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KUALA LUMPUR – Police were not initially informed following the discovery of Annapuranee Jenkins’ remains as the construction worker who stumbled upon it felt that it would affect his chances of a RM20,000 reward for information on her whereabouts.
Testifying at the inquest, yesterday, The Vibes journalist Ian Gerard McIntyre said the worker, Kew King Sing, told him of his decision to hide Jenkins’ belongings initially by digging a hole close to where it was discovered – near a hill slope at the Turf Club, here, – where he buried them in a blue-coloured plastic bag for safety.
According to FMT, Kew, also known as Ah Boy, had been interviewed by McIntyre in June 2020, shortly after the worker discovered the personal effects.
Jenkins’ son Greg, McIntyre said, had told him about Kew before meeting him. It is learnt that Greg was informed by Kew of the missing person’s poster on Google when searching for “Annapuranee Jenkins” and had asked for the reward.
“Greg contacted me and asked me to meet Ah Boy, as, at that time, the country was in (Covid-19 pandemic) lockdown and Greg was in Australia,” he was quoted saying.
During the meeting that ensued, McIntyre pointed out that Kew proceeded to show pictures of Jenkins’ belongings – such as a hotel key card, clothing and Australian coins – on his phone, before taking him to the site where he had buried the items for “safekeeping”.
“Ah Boy said the items had to be kept safe so that he could use them to redeem his reward and eventually buy a car for himself.
“I asked him if a police report was made. Ah Boy told me that a few policemen had gone to the site where the remains were found two to three weeks before he discovered the personal effects and that he was afraid to make a police report.”
McIntyre said he then called Northeast district police chief Soffian Santong to alert him about his meeting with Kew and offered to assist the police.
“Soffian said he would look into it.
“Then, after some time, Soffian brought the media to where the remains were found and held a press conference.”
Kew, he said, received his reward from Greg during a press conference a few weeks later.
When asked by deputy public prosecutor Farah Aimy Zainul Anwar, who is assisting the coroner, on why Greg had enlisted McIntyre’s help, he said it could probably be due to The Vibes having pursued the story aggressively.
Additionally, McIntyre also confirmed that Kew was brought in by police for questioning following a question by S. Raveentharan, who is holding a watching brief for the Jenkins family.
The inquest resumes today.
Annapuranee, 67, went missing after she alighted from a ride sharing Uber service along the busy Scotland Road on December 13, 2017.
Her remains were found later at a construction site near the Penang Turf Club in 2020, following which an inquest (coroner court) was established by police to determine the cause of death.
She was visiting her mother here when she mysteriously went missing for three years before her skeletal remains were uncovered by a construction worker.
Annapuranee was born in Parit Buntar and was married to Francis Jenkins, who was then an officer with the Royal Australian Air Force in Penang. She had relocated to Adelaide with him.
They have two children and two grandchildren from their marriage. – The Vibes, October 14, 2022
