Malaysian police should have heeded Nóra’s parents

LET’S hope the overturning by the Malaysian High Court of the original verdict of death by misadventure is some consolation to the heartbroken parents of Nóra Quoirin.

Not for a second did the couple ever believe the police theory that, perhaps disorientated by a longhaul flight to Kuala Lumpur, their teenage daughter – who had learning difficulties and a mobility disorder – left her bed in the middle of the night, to go for a wander alone in the jungle and came into difficulties.

The new open verdict validates Meabh and Sebastien Quoirin’s opinion that such behaviour would be totally out of character for their daughter and that Nóra was more likely abducted.

Better late than never of course but it’s a pity the parents’ opinion was given such short shrift in the original investigation where police concluded that Nóra climbed out of her bedroom window, despite evidence from Nóra’s mother that her frail daughter was neither strong nor dexterous enough to manage that feat.

Like the parents of Madeleine McCann, the Quoirins will forever live with the devastation of losing their daughter while on holiday.

The circumstances of both tragedies are different in many respects, not least the behaviour of the parents, but they share a common thread – that of dealing with authorities who are so keen to protect the image of their tourist industry that they ignore the views of the very people who know the missing children best.