KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal (pic) has been issued a show-cause notice for contempt over his remarks on the inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir.
Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan made the order after watching a short recording of the alleged remarks.
This follows an application by counsel Datuk Ram Singh, who is representing one of the five teenagers charged with bullying Zara Qairina, 13.
“We made an application for the court to look into the video.
“We submitted to say that it is subjudice, as it is in a way interfering with the inquest,” he told reporters after the proceedings at the Coroner’s Court here yesterday.
He also said the Coroner made the decision after hearing all arguments in court.
Counsel Joan Goh, who is with a team of lawyers representing four other teenagers, said the order was based on Order 52, Rule 2B of the Rules of Court.
She said under this order, a notice will be issued and Shafie has to explain.
“If the explanation is acceptable, then there will not be any application for leave to cite contempt,” she said.
Earlier, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) said it was reviewing in detail every part of the statement made by Shafie.
The AGC said it would not hesitate to take action under the law, including initiating contempt of court proceedings once the review is completed.
“Such statements risk creating inaccurate perceptions among the public and could disrupt the smooth progress of ongoing court proceedings,” it said in a statement.
The AGC reminded the public not to make any statements or take actions that could cause confusion or interfere with court proceedings.
Mohd Shafie had given a speech that touched on the inquest at an event “Jelajah Inspirasi DSSA P187 Kinabatangan” on Sept 20.
Zara Qairina died on July 17 and was buried at the Tanjung Ubi cemetery in Sipitang the same day.
She was found unconscious near a drain at her school hostel in Papar a day earlier.
On Aug 8, the AGC ordered her remains to be exhumed for a post-mortem, before announcing an inquest into her death on Aug 13.
Separately, police have started recording statements from potential witnesses to help in the probe into leaked information of parts of a child witness’ statement that were leaked online.
Kota Kinabalu OCPD Asst Comm Kasim Muda said this follows a police report over the matter on Sept 19.
He said the police have also applied for an analysis to the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission over the leaked information.
ACP Kasim said efforts to track down the suspects were ongoing, as they hope to complete the investigations.
“Be wary and more responsible with the information you might have on children for the safety and well-being of minors,” he said in a statement.
The case is being investigated under Section 203A of the Penal Code, Section 15 of the Children Act 2001 and Section 233 of the MCMC Act 1998, said ACP Kasim.
Last Friday, Ram told the Coroner’s Court that information on the child witness was leaked on social media platforms.
It led to the inquest being postponed to yesterday.
