Malaysia Airlines let this plane fly and may suspect what happened here but are hesitant to take responsibility for allowing the plane to continue to fly. The impending lawsuits would surely bankrupt the airline and possibly result in criminal negligence charges. So now a cover-up?
If the compromised wing slowly tore away, over a period of 3 to 5 minutes the pilot would attempt to turn back or turn anyway whether the pilot wanted to or not.
Maybe there is communications from the pilot but Malaysia Airlines is not releasing it?
Now, that’s a theory. I would not put it past corrupt authorities in South-East Asia.