KOTA KINABALU, Sept 2 — The High Court here has set aside the coroner court’s ruling that allowed lawyers for the alleged bullies of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir to take part in her inquest.
However, Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol said that while the earlier order by the coroner judge is now void, the parties remain free to renew their applications before the new coroner at the inquest starting tomorrow.
“The High Court has set aside the order that allowed the child defendants’ lawyers to participate as interested parties in the inquest,” said Zara’s family lawyer Rizwandean M. Borhan.
“However, the court also ruled that they may reapply before the new coroner.” he said.
“We expect that their lawyer will apply again tomorrow as interested persons and we will again object. We will also apply ourselves to be interested parties, as we are not expecting any objections from the Attorney General’s chambers against our application,” he said.
Coroner judge Azreena Aziz, who had allowed Zara’s family and the five accused, has since recused herself from the case and been replaced by Sessions Court judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
The ruling came after Zara’s family and the Sabah Law Society (SLS) separately filed revision applications under Section 323 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
Sikodol said that the former coroner had allowed the child offenders to participate in the inquest as interested parties but subsequently recused herself, citing a personal interest in the matter.
“Having already formed the view that she could not continue with the case, it was not proper for her to decide a substantive issue which should rightly have been left to the new coroner. To do so would amount to deciding on behalf of the incoming coroner and undermine the principle of impartiality,” Sikodol was reported saying.
The court also dismissed objections raised by the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) against the SLS, which had appeared in the inquest only in a watching brief capacity.
The inquest into Zara’s cause of death is scheduled to begin tomorrow until the end of the month, with hearings fixed for September 3–4, 8–12, 17–19 and 22–30.
Zara, a student of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, was found unconscious in a drain near her hostel at around 4am on July 16. She was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, placed on life support, but passed away the following day.
