An inquest into the death of Sabah schoolgirl Zara Qairina Mahathir, 13, is expected to start at the end of this month or early September, according to Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar.
Dusuki was quoted by Buletin TV3 as saying the date would depend on the schedules of the coroner’s court and the lawyers involved.
He said his department would seek an immediate start to the inquest. “The investigators have taken the statement of a pathology expert. However, the autopsy report is still being prepared,” he said.
The coroner’s court in Kota Kinabalu is expected to set the date of the inquest tomorrow.
The inquest had been requested by the Sabah state director of prosecutions. On Aug 13, the Attorney-General’s Chambers said it had decided an inquest would be held to establish the cause and circumstances of Zara’s death, including whether any criminal elements were involved.
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 the following day.
Her mother, Noraidah Lamat, filed a police report on Aug 3 stating that she recalled seeing bruises on parts of her daughter’s back during the Islamic funeral washing ritual.
Zara’s body was exhumed last weekend to allow for a post-mortem.
