News@9: Today's top headlines - August 20, 2025 [WATCH]
Five teenagers have pleaded not guilty to a charge of using insulting words against Zara Qairina Mahathir.
The cabinet will review a proposal to establish a tribunal to handle bullying cases involving children, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Police have crippled a major drug syndicate in the Klang Valley, seizing 425.25kg of syabu worth an estimated RM13.6 million.
Meeting all criteria
The appointment of new Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail meets all merit and eligibility criteria set by the Police Force Commission.
That's all for News@9.
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Free Malaysia Today
4 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Charges against Zara's alleged bullies could change with new evidence, says minister
Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the inquest is to establish the cause of Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir's death and not to find fault. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Charges against the five teenage girls for allegedly verbally bullying Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir may be amended if new evidence emerges, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said today. He said it was not unusual for charges to be amended during the course of proceedings. 'Of course, the charges can be amended. It's a normal part of the legal process. Sometimes the accused is initially charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code (for murder), which is later reduced to Section 304 (for culpable homicide not amounting to murder). 'That's how the process works,' he said when winding up the debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan in the Dewan Rakyat for his ministry. He was responding to a question from Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PN-Alor Setar) on whether the charges could be revised should new evidence surface during the inquest into Zara's death. Saifuddin said the inquest was intended to establish the cause of Zara's death and that it was not an exercise in finding fault. Earlier today, the five teenagers were charged in the children's court in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, with verbally abusing Zara, who died last month. They were charged with uttering abusive words against the victim which could have caused her distress. They are accused of committing the offence at Block A-3-6 of SMK Agama Tun Datu Mustapha in Limauan, Papar, between 10pm and 11pm on July 15. 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 in Kota Kinabalu the following day. Her body was exhumed on Aug 9 to allow for a post-mortem amid allegations of bullying. The Attorney-General's Chambers yesterday defended its decision to charge the five teenagers, clarifying that the charges under Section 507C(1) of the Penal Code related specifically to acts of bullying and were not connected to Zara's death. The AGC also dismissed a suggestion by lawyers representing Zara's family that further investigations or an inquest could later justify a more serious charge under Section 507D(2), saying this was 'speculative and not supported by accurate facts'. The lawyers had urged the AGC to postpone the charges against the five minors.
Free Malaysia Today
4 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Cops probe upside down Johor flag at Segamat hotel
Segamat police chief Ahmad Zamry Marinsah said a foreign worker who put up the flag immediately corrected his mistake after being alerted by a colleague. (Facebook pic) SEGAMAT : Police have started investigations into a social media post that shows the Johor state flag being flown upside down at a hotel in the Taman Yayasan Commercial Centre here. Segamat police chief Ahmad Zamry Marinsah said a report was lodged yesterday, with initial checks revealing the flag had been put up by two hotel employees in conjunction with the Merdeka month. 'One of them, a foreign worker, had mistakenly hoisted the flag upside down. He corrected his mistake immediately after being alerted by his colleague,' he said in a statement today, adding the worker holds valid documents, including a passport and work permit. The case is being investigated under Section 504 of the Penal Code, Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Investigation papers will be referred to the state prosecution office, he said.
Free Malaysia Today
4 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
PSM deputy chief arrested over scuffle outside Parliament
Last week, police said PSM deputy chairman S Arutchelvan (front row, third from left) was under investigation for allegedly using criminal force to obstruct a public servant in the course of duty and for committing mischief. PETALING JAYA : Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) deputy chairman S Arutchelvan was detained at the Dang Wangi police headquarters today in connection with a scuffle outside Parliament last week. PSM secretary-general M Sivaranjani said Arutchelvan surrendered himself after being instructed to report by 6pm. 'This arrest is unlawful and constitutes an abuse of police power,' she said in a brief statement. Last Wednesday, Kuala Lumpur police chief Fadil Marsus said an investigation was opened following a commotion during the submission of a memorandum and a draft bill outside Parliament which was said to have left a police officer injured. Fadil had said police were investigating the case under Section 353 of the Penal Code for use of criminal force to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty, and Section 427 of the Penal Code for mischief. He referenced a video on TikTok showing participants of a gathering 'provoking and forcefully breaching' police officers who were on duty during the event at Jalan Parlimen. Earlier that day, FMT reported that more than 100 plantation workers from Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Kedah and Johor had marched from Taman Tugu in the capital to Parliament to submit a memorandum on housing and a draft bill making it compulsory for estates to provide homes for local plantation workers. Police blocked the group from gathering at Parliament's gates but later allowed the workers to hand over the documents to deputy law and institutional reform minister M Kulasegaran and opposition chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan. The following day, police summoned Arutchelvan to provide his statement on the incident. Arutchelvan claimed that he and several participants at the rally were 'roughed up' by police and that 'there was no violence from our side'. Separately, rights groups Amnesty International Malaysia and Article 19 urged the government to immediately and unconditionally release Arutchelvan and drop the investigation against him. The groups described his arrest as yet another blatant act of intimidation against human rights defenders and an impediment to Arutchelvan's right to peacefully assemble. 'Protesting for rights must never be treated as a crime. Until intimidation and arbitrary arrests stop, Malaysia's civic space will remain under serious threat,' they said in a joint statement. They also called for a proper investigation into reports on the alleged use of unnecessary force by the police and an end to the crackdown on human rights defenders and peaceful protesters.
