KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Further action in the investigation into the death of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir will depend on instructions from the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), the Sabah police commissioner said today.
Datuk Jauteh Dikun said the investigation paper is currently at Bukit Aman for final review before being submitted to the AGC.
“Any further action regarding the investigation will depend on the AGC once the case file is referred to the department,” he said when contacted by Harian Metro.
He added that police have received four reports related to the case, including a fresh report lodged by Zara Qairina’s mother at the Sipitang police station in Sabah earlier today.
The latest report was filed by Noraidah Lamat, 45, after she recalled seeing bruises on her daughter’s back while bathing her body in preparation for burial at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu on July 17.
In a joint statement, Noraidah’s lawyers, Hamid Ismail and Shahlan Jufri, said she only remembered the bruises yesterday when asked about the condition of Zara Qairina’s body during funeral preparations.
They said the detail had not been included in earlier police reports because she had completely forgotten about it.
The lawyers also urged authorities to exhume Zara Qairina’s grave immediately so that a post-mortem could be carried out to determine the actual cause of death and whether criminal elements were involved.
On Friday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the investigation had been completed and that the file would be submitted to the AGC this week.
Zara Qairina, a student at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha Limauan in Papar, Sabah, was believed to have fallen from the third floor. She was found unconscious in a drain near her dormitory at around 4am on July 16.
She died the following day at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital. Her death has drawn significant public attention and reaction on social media.
