SEREMBAN, Sept 1 ― A post-mortem examination of holidaying Irish-French teen Nora Anne Quoirin who was found dead after disappearing from a jungle resort near here last year did not turn up any trace of foreign DNA, government chemist Nor Aidora Saedon testified at the Coroner’s Court today.
Nor Aidora, the sixth witness in the inquest that started on August 24, said her findings were derived from an analysis of exhibits given to her by the authorities.
“Based on the second report, from my analysis we couldn't find any foreign DNA on Nora Anne and of course the last report taken from the crime scene where we could not get any DNA at all,” the Department of Chemistry Malaysia Forensic DNA division director told Coroner Maimoonah Aid.
The court was told there were four reports.
Asked by Qouirin's lawyer lawyer S. Sakthyvell on whether the location of where a body is found would affect the findings of a chemist report before citing how Quoirin's body was found partially submerged in a stream, Nor Aidora replied in the affirmative.
“DNA in time will degrade and be lost. However in the case where a body is found, generally it is suggested that the outside of the body, definitely foreign DNA is difficult to find due to the environment. Malaysia is hot and humid, therefore DNA degrades very fast as compared to four seasons countries.
“However having said that, the swabs taken in intimate areas, inside of the body, no foreign DNA was found as well.
“Generally it is suggested that no penetration happened, then again usually in cases of penetration and ejaculation, foreign DNA should be there. It’s well-preserved because it's in the inside,” Nor Aidora said.
When asked to explained what she meant by foreign DNA, Nor Aidora said they were DNA not belonging to Quoirin found on her body based on swabs, fingernail or hair samples taken by the pathologist.
Touching the four reports, Nor Aidora said the first report was aimed as ascertaining the profile of the individual that had gone missing with analysis performed on exhibits such as swabs taken from family members while the second report was for identification purposes to ensure the body that was found was indeed the missing individual through family relations.
As for the third and fourth report, Nor Aidora said one their purposes was to ascertain the elements of foul play when asked further.
“In short, we have done the analysis as thoroughly as I could and we could not find any foreign DNA on the body,” she added.
Quoirin, a 15-year-old with learning difficulties, disappeared from The Dusun resort last year where she was staying with her London-based family, triggering a 10-day hunt involving helicopters, search dogs and hundreds of searchers.
Her nude body was discovered close to the jungle retreat and an autopsy found that she probably starved and died of internal bleeding after spending about a week in the dense rainforest.
