Police chief insists there is no evidence London teenager Nora Quoirin was abducted

A police chief has told an inquest into the death of London teenager Nora Quoirin that there was ‘no sign’ she was abducted from a resort in Malaysia.

The 15-year-old’s disappearance sparked a ten-day search through dense rainforest involving helicopters, sniffer dogs and hundreds of volunteers. 

But when her naked body was found by hikers police said foul play was not involved and closed the case. 

They pointed to an autopsy claiming she had probably starved to death and died of internal bleeding after spending about a week in the dense rainforest. 

Her heartbroken parents argued their daughter, who had learning difficulties, would never have wondered away alone and demanded an inquest. 

The inquest into the death of London teenager Nora Quoirin opened today a year after her naked body was found in a jungle in Malaysia. She is pictured above in a family photo

Parents Meabh and Sebastien demanded an inquest after arguing their daughter would not have wandered off. They are pictured calling for their daughter with a megaphone last year

Local police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop was the first witness called to the inquest in Seremban today, held a year after she disappeared. 

‘There was no indication the victim was kidnapped,’ he said.

‘We did not receive any telephone calls – usually in this kind of case we will get a call to say the victim has been kidnapped and is in the hands of certain people, and they would demand a ransom.

‘I believe the missing person actually climbed out of the window.’

When he first met the family, Mr Yusop said they were ‘distraught’ and that he ‘assured the father we will use all our resources to find the missing girl’. 

A second witness, resort owner Ahmed Bamadhaj, told the inquest that the latch of one of the windows in the bungalow where they were staying was broken.

Pictures of the two windows in the hotel room were shown to the court, including the one with a broken latch. 

As many as 64 witnesses are expected to be called to the court including the hikers that found her body, a British forensic expert, Nora’s parents and police officers.

Police officers pictured leaving the court today. The local police chief was the first of 64 witnesses called to the inquest to give evidence

The 15-year-old’s disappearance sparked a ten-day hunt through the rainforest involving helicopters, sniffer dogs and hundreds of volunteers

Opening proceedings today, Coroner Maimoonah Aid said: ‘We are here to answer a few questions – who is the dead person, when and how she died and whether anyone was responsible.’ 

The coroner visited Dusun resort and the place where the body was found earlier this month in a trip the Quoirin family’s lawyer described as ‘quite thorough’. 

Ahead of the inquest, the teenager’s parents Meabh and Sebastien Quoirin described it as ‘a crucial element in the fight for truth and justice for Nora’.

‘We hope that all avenues surrounding Nora’s disappearance will be fully explored and not just the theory which the police has always favoured,’ they said.

The inquest will be calling 64 witnesses to the courthouse, pictured, in Seremban

They were not present at the inquest because of the coronavirus pandemic but will be interviewed by the coroner via video-link. 

Nora disappeared from the resort on August 4 last year.