Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil has denied issuing any statement or directive to block content related to the death of Sabah Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir.
Fahmi, who is also the government spokesman, said a post uploaded by Facebook account owner “Datu Bentan Alamin” was defamatory.
“I have never at any time issued any statement or directive as alleged.
“A police report has been lodged against the Facebook account owner who spread this slander,” he wrote on Facebook.
He also urged all parties to stop spreading slander and not to exploit Zara’s death for their personal gain.
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 next day.
On Thursday, a school teacher claimed trial to a charge of conducing public mischief after remarks uploaded on her TikTok account touched on the purported cause of Zara’s death.
On Tuesday, Bukit Aman criminal investigation department director M Kumar said a 51-year-old man was arrested over a TikTok video which allegedly contained false statements regarding investigations into Zara’s death.
