Nora Quoirin’s bedroom window was broken and sniffer dog failed to pick up Brit teen’s scent three times
NORA Quoirins bedroom window has BROKEN and a police sniffer dog failed to pick up her scent THREE times, an inquest has heard.
The British teen, 15, who had mental and physical disabilities, vanished from her bedroom at the Dusun Resort in the Malaysian jungle last year.
Her naked body was found ten days later on August 13 after she starved to death while suffering internal bleeding, authorities said.
But despite Malaysian police believing her death was a tragic accident after the child climbed out of her window, her parents fear there may be a criminal element to the case.
The inquest into her death today heard how the room which Nora was staying in at the resort near Seremban, about 40 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, had a window handle which was broken.
A police officer told the court that the child’s family – who live in London – reported the fault before she vanished, reports the BBC.
The family insist the window was closed before they went to sleep on the night the 15-year-old went missing.
Criminal investigations officer Ass Supt Chong Mee Chyi said the family told resort staff that the window would not close securely when they checked in.
Nora’s parents told Ms Chong that the resort took no action to fix the problem and that the owner said the room “is very hot, so the window can be opened to allow for wind to enter”.
WINDOW HANDLE ‘BROKEN’
She said Nora’s mother Meabh told her she believed her daughter was “abducted” when they first met.
The cop told the inquest the child did not have a history of wandering off by herself, according to her parents.
Also at the inquest, police K9 handler Sergeant Poo Kong San testified that a sniffer dog failed three times to detect Nora’s scent on the first day of the search on August 4 last year.
He said: “Usually when the dog has obtained a scent, he will elicit an excited response.
“In this case, the dog failed to react accordingly after an hour had passed.”
The officer said the dog failed to show any response when brought to Nora’s window, reports the Malay Mail.
‘NO SCENT’
He told the court that the animal was also taken to a nursery north of the room where Nora was last seen before being taken into the nearby jungle.
Sergeant Kong San, who has 20 years experience with sniffer dogs, said he knew the hound had failed to pick up the scent because of its behaviour and gait.
He told the Coroner’s Court that factors which could have impacted the dog’s smelling ability were the weather, the amount of people at the resort and the terrain.
After three failed attempts, spaced over several hours, the mutt was allowed to rest because it had pre-existing health conditions affecting its hips and hind legs.
The four-year-old dog only took part in the search on August 4, the police officer said.
When asked by a lawyer whether its health problems could have affected its ability to smell, Sergeant Kong San agreed that they could.
Ms Chong also told the inquest how Nora’s parents begged cops to follow up leads from psychics.
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She said: “The family informed me that they had received several instant messages from spiritual mediums said to be based overseas who were willing to provide their assistance,” reports The Malay Mail.
The cop said she noted down the info and asked the force to look into the messages.
The mediums said Nora had either been followed by someone from the airport and was still alive, was being held close to the Dusun Resort and her life was in danger or was in a van located at the south-western part of the jungle.
Ms Chong said she handed the information to the search and rescue team, even following up with Kuala Lumpur International Airport to obtain CCTV footage with regard to the first tip.