Lawyers in Malaysia representing the parents of Franco-Irish teenager Nóra Quoirin have filed a civil suit against the operator of the Dusun holiday resort where Nóra was staying when she disappeared last August.
The Quoirins are claiming at least €40,000 in damages and claim the resort failed to keep the premises in which they were staying safe and secure.
The defendant in the suit is Helen Marion Todd, who operates the resort.
The statement of claim was filed on December 24th in the Seremban Sessions Court, Negeri Sembilan, by Sankara N Nair and partners on behalf of Nóra's mother and father, Meabh Josephine Quoirin and Sebastien Marie Philippe Quoirin.
The date for the first case management hearing has been set for January 21st at Seremban Sessions Court.
The statement of claim states that Nóra Quoirin went through pain and suffering from August 4th until August 13th, 2019. The 15-year-old’s body was found in the jungle about two kilometres from the Dusun resort by a group of hikers who had volunteered their help in the massive 10-day search.
The Quoirins plead that their daughter’s disappearance and death “were caused directly by the defendant’s negligence and/or recklessness, both by way of act or conduct and omission”.
A spokeswoman for the Dusun resort said that a statement would not at the moment be issued in response to the allegations.
Nóra’s parents are making a claim against Ms Todd for special damages in the sum of 152,707.90 ringgit (about €33,372), general damages as assessed by the sessions court, damages for bereavement of 30,000 ringgit (about €6,555), and “damages for pain and sufferings”.
On October 8th last year, through their lawyers in Malaysia, the Quorins demanded that the defendant pay them damages, but, the statement of claim alleges Ms Todd had so far “failed, neglected and/or refused to pay any damages”.
Window latch broken
The statement of claim states that, on or about March 18th, 2019, the plaintiffs booked and paid for a three-night stay at the Dusun resort from August 3rd until August 6th, 2019.
The family had intended to spend three days at the resort before travelling around Malaysia.
After travelling from overseas, Meabh and Sebastien Quoirin checked into the resort with Nóra and their two other younger children on August 3rd. After the journey "they were exhausted and went to bed", their claim states.
The next morning, at or about 8 am, Nóra’s parents discovered she was missing and noticed that the window in the living area of the bungalow in which they were staying was ajar.
Their statement of claim alleges that the latch on the window was broken and the window could easily be opened by anyone from outside.
It is also alleged that the perimeter fencing was not secured and the entrance gate of the Dusun was kept open at all times and no security personnel were in place to guard the property.
Furthermore, it alleges that there was no closed-circuit television and no other safety facilities were installed at the resort.
It notes that Nóra was born with a medical condition known as holoprosencephaly which left her with balancing and coordination difficulties. “In addition her motor skills and core strength were very poor, and the deceased was unable to walk without the help of an adult. The mental age of the deceased at the time of death was about five or six years old only.”
Postmortems
After the postmortem on Nóra's body, Malaysian police said on August 15th that there was no evidence of foul play. The police said the cause of death was upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to a duodenal ulcer complicated with perforation. The bleeding in Nóra's intestine was most likely caused by prolonged hunger and stress, Negeri Sembilan police chief Mohamad Mat Yusof said.
The final results of the postmortem carried out in Malaysia, including the toxicology reports, have not yet been released.
The Quoirins are also still awaiting the results of a second postmortem, carried out in London.
Nóra’s parents have said they believe there was a criminal element in the disappearance and death of their daughter and have called on the Malaysian authorities to open an inquest.
Mr Nair says he suspects that Nóra was abducted.