The parents of teenager Nóra Quoirin, who was traveling on an Irish passport, have sued the Malaysian resort she went missing from for alleged negligence and also called on authorities to launch a public inquest into her death.
Fifteen-year-old Nóra Quoirin disappeared from the Dusun eco-resort she was staying in with her family on August 4, 2019, and was found dead in an abandoned plantation, 2kms from her accommodation, nine days later on August 13 following an extensive search and rescue effort.
Quoirin's parents, Meabh ( originally from Belfast) and Sebastien have now filed a civil lawsuit against the resort, claiming that it was unsafe for their daughter who suffered from a neurological disorder. The lawsuit says a window was left open with a broken latch in the Quoirin's cottage and that the exterior gate was left open and unattended by any member of security.
The Quoirins are seeking 180,000 Malaysian Ringgit (just under €40,000) over losses, bereavement costs, and damages for pain and suffering from Helen Marion Todd, the resort owner.
Sankana Nair, the family's lawyer, said that the Quoirins maintained that she had been abducted and murdered.
The family released a statement last week via the Lucie Blackman Trust - a charity organization that supports British people in crisis overseas - and expressed their shock that Malaysian authorities had classified their daughter's case as a "no further action."
The family contends that a child as mentally and physically vulnerable as their daughter could not have acted alone leaving the resort and wandering through the jungle. Her body was found more than a mile from the resort she had been staying in.
Nóra Quoirin suffered from a condition known as holoprosencephaly which affects brain development and her mental age was around five or six years old, according to her parents.
An autopsy concluded that Nóra Quoirin likely died of internal bleeding due to starvation and stress, but Malaysian authorities have not yet released a full postmortem.
Her parents said: "We strongly refute any conclusion that Nóra was alone for the entire duration of her disappearance. We have repeatedly asked the police to clarify answers to our questions in this regard - and we have been repeatedly ignored."
Anne Genetet and Alexandre Holroyd, both French Members of Parliament, echoed the Quoirin's calls for a public inquest into Nóra's death.
The two politicians represent French citizens living abroad and penned a letter to the Malaysian authorities pleading for an inquest.
"This letter formally requests the Malaysian authorities to take the necessary steps in order to shed full light on the death of Nóra Quoirin," the letter read.
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