The Coroner’s Court has begun hearing the inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir, with several witnesses expected to testify today.
Proceedings, presided over by Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan, are set to start with lawyers applying to be recognised as interested parties in the inquest. This follows a decision by High Court Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol yesterday to overturn the previous coroner’s ruling, after Azreena Aziz had recused herself on August 28.
Lawyers from the Sabah Law Society (SLS) and those representing Zara Qairina’s family had sought a review of the earlier decision, which allowed the lawyer representing the juvenile offenders involved in the case to participate as an interested party. Duncan subsequently nullified all prior coroner rulings but allowed the parties to reapply before the new coroner.
Today, both sets of lawyers—the family’s and those representing the five teenagers implicated in bullying linked to Zara Qairina’s death at the Children’s Court—are expected to submit their applications to participate in the inquest. Being recognised as an interested party would allow the lawyers to actively participate in the proceedings, including questioning witnesses called by the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), who are acting as the inquiry’s facilitators.
Previously, Zara’s family’s lawyers opposed the juvenile offenders’ lawyers from being recognised as interested parties, arguing that their legal disputes should remain confined to the Children’s Court.
The inquest is scheduled to run today and tomorrow, then continue from September 8–12, September 17–19, and September 22–30. The AGC has indicated that about 70 witnesses will be called, including the pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Zara Qairina, considered a key witness.
The inquest follows a formal request from Zara Qairina’s family, through their lawyers, to determine the cause of her death.
Zara Qairina, aged 13, was reported dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious beneath her school dormitory in Kinarut, Papar.
In addition to the inquest, her mother, Noraidah Lamat, through her lawyers, requested the exhumation of Zara’s body for a second autopsy. This process began on August 9, with the autopsy and reburial completed the following day.
