The administrator of a Facebook page named Sabahan News Online has apologised to Sabah minister Arifin Arif for linking him to the case involving Zara Qairina Mahathir, who died last month.
In a Facebook post, the admin said it retracted every statement it had made against Arifin related to the case, adding that the state science, technology and innovation minister was a “victim of misunderstanding all this while”.
It also apologised for linking Sabah governor Musa Aman to the case through Arifin, who is Musa’s son-in-law.
“We wholeheartedly apologise and will make this post a point of reference for the public so that all parties would understand (that Arifin is not linked to the case in any way).
“Every effort and attempt to link the governor and others to the case was a mistake and we deeply regret doing so,” it said.
It also expressed hope that this would alleviate the unhappiness of netizens with the page for making the allegations.
Zara was found unconscious at 4am on July 16 after allegedly falling from the third floor of her school’s hostel in Papar, Sabah. She died at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu the following day.
Her body was exhumed on Aug 9 to allow for a post-mortem amid allegations of bullying.
This morning, five teenage girls claimed trial in the children’s court in Kota Kinabalu to uttering abusive words against the victim which could have caused her distress.
