Operation continued to find Nora Anne's underwear - Witness

The Coroner's Court here today was told that a day after Nora Anne Quoirin's body was found on Aug 13 last year, police were still continuing operation at the scene to locate the victim's underwear.

The third witness in the inquest into the death of the Irish-French teenager, Nilai Police chief Supt Mohd Nor Marzukee Besar said the operation was carried out on Aug 14, following the discovery of the naked body, about 2.5 km from the resort where she and her family stayed.

"After returning from the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital on the night of Aug 13, I held a small meeting with my search team because the investigating officer informed me that the victim's family disclosed that the teenager only had on her underwear the last time she was seen.

“There was a lingering question on the whereabouts of her underwear because the body that we found was naked. So, I planned an operation to search for the victim's underwear the next day," he said when testifying at the inquest which entered its third day today.

Asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad whether the subject was found, the witness who was the search and rescue (SAR) operation commander said it was not found despite having mobilised a total of 361 personnel for the purpose.

Mohd Nor Marzukee said the operation was only carried out for one day starting at 8.30 am.

The inquest proceedings before Coroner Maimoonah Aid will last for two weeks from Aug 24 to 28 and will continue from Sept 1 to 4.

A total of 64 witnesses will be called to testify to assist in the investigation.

Nora Anne, 15, went missing on Aug 4 last year, a day after she and her family arrived in Malaysia for a two-week holiday at a resort in Pantai here, about 60 km south of Kuala Lumpur.

Nora Anne’s body was found nine days later on Aug 13, near a stream in a hilly area, about 2.5 km from the resort, following a massive search.

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

The inquest continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA