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Over 1,000 gather in Tuaran for Zara Qairina

Over 1,000 gather in Tuaran for Zara Qairina

Daily Express3 days ago
Published on: Sunday, August 10, 2025
Published on: Sun, Aug 10, 2025
By: R Gonzales Text Size: Some of the gathering participants. - R Gonzales | Daily Express TUARAN: Heavy rain did not deter more than 1,000 people from gathering at the Tuaran Field grandstand on Sunday afternoon in solidarity with Zara Qairina. The crowd, which began assembling around 3.30pm, grew steadily as people arrived to show their support for the 13-year-old.
Advertisement Pantai Dalit Assemblyman Datuk Jasnih Daya joined participants in chanting calls for justice and expressed hope that authorities would take firm action against those involved in the alleged bullying incident. Participants chanted 'Justice for Zara' and the takbir, followed by a brief account of Zara's passing. The police-monitored gathering concluded peacefully at 4.45pm, with similar events previously held in Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Tawau, Papar, among others, and more planned in other districts. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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Zara likely had 20-30 injuries
Zara likely had 20-30 injuries

Daily Express

timean hour ago

  • Daily Express

Zara likely had 20-30 injuries

Published on: Wednesday, August 13, 2025 Published on: Wed, Aug 13, 2025 Text Size: Pro-bono family lawyer Shahlan Jufri was called in every time they confirmed an injury, whereby the specialists gave their views and explanation on each injury. Kota Kinabalu: At least 20 to 30 injuries were possibly detected by pathologists doing last Sunday's post-mortem on Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir, according to a Daily Express observation outside the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, here, where it was conducted. Our reporter painstakingly recorded each time the family lawyer holding a watching brief during the autopsy rushed into the room. Pro-bono family lawyer Shahlan Jufri was called in every time they confirmed an injury, whereby the specialists gave their views and explanation on each injury. 'Every injury was looked at and assessed,' he said, adding that he took note of the injuries that were highlighted by Dr Jessie Hui (Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1) and forensic pathology consultant Dr Khairul Anuar Zainun from Sultan Idris Shah Hospital in Serdang, Selangor. The team who worked non-stop for eight hours checked her remains thoroughly for all kinds of injuries, especially those she may have sustained due to alleged bullying. Shahlan said each injury was evaluated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and he was briefed on the nature of the injuries. However, he declined to reveal anything, saying it is up to the authorities. "I witnessed the post-mortem process right to the end as the pathologist checked through every part of the body including internal organs,' he said. Zara was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory from an apparent fall from the third floor of her hostel in Papar district on July 16. She died the next day at the QEH and buried at her hometown in Sipitang. However, there were doubts over the circumstances leading to her death with questions raised about the possibility of her being a victim of school bullying. Her mother Noraidah Lamat, 45, subsequently through her lawyers raised questions about the thoroughness of the police investigation as no autopsy was carried out. Subsequently, the Attorney-General's Chambers told the police to exhume the body so that a post-mortem could be carried out. Shahlan said the autopsy was done in a transparent manner with no interference by any quarter. Shahlan together with legal partner Hamid Ismail were appointed by Noraidah to represent the family. He said the autopsy report was not a public document but would be revealed in court if an inquest was held. For an inquest to held, a Special Coroner's Court would establish facts that led to a sudden death that remained unexplained. A coroner has to decide whether there is a criminal element in the case of the death. The last time a Coroner's inquest based on popular public interest was held was in 1979 to establish how the 11 people on board the Nomad plane, including then chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens, met their deaths on June 6, 1976. The inquest in that case was only held three years later because nobody volunteered to head the inquest, saying it was a 'hot potato' until a young magistrate then, Datuk Ansari Abdullah took up the challenge. A Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department task force has been formed to take over the investigation into Zara Qairina's death. Inspector-General of Police secretariat (corporate communication) said the task force consisting of nine officers and personnel had been deployed to Sabah. 'The task force is part of the police's commitment to ensure the investigation is conducted transparently and thoroughly,' the secretariat said. The remains of Zara, 13, were reburied at the Tanjung Ubi Islamic cemetery in Kg Mesapol in Sipitang following the autopsy. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia

Family to withhold comments
Family to withhold comments

Daily Express

timean hour ago

  • Daily Express

Family to withhold comments

Published on: Wednesday, August 13, 2025 Published on: Wed, Aug 13, 2025 Text Size: The family of Zara Qairina Mahathir will withhold further comments until the hospital issues the official post-mortem report to avoid any conflict with the verbal findings earlier conveyed to their legal team and her mother. Kota Kinabalu: The family of Zara Qairina Mahathir will withhold further comments until the hospital issues the official post-mortem report to avoid any conflict with the verbal findings earlier conveyed to their legal team and her mother. In a statement Monday, family lawyers Shahlan Jufri and Mohd Luqman Syazwan Zabidi expressed gratitude to the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) for directing police to apply for the exhumation and subsequent post-mortem on Aug 10. They also thanked police for closely overseeing both the exhumation and examination processes. The family acknowledged the presence and support of individuals, including members of the media, who were at the cemetery and Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) 1 throughout the day. They said this solidarity was deeply appreciated as the family navigates the next steps in the legal process. Meanwhile, the family lawyers hailed the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department's (CID) takeover of Zara's death investigation as a positive step towards justice. The decision follows the AGC's directive for the case to be handled by a Task Force from Bukit Aman, fulfilling one of four demands the legal team made to the AGC on Aug 5. The four requests were for the investigation papers to be returned to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the case reopened, for experienced investigators from Bukit Aman to be appointed, for Zara's grave to be exhumed for a post-mortem and for an inquest to determine whether criminal elements were involved. The family lawyers said the latest development gives hope that the truth behind Zara's death will be uncovered. They believe it will help establish whether her death was the result of foul play. 'This positive development is hoped to unravel the issues surrounding Zara's death and ultimately prove that there were criminal elements involved,' they said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia

Inquest into Zara Qairina's death must be expedited as questions mount, says MP
Inquest into Zara Qairina's death must be expedited as questions mount, says MP

New Straits Times

time14 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Inquest into Zara Qairina's death must be expedited as questions mount, says MP

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to hold an inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir, an opposition MP told the Dewan Rakyat. Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PN-Alor Star) said the inquest was necessary to identify those responsible, as the cause of her death and the identity of the perpetrators remained unanswered nearly a month after the incident. "Zara is not only the child of her parents, but the child of all Malaysians who want justice for her still unanswered death," he said during his debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan in the Dewan Rakyat. Afnan also proposed the appointment of full-time hostel wardens who are not schoolteachers, safety audits at schools with a high incidence of bullying, installation of CCTV cameras, the drafting of anti-bullying legislation, and the immediate formation of a special cabinet committee on bullying. The fifth measure, he said, was to create an online complaint platform that could be accessed by schools, police, and other relevant agencies. "What exactly happened? "Who are the perpetrators being protected?" he asked, adding that the issue had undermined public trust in schools, which should instead inspire confidence. He said that national development and economic progress would be meaningless if moral values among those responsible for carrying out such plans continued to deteriorate. Yesterday, the Inspector-General of Police Secretariat's Corporate Communications Unit confirmed that a task force comprising federal police CID personnel has taken over the investigation into Zara's death. Zara, a Form One student of a secondary school in Papar, Sabah, was reported to have fallen from the third floor of a dormitory. She was found unconscious in a drain on July 16 and later died while receiving treatment at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital (HQE) in Kota Kinabalu. On July 31, Sabah police chief Datuk Jauteh Dikun said that the possibility of bullying as a factor had not been ruled out. On Saturday, Zara's grave was exhumed in preparation for a post-mortem. On Sunday, the post-mortem was conducted at HQE, lasting about eight hours from 11am to 7.30pm.

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