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'I was in a state of panic' says Zara's mother in explaining why she refused post-mortem

'I was in a state of panic' says Zara's mother in explaining why she refused post-mortem

KOTA KINABALU: The mother of Zara Qairina Mahathir, Noraidah Lamat, said she was not in the right state of mind when she was asked to consent to a post-mortem immediately after her daughter was pronounced dead.
The 45-year-old said she was in shock and panic, and unable to make a sound decision at the time.
"There was no clear explanation, and we are not familiar with this kind of case.
We panicked, and no advice was given about the post-mortem process.
If we had known, we would not have signed the form refusing the post-mortem," she said in a Facebook comment.
Her lawyer, Hamid Ismail, confirmed that the social media account under the handle "Noie AiDa" belongs to Noraidah.
Yesterday, Bukit Aman revealed there had been non-compliance on the part of the police for failing to initiate a post-mortem.
However, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk M. Kumar said Noraidah had signed a hospital-issued document to waive the post-mortem.
Zara died on July 17 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital here, a day after she was found unconscious in her school dormitory in Papar.
The Attorney-General's Chambers later ordered her body to be exhumed, and a post-mortem was conducted on Sunday.
Zara was reburied at the Tanjung Ubi Muslim Cemetery in Sipitang on Monday.
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