This was revealed by Jenkins’ family lawyer, Raveentharan Subramaniam, who said Anna had called Francis’ mobile phone on Dec 13, 2017, the day she had gone missing.
Previously, police had never revealed that Francis had lodged such a report.
“The police FIR (first information report) is explicitly clear that the late Mrs Jenkins was arrested or held against her wishes by two Ukrainians.
“The possible ransom was her international passport,” Raveentharan said in his opening remarks to the court.
He asked if the police had investigated the phone number used by Anna in her distress call, and if they had investigated Francis’ report.
“Who was the owner of the landline 04-31232617? Was it a Good Samaritan who allowed the late Mrs Jenkins to use the phone during her time of distress?
“Her last words to her husband was that she wanted to return to the hotel.
“There was no issue over a 65-year-old, a former Malaysian familiar with Penang, disappearing all of a sudden? Was this crucial piece of evidence ever investigated?” he asked.
Raveentharan said it was also surprising that Anna’s death certificate had put her date and time of death as 4pm on June 24, 2020, which was when her remains were found.
At this point, Penang prosecution director Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim objected to Raveentharan’s remarks, reminding him that it was a coroner’s court, not a regular criminal trial.
Khairul said all the matters he had raised would be touched on in the due course of the inquest.
“By giving these remarks, you are giving the wrong impression. You will be given the opportunity as a watching brief lawyer to ask questions.
“We are on the same team here in trying to find out the circumstances behind Anna’s death. We are not adversaries,” he said.
Coroner Norsalha Hamzah agreed and ordered Khairul to continue with his opening remarks.
Parit Buntar-born Anna, 65, was in Penang on a short holiday with Francis in December 2017 before she went missing.
Her remains were found at a construction site in Batu Gantong here in June, 2020, about 3km from where she was last seen alighting from an Uber ride.