DERBYSHIRE, UK (22 June 2005) -- A Derbyshire woman was unlawfully killed while on a dream holiday in Malaysia four years ago, a coroner has ruled. Joanna Jennings, of Church Street, Cotmanhay, was scuba diving when she was struck on the head by the propeller of a passenger ferry, which was said to be racing another boat. Miss Jennings (22), a secretary in the School of Chemistry at Nottingham University, died from her injuries on September 30, 2001. Peter Ashworth, Derby and South Derbyshire coroner, said the death "amounted to manslaughter" and "gross neglect" and recorded a verdict of unlawful killing yesterday. Since the tragedy, Miss Jennings' family have been calling for an inquest to be held in the UK, after the Malaysian police ruled out foul play and the Malaysian Attorney General's office decided not to press criminal charges. The case was then handed to a local magistrate who decided not to hold an inquest in Malaysia. Miss Jennings' mother, Mrs Valerie Jennings, told the inquest she had been told the ferryman had been arrested and would be in prison for 10 days. Later she heard he had been released early on bail. Last night she spoke of her relief at the verdict. She said: "At the moment I'm taking it all in and we reached a milestone. The verdict was completely appropriate and every scrap of evidence supported it and I'm now looking into the next step." The court heard how the Malaysian ferry operator, Seaquest, admitted its vessel was between 15 and 18 metres from the boat used by the divers. Under international laws the distance should be 100 metres. Diving instructor Ian Edwards, who was with Miss Jennings on the day she died, travelled from Malaysia to give evidence. He said he saw two ferries, one with passengers, the other empty, and believed they were racing. | | As he surfaced, Mr Edwards saw a boat coming towards him and he said: "I only had time to turn my back and put my scuba tank between me and the boat. "It pushed me back underwater and the empty boat was swerving inside the one with passengers - I believe they were racing." In a letter to the coroner, an American doctor told how he also thought the boats were racing. Miss Jennings was on holiday with boyfriend Paul Mooney, who now lives in Australia and returned to give evidence. Mr Mooney told the inquest: "I heard nothing of the boat until it was immediately above me. It passed over extremely quickly." He said he was disappointed with the Malaysian police investigation, calling it "an awful job." After the hearing Mr Mooney said that he and Miss Jennings' family would ask a Malaysian detective to look at the case again. He added: "Malaysia is a dangerous place to be. You will not get support from the authorities or the police over there. They were just not interested." SOURCE - Evening Telegraph |
