KOTA KINABALU: Lawyers acting on behalf of deceased student Zara Qairina Mahathir’s mother are asking for speculation on the case to stop.
Counsels Hamid Ismail and Shahlan Jufri said in a joint statement that rather than sharing unverified information through videos, “narrations” and other online content, it was better to provide the police with credible information.
“First of all, we want to address a video circulating online where a woman was narrating how Zara was put into a washing machine. This is a speculation,” said Hamid.
“Our client, who is Zara’s mother, never shared such information with anyone. We want the woman to provide that information to the police to investigate,” he said.
Hamid said a so-called chronology of when Zara was brought to the hospital (8am on July 16) after her alleged fall from the third floor of a hostel building was also speculative.
“That chronology-like information did not come from our client,” he stressed.
Secondly, circulation of pictures of students who allegedly had links to Zara’s deaths, with negative statements on them, is a crime under the Children’s Act 2001 and the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, he warned.
Hamid said the spreading of names, photos and personal details of students was also an offence under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 and MCMC Act 1998.
“Therefore, we urge that the spread of this information and videos be stopped immediately.
“Those who have circulated or shared such information online, we urge that you take it down immediately,” he said.
Hamid said speculations would only make things worse and add more stress to the family affected.
He said anyone with information pertaining to Zara’s death and case is advised to provide them to the police to facilitate investigations.
Zara, a Form One student, had died after she was believed to have fallen off her hostel in SMA Tun Datu Mustafa in Papar, on July 16.
