KOTA KINABALU, Aug 28 — The Coroner’s Court today granted “person of interest” status to the mother of the late Zara Qairina Mahathir and, separately, five teenagers accused of bullying her, allowing both parties to participate in the inquest into the 13-year-old’s death.
Zara Qairina, 13, was found unconscious near her school dormitory in Sabah on July 16 and pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital the next day. She is believed to have suffered bullying, neglect, and sexual harassment.
The inquest is scheduled to begin on Sept 3.
Shahlan Jufri, counsel for Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, said the decision means the family will have the right to access documents, review the prosecution’s case files, and question witnesses during the proceedings, subject to certain conditions.
The court also approved a similar application from the legal team representing the five teenagers linked to the bullying allegations, despite an objection from Noraidah’s counsel.
“We respect the decision of the court, but we were disappointed (that their application was approved),” Shahlan said, noting that the prosecutor did not object.
Coroner Azreena Aziz also rejected a third application, filed by the teenagers’ legal team, which sought to postpone the inquest.
The inquest will proceed as scheduled but will be handled by Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Ram Singh, a lawyer for the accused teenagers, explained their application for a stay.
“We applied for the stay not to delay the process, but because there is a provision in the law, and we want to ensure all is in place,” he said.
Shahlan said that Noraidah was happy with today’s outcome as she has been asking — and waiting — for an inquest.
He also confirmed that a witness list will be provided by tomorrow, with other relevant documents, including the post-mortem report, expected to follow.
Zara’s death had sparked nationwide outrage and protests, with demands for transparent investigations and action against bullying culture.
Currently, there are two parallel legal proceedings: the inquest, which is an open-court investigation into her cause of death, and separate bullying charges against the five schoolmates in the Child Court.
The inquest is scheduled to be held over the course of a month, beginning Sept 3.
