yue Fatt was testifying on day 12 of the inquest into Nóra’s death.
He also recalled the sequence of events that led to the discovery of the missing schoolgirl’s body on August 13, 2019.
He was asked to explain why he and his group of civilian volunteers – which comprised experienced local hikers – had decided to search the area where Nóra’s body was eventually found, about 2.5km from her family’s holiday home.
Nóra, whose mother Meabh is from Belfast, disappeared from the Dusun eco-resort, sparking a massive 10-day hunt.
The 15-year-old, who had learning difficulties, went missing a day after she and her family arrived for a holiday at the resort.
Speaking in Mandarin through a court interpreter, Mr Chong told coroner Maimoonah Aid yesterday: “I heard from Chan [our group leader] that he had contacted
a Siamese monk and the monk had instructed him to look for the girl near areas with a river.
“After two days of searching, Chan still hadn’t found anything but passed a river on his way back, which is why we returned to the area on the third day.”
On August 13, Mr Chong said a team of 20 people had reported for duty before heading out to the search area guided by Mr Chan.
Mr Chong said he had cried out to his fellow searchers after chancing upon Nóra’s body, which was lying on a rock near a river.
“At that time, I could not identify who it was because I was standing quite a distance away.
“There was also a makeshift hut about 50m from the body and the surrounding area was dense with vegetation,” he said.
He said the group did not go close to the body in case they would “tamper any evidence”. “We just waited until assistance arrived,” he added.
The inquest continues.