The Coroner's Court in Kuantan ruled that the death of Briton Gareth David Huntley, who was reported missing in Tioman Island on May 27, 2014, remains undetermined.

Coroner Mohd Zulbahrin Zainuddin said today he could not determine the manner Huntley died due to his decomposed body.

He ruled out any criminal elements surrounding the death and concluded that Huntley, 34, died four to nine days before the specimen was taken.

The Briton's lawyer M Visvanathan told Malaysiakini that the family had instructed him to file a revision at the High Court against today's decision.

He said the family expressed their dissatisfaction with the coroner for not allowing them to call several witnesses, including Huntley's girlfriend, and proceeded to make a decision.

Visvanathan added that they suspected something was amiss when Huntley did not return and there were rumours of a fight following several marks on the body.

However, in the post-mortem report, the coroner said: “In my view, the way the deceased met his death points to accidental death. Meaning there is less probability of him dying as a result of suicide, ailment, and murder."

Huntley, who was a volunteer, was reported missing after trekking alone to Lubuk Teja waterfall.

His body was found about a week later behind the Lagoon Chalet, Kampung Juara, with no identification papers.

Huntley's mother Janet Southwell, of Bradford, issued a statement stating that there was a lack of consideration given and no empathy shown to the family.

“Whilst giving evidence there was a lack of sensitivity and humanity shown towards me. You have criticised us for not attending every session of the hearing. We consider this to not only be totally inappropriate but also wholly unethical.

“I wonder if you as a judge have given any thought as to the difficulties that any family might have about attending the court proceeding which is thousands of miles away from their own,” she said.

She added that when the family members attended the proceeding, it was conducted in Bahasa Malaysia which they could not understand.

Southwell said while they understand the difficulties surrounding the case, they do not believe that justice has been done.

She further claimed that the court proceedings were done in an unprofessional manner, with postponements at the last minute and the family's request for further evidence presented was denied.

“We had intended to travel to Malaysia to listen to the verdict. However, given our lack of faith in the manner the hearing has been conducted in light of the fact that we believe it to be a sham and a whitewash, we have concluded that attending court would give credence and weight to the proceedings and this is what we are not prepared to do."

Southwell, in a report carried by the British Broadcasting Corporation, had considered her son's death as “suspicious”.