Nora Anne inquest opens, conducted in English and Malay

The inquest into the death of Irish-French teenager Nora Anne Quoirin opened here today, and coroner Maimoonah Aid said at the outset that it will be conducted in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.

She explained that some of the witnesses are not conversant in English.

In accordance with Section of the National Language Acts 1963/67, “the court allows the proceedings to be conducted partly in Bahasa Malaysia and partly in English,” she said.

"So, this is justice for everybody,” she said after the inquest opened at the Seremban Coroner's Court here.

The body of Nora Anne, 15, was found on Aug 13 last year about 2.5 km from a resort in Pantai here, about 60 km south of Kuala Lumpur, after she had gone missing on Aug 4, a day after she and her family arrived in Malaysia for a two-week holiday.

A preliminary post-mortem report revealed no criminal elements in Nora Anne’s death. It established that the teenager died of gastrointestinal bleeding due to prolonged stress and hunger.

Maimoonah said the purpose of the inquest is to find the cause of Nora Anne's death based on a few questions, such as when, where and how she died.

"We are here not to prosecute anybody and the counsel are here not to defend anybody," she said.

Sixty-four witnesses are to be called to testify, with Negeri Sembilan Police chief Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusof as the first to take the stand.

The proceedings will last for two weeks, from Aug 24 to 28 and from Sept 1 to 4.

-- BERNAMA