KOTA KINABALU: A court in Kota Kinabalu is scheduled to meet on Monday (Aug 18) to set a date for Zara Qairina Mahathir’s inquest.
Counsel Hamid Ismail, who represents Zara Qairina’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, stated that the inquest was scheduled for 9am at the Kota Kinabalu Court.
On Aug 13, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) issued a statement stating that an inquest would be carried out to look into the death of Zara after an autopsy on her body was done.
The AGC said the decision was made after reviewing the police investigation report on the case submitted on Aug 12.
It said that the inquest would be conducted under Section 339(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code to determine the cause and circumstances of her death, including whether there were any criminal elements involved.
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It added that the process would be handled independently and transparently by the Coroner’s Court in accordance with the law.
Prior to this order, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Comm Datuk M Kumar said Zara’s autopsy results showed she died from traumatic brain injuries as originally diagnosed by doctors.
He said these injuries were consistent with those sustained from a fall.
He also said there were shortcomings in how the investigations were conducted initially, and an internal investigation would be conducted on three senior cops involved in Zara’s preliminary investigation.
Zara died after she was believed to have fallen from the third floor of her school hostel at SMA Tun Datu Mustafa in Papar, on July 16.
