KOTA KINABALU: With tight security around the Kota Kinabalu court complex, five teenage girls were brought in via three vans – one of them a decoy – to face charges over the bullying of a schoolmate, Zara Qairina Mahathir.
The three heavily tinted vans entered the court compound at 9.05am, with its occupants – believed to be the girls and their family members – hustled into the court through a back entrance.
Inside the Children’s Court, the five girls pleaded not guilty to charges of hurling abusive words against 13-year-old Zara Qairina, their hostel mate who died after an apparent fall from the third floor of her dormitory building in Papar on July 16.
She was found unconscious in a drain near the dormitory and died a day later.
The five were accused of common intention of allegedly uttering abusive words to Zara Qairina, which was heard by the victim and probably caused distress at the hostel between 10pm and 11pm on July 15.
The charges were framed under Section 507C(1) of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Code. If convicted, the five face up to one year’s imprisonment, a fine or both.
As they were all underage, the girls’ identities were withheld under the Child Act.
Lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, representing the first accused, applied for a gag order during the proceeding, saying he did it “for the children”.
Judge Elsie Primus allowed the order.
She set Sept 25 for the first pre-trial case management and Oct 16 for the second pre-trial case management. The trial proper will be held between Dec 8 and Dec 12 and from Dec 15-19, in open court.
The court granted bail of RM5,000 each, with RM1,000 to be deposited and one surety required.
It is learnt that they paid the bail.
Police presence was heavy in and around the court compound and access to the Children’s Court was further restricted, with officials conducting body and bag checks even on police officers and lawyers attending the proceedings.
Only reporters bearing official tags were allowed to cover the proceedings, especially after several reporters had complained about unidentified people disrupting official media zones.
About a dozen social media influencers standing outside the court compound were not allowed in.
The gag order, meanwhile, caused some confusion as several lawyers declined to give details of the charges or even the plea of the five teenagers.
However, deputy public prosecutor Nor Azizah Mohamad told reporters later that the five had pleaded not guilty.
Lawyer Hamid Ismail, who represents Zara Qairina’s family, explained that the gag order had nothing to do with VVIPs as claimed by some.
“This is Malaysian law,” he said. “The Child Act clearly states that the identities of children must remain confidential, whether during investigation or trial.”
