The owner of The Dusun eco-resort said today that the villa where Nora Anne Quoirin had stayed with her family before she died required a considerable amount of fixing, including replacing its faulty windows.
General manager Haanim Bamadhaj testified today that she obtained a renovation quotation in April, months ahead of the teenager’s death, to renovate the two-story Sora House villa. But the renovation could only commence in October, after The Quoirins’ stay.
“We needed to replace the windows because it was difficult to close them,” Haanim spoke from Germany via Zoom, adding that the windows could open on its own. “We tried to add new latches on the windows, on top of the old latches, but those broke so we decided to replace the windows anyway.”
Other works included adding ventilation to the toilets, repainting, and fixing the roof.
Haanim was the second person to testify in today’s live-streamed inquest into the death of Nora Anne Quoirin, 15. It was held at the Seremban Court Complex and is expected to take place over nine days until Sep 4.
Nora Quoirin death: Police chief first of 64 witnesses taking stand in live-streamed inquest
The French-Irish teen, who had special needs, was reported missing on Aug 4 last year and her body was found in the Seremban rainforest nine days later. Police believed she had fled her room via the window.
Haanim described to coroner Maimoonah Aid that the Sora House villa was “unsatisfactory” and “needed fixing.” She also said that she was unsure whether the resort staff had informed the Quoirins about the bungalow’s defects.
“After Nora (went missing), we’ve kept the Sora House empty of occupants,” Haanim said.
The French-Irish family, comprising Quoirin, her mother, father, and two siblings, had arrived at The Dusun resort from London. There were other guests who also stayed at the Sora House villa prior to their arrival, Haanim said. But there were no CCTV cameras set up at the villa during the time when the 15-year-old went missing, describing the resort as a part of a “gated community.”
The Sora House villa had a kitchen, a deck, a master bedroom with an attached bathroom, a spiral staircase, and another bedroom on the second level. The Dusun, which opened in 2009, has six other villas on its property.
Earlier today, Negeri Sembilan state police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop was the first person to testify in the case. He told the court that he had decided to call for a police investigation in the midst of a search operation as the teenager had gone missing from her room in the wee hours and not while hiking.
But no criminal elements were found in the early stage of Quoirin’s disappearance, he said.
Other stories to check out:
Nora Quoirin death: Police chief first of 64 witnesses taking stand in live-streamed inquest
Authorities confirm that body found in stream is missing Irish teen
Parents of Nora Quoirin insist there was ‘criminal element’ in her disappearance
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