The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling to strike out Berjaya Land Development Sdn Bhd and its project manager from a negligence suit brought by the son of the late Anna Jenkins, a Malaysia-born Adelaide resident who went missing in 2017.
Greg Jenkins filed the suit in August 2023, naming the government, the police, Berjaya Land, its project manager Terrence Theseira, and landscape worker Kew Kee Seng as defendants.
A three-judge appellate panel comprising Justices Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazal, Azizul Azmi Adnan and Faizah Jamaludin today said it concurred that there was no sustainable cause of action against Berjaya Land and Theseira.
Ruzima also ordered Greg to pay RM10,000 in costs.
The High Court ruled on Feb 26 last year that Greg had no legal right to file a lawsuit without obtaining permission from Anna’s estate.
It said that only an estate’s legal representative may bring such claims under the law, and that Greg, despite being the deceased’s biological son, was unable to show that he was her duly appointed legal representative.
Anna’s remains were found in 2020 at a bungalow site belonging to Berjaya Land near the Turf Club in Penang.
Greg’s suit against the company, Theseira and Kew alleged that they had concealed the discovery of Anna’s remains.
Greg was represented by SN Nair and L Narendran. Berjaya and Theseira were represented by Ong Yu Shin and Lim Wooi Ying.
The case will proceed against the government, the police, and Kew.
