KUALA LUMPUR: Questions have been raised why an inquest is being conducted before the police investigation into the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir is completed.
Opposition chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said an inquest is usually held only after investigations are completed.
"What if the findings of the inquest goes against the findings of the police investigation?" he asked.
Takiyuddin said the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) appeared to have acted hostility when ordering the inquest.
"Let the investigation finish first – if there is no conclusion, refer it to the magistrate and if the magistrate feels there is a need, only then can the inquest be held," he said.
He then said it is peculiar why the police did not convince Zara Qairina's mother into requesting for an autopsy given the suspicious nature of the 13-year-old's death.
Takiyuddin pointed out that Subsection 330 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) states that the police have a duty to inform a government medical officer of any suspicious deaths.
"The question here is if Zara Qairina's mother understand the repercussions of not conducting a post-mortem examination.
"The police must explain this (procedural) non-compliance by the police themselves," he said.
On Aug 18, coroner Azreena Aziz announced that an inquest into Zara Qairina's death would take place on Sept 3, 4, 8 to 12, 17 to 19 and 22 to 30.
Zara Qairina was found unconscious at a drain at 4am on July 16 near her school hostel in Papar, Sabah.
She was later pronounced dead at Hospital Queen Elizabeth on July 17.
Her body was later exhumed for a post-mortem examination on Aug 10 and her body was reburied at the Tanjung Ubi Islamic Cemetery in Sipitang on Aug 11.
On Aug 13, Bukit Aman revealed that there was procedural non-compliance by the police by failing to conduct a post-mortem examination.
