Tan Tiang Guan, 64, said the Australian woman had also asked to be dropped off halfway during the journey, about 2km before her intended destination which was the Little Sisters of the Poor home for the aged near Air Itam.
He said he picked up Jenkins outside a dental clinic in Pulau Tikus at about 4.30pm on Dec 13, 2017.
“She then wanted me to stop near a Chinese school at the Scotland-York roads’ junction about six to seven minutes into the trip.
“But I told her we can’t stop there, as it was a busy intersection. I then asked if she could get off at a safer spot just ahead and she agreed,” he told an inquest into the disappearance of Jenkins.
Tan said he then stopped about 300m away from the guardhouse at the entrance of the Ramakrishna Ashram.
“She told me her friend will pick her up, paid me the RM1 promo fare and left,” he said.
Tan said he then circled the driveway to the exit and noticed that Jenkins was walking towards the ashram building, adding that he did not see anyone else there at that time.
Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim, who is assisting the coroner in the inquest, asked Tan if they had any other conversation during their trip.
Tan said he did not talk to his passengers unless they struck up a conversation first. In this case, he said, Jenkins was silent most of the time and only spoke to ask about Hospital Penang.
He said it was only after police had asked him to come to the Patani Road police station a few days later for questioning that he learned about Jenkins’ disappearance.
“The police asked me if I had picked up any Australian national. I said I did not. I only knew that she was an Australian after the police showed me her photo and told me who she was,” he said.
To a question from Jenkins’ family lawyer Raveentharan Subramaniam, Tan said his phone was not taken away by the police to extract information related to the e-hailing ride.
Khairul later asked the court to adjourn for the day as he had an urgent meeting with a High Court judge.
He also asked for the Friday inquest date to be vacated, as the police needed additional time to conduct further investigations to answer questions related to Jenkins’ disappearance.
Coroner Norsalha Hamzah adjourned the proceedings until tomorrow and vacated the Friday court date. A retired investigating officer and dentist are expected to testify tomorrow.