GEORGE TOWN, July 21 — The son of an Australian woman Anna Jenkins, who was reported missing in 2017 in Penang, has arrived in the state to give his DNA sample to the police for a comparative test following the discovery of a pelvic bone in a forest near Jalan Batu Gunung, here recently.
Timur Laut District Police chief ACP Soffian Santong said the man arrived in Penang last week and is currently undergoing the 14-day quarantine for Covid-19 until July 29 at a hotel here.
“Initially, the family of the woman was ready to send over their DNA samples for the comparison, however, last week, her son said he wanted to fly here (Penang) to give the sample.
The DNA sample will be taken, and the Penang Chemistry Department has also agreed to conduct the test as soon as they receive the sample,” he told reporters after attending the Penang Police Contingent’s monthly gathering here today.
On June 24, a worker who was doing landscape work chanced upon a pelvic bone and a pile of clothes and other items in a forest near Jalan Batu Gantung, three kilometres from the location the victim was reportedly last seen on Jalan Scotland.
Commenting further, Soffian said the police had sent photos of several items found with the bone to the woman’s family in Australia for identification purposes, including a toothbrush, cross, clothing items, glasses, and a hotel access card.
He said further investigations on the cause of death and how the victim ended up in the area which was still a jungle and a private property in 2017, would be conducted once the DNA tests confirmed the bone belonged to the victim.
On December 13, 2017, Jenkins, 65, was said to have headed out of her hotel room for a dental appointment in Pulau Tikus, and after the treatment, she requested staff at the clinic to help her hail a car to go to a charity home in Batu Lanchang.
The woman asked the driver to drop her near a traffic light on Jalan Scotland, but for safety purposes, the driver dropped her off at a school nearby. She has since been reported missing and a police report was lodged by her husband. — Bernama
