Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
No cuts on feet of child who died in top jungle resort
Inquest into death of teen begins in Malaysia
away from their villa in rough terrain, with no shoes and no cuts to her feet.
Police boss Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusop, said Nora was found lying face up at the bottom of steep rocky slopes by a stream.
The lawyer for Nora’s parents asked: “She was found unclothed, without footwear, yet there were no serious scars or injuries to her soles?”
The police boss agreed, adding “no, only some minor bruises”.
They heard that apart from insect bites, there were no “serious visible external injuries”.
Addressing the hearing as it started, Coroner Maimoonah Aid said the inquest aimed to determine how and when the teenager died and whether anyone was “criminally” connected.
Nora’s family watched the proceedings over Zoom because of travel restrictions.
The coroner was told Nora, her parents and younger brother and sister arrived at the eco-resort, about 40 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, on August 3 last year.
An initial postmortem report said the teen had died due to gastrointestinal bleeding from hunger and stress over a prolonged period. But her Belfast-born mother Meabh and French father Sebastian always insisted it was highly unlikely their daughter, who had severe learning and development disabilities, would have taken off alone.
The police chief told the hearing Nora was last seen at the resort and the following day “she was nowhere to be found”.
He said: “The only clue being a slightly ajar window at the loft on the upper floor where she slept.
“There was no indication the victim was kidnapped.
“Usually in this kind of case we will get a call to say the victim has been kidnapped and is in the hands of certain people, and they demand a ransom.
“I believe the missing person climbed out of the window.” He said after quizzing staff and with “no evidence of criminal element” they turned their attention to a search and rescue mission.
The police chief added: “We learnt the child would only respond to her mother’s voice.”
The manager of the resort Haanim Bamadhaj also gave evidence and confirmed that “prior to this” incident there was no CCTV.
She also said there had been a faulty latch on Nora’s bedroom window which could be opened from the inside or outside.
It was due to be fixed in October after the holiday season.
Asked about other security arrangements she said: “The gate is locked at night. The fencing is not properly complete between neighbours [as] we’re not supposed to have fencing.”
Asked about the lack of street lighting, she said: “We try not to have too much light pollution because we want to see the stars.”
Ms Bamadhaj added there had never been a theft from the resort apart from one guest who complained his phone had been stolen.