Sabah student's death over alleged bullying: 5 teenage girls plead not guilty to verbally abusing Zara Qairina

KOTA KINABALU: Five teenage girls were charged on Wednesday (Aug 20) at a court in Sabah with using abusive words against 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, whose death last month over alleged bullying sparked calls for justice and transparency into the case. 

The minors were accused of uttering abusive words at Zara which were purportedly heard by her and could have caused her distress, local media New Straits Times reported. 

Appearing before Judge Elsie Primus at the Children’s Court in Kota Kinabalu, the five - who were all earlier reported to be under 18 - pleaded not guilty to one charge under Section 507C(1) of the Penal Code, which relates to the offence of using or making any threatening or abusive language or communication.

If convicted, they may be jailed for up to a year, fined, or both. 

The offence was allegedly committed at one of the dormitory blocks of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, Sabah between 10pm and 11pm on Jul 15.

Zara - who was a Form One student at the school - was found unconscious after allegedly falling from the third floor of her dormitory at about 4am the following day on Jul 16. 

She was then pronounced dead at a local hospital on Jul 17.  

The prosecution on Wednesday requested bail to be set at RM5,000 (US$1,200) each, with a RM1,000 deposit and one surety for each of the accused, reported New Straits Times.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing Zara’s family told the media at the conclusion of the closed door proceedings that a gag order has been issued on the case under Section 15 of the Child Act 2001. 

Section 15 of the Child Act 2001 in Malaysia restricts the reporting of child-related legal proceedings, specifically prohibiting the publication of identifying information about children involved in such cases. 

One of the lawyers said that his legal team could not share what happened during the hearing to avoid “contempt of court” and has called for the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) to issue a public statement. 

“It is not because of a VIP or because something is being hidden, it is because the law prohibits it so we hope the AGC can provide a statement on this matter,” said Hamid Ismail, one of the lawyers representing Zara’s family, as quoted by Malay Mail. 

The court has fixed Sep 25 for the next mention of the case.

WHY THE GAG ORDER? 

Earlier on Tuesday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Azalina Othman said that the five teenagers involved in the case will be protected under the Child Act 2001.

“This includes confidentiality, the right to legal representation and fair treatment,” Azalina said in a Facebook post. 

“While we will not tolerate bullying, these are still children in the eyes of the law and their rights must be safeguarded even as we hold them accountable.”  

Azalina was commenting on the concerns raised by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) earlier over the possible public disclosure of the identities of the five teenagers. The commission had said that this is to “prevent further stigmatisation of the children involved”.   

The AGC had said in a statement on Tuesday that the teenagers will be charged only with bullying-related offences and not for offences with a direct link to Zara’s death. 

The decision to proceed with the current charge was based on evidence and facts obtained during the investigation, reported Free Malaysia Today.

The AGC also stressed that an inquest would still proceed to determine the actual cause of Zara’s death.

The AGC also dismissed a suggestion by lawyers representing Zara’s family that further probes or an inquest could later justify a more serious charge under Section 507D(2), claiming that this was “speculative and not supported by accurate facts”. 

Under Section 507D(2), if a victim dies by suicide as a result of such provocation, those convicted can be imprisoned up to 10 years.

Lawyers representing Zara’s family had earlier urged the AGC to postpone the charges against the five minors for purportedly bullying the 13-year-old student. 

According to the lawyers, the proceeding with the current Section 507C(1) charge could preclude the more serious offence from being applied later, even if new evidence emerges due to “constitutional protection against double jeopardy” which prevents someone from being tried twice for the same act. 

Instead, the lawyers called for the five minors to be charged under Section 507D(2), which criminalises “causing a person to believe that harm will be caused”, according to local media Malay Mail. 

WHAT DO WE KNOW SO FAR? 

Zara’s death has sparked social media allegations of bullying which garnered national attention for weeks through the hashtag #JusticeforZara.

Thousands gathered in towns across Sabah - including Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu and Papar - calling for a transparent investigation and an end to the bullying culture in Malaysia’s education system. 

Rallies were also seen in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and even Kelantan. 

Police had initially closed the case, with Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution announcing that investigations had been completed and submitted to the AGC on Aug 2.

However, amid public outrage and allegations of a cover-up linked to powerful families - which the authorities have denied - the AGC returned the investigation report to the police on Aug 6, ordering a further probe.

On Aug 8, the AGC specifically ordered an exhumation for a fresh post-mortem to gather additional evidence. Zara’s body was exhumed two days later on Aug 10 by four pathologists, about three weeks after her death. 

The post-mortem also confirmed the initial cause of death due to a brain injury attributed to a fall, New Straits Times reported. 

On Aug 11, it was reported that a special nine-member task force from the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigations Department had been deployed to Sabah to take over the investigation into Zara’s death. 

The department’s director M Kumar said on Aug 17 that a total of 195 people have had their statements recorded, including teachers, students, wardens and parents. 

The Bukit Aman investigators have opened a disciplinary investigation paper against a district police chief, a district criminal investigation division chief, and an investigating officer, according to local media. 

They were suspected of non-compliance with standard operating procedures during the early probe into Zara’s death, according to Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay.

Separately, the police have also opened 15 investigation papers in connection with the dissemination of false information and a 39-year-old woman was arrested earlier this month under the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act for purportedly spreading fake news regarding Zara’s death. 

An inquest into the girl’s death is set to begin on Sep 3 with her mother expected to be one of the witnesses. 

Separately, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday confirmed a proposal to establish a tribunal to address bullying cases involving students and children. 

The proposal will be presented at a Cabinet meeting by Azalina, the law minister, according to Anwar.