SEREMBAN: The lawyer of Irish teen Nora Anne Quoirin’s family will get in touch with the Attorney-General Chambers (AGC) to find out if there is a need for an inquest in the case.
Counsel Sankara N. Nair who was appointed by the family on the second day of Nora Anne’s disappearance on Aug 5, said according to the procedure, the post-mortem report would be sent to the AGC regardless if there is criminal element in the case or otherwise.
“Procedurally, what happens is, a copy of the post-mortem report will go to the AGC and it is for the Attorney General to decide or instruct if there is a need for an inquest.
“Normally, sudden deaths of such nature would invite an inquest, but then again it depends on the evidence presented in the report and other investigation by the police.
“I will then require the AG to consider whether there is a need for inquest,” he said when met at the forensic department of Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital (HTJS).
He said that as of now it was almost “impossible” to deduce if there is a criminal element involved in the case.
Sankara said family members were present at the mortuary earlier today to identify the body before the autopsy was conducted.
“They are distraught. It is so difficult to describe. They are really distraught and are in grief. And I feel the same. To lose a child...It's sad.
“It is (a) very traumatic situation. It is about their daughter...a child; and naturally, the trauma level (is) very high.”
Sankara said the family expressed their greatest gratitude to the police and all the authorities involved in the search and rescue operations for Nora Anne.
Meanwhile, Negri Sembilan deputy police chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Che Zakaria Othman said the initial autopsy on Nora Anne would take at least three hours to complete and police would give a statement later.
After 10 days, the search-and-rescue efforts ended in tragedy yesterday following the discovery of Quorin's body by a group of hikers who volunteered to join the operation following a public tip off.
The body, which was found around 1.57pm, was sent to HTJS and the identity was confirmed by Nora Anne’s parents at about 9pm last night.
The family arrived in Negri Sembilan on Aug 3 for a two-week holiday in Malaysia and checked in at The Dusun resort on the same day.
They discovered the 15-year-old missing the next day and found the large window in one of the rooms was left open, leading them to believe that the girl with special needs was abducted.
The case gripped the nation as questions were raised over the security measures at the resort located some 30 minutes drive from Seremban town.
It was learnt that only one closed-circuit camera television (CCTV) was installed, used to monitor the reception area.
Surrounded by lush greenery, the site exudes privacy in a tropical orchard setting.