KOTA KINABALU: The High Court has overturned a coroner’s decision permitting legal representatives for minors charged in the bullying case of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir to attend her inquest proceedings.
Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol delivered the ruling after considering a revision application submitted by the Sabah Law Society and Zara Qairina’s family legal team.
The court directed that all previous applications and directions in the inquest be set aside while allowing lawyers to renew their applications before the new coroner.
The Sabah Law Society sought judicial review after Coroner Azreena Aziz initially admitted the child offenders’ counsels as interested parties but later recused herself from the case.
Judge Sikodol determined that it was improper for Azreena to decide substantive matters that should have been left to the new coroner after she concluded she could not proceed with the case.
State Prosecution director Nahra Dollah appeared alongside deputy public prosecutors Mohd Fairuz Johari and Dacia Jane Romanus during the proceedings.
The inquest has been scheduled for multiple dates throughout September including September 3 to 4, September 8 to 12, September 17 to 19, and September 22 to 30.
Azreena recused herself on August 28 citing her residence in Papar where Zara Qairina’s religious school is located while clarifying she was unfamiliar with the individuals allegedly involved.
Thirteen year old Zara Qairina was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17 after being found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory in Papar on July 16.
The Attorney General’s Chambers announced an inquest into her death on August 13 following review of police investigation reports.
The Chambers had previously ordered the exhumation of Zara Qairina’s remains for a post-mortem examination on August 8. – Bernama
