KOTA KINABALU: A 27-year-old engineer has been remanded for sending death threats to lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, believed due to his involvement in the Zara Qairina Mahathir inquest.
Magistrate Wan Fara Wan Ghazali granted a four-day remand order yesterday.
Ram said the investigation on this case is under Section 507C(1) of the Penal Code.
“This is a new amended Malaysian law that makes it a criminal offence to cause harassment, distress, fear or alarm through threatening, abusive or insulting words, communications, or acts. Introduced to fight bullying,” he said.
Ram said he started getting a message from an unknown number on Aug 28, asking if he was the lawyer representing one of the five suspects linked to Zara Qairina’s bullying case.
The stranger apparently continued sending messages threatening to find him, saying they knew where he worked.
The suspect also told him to wait until they found him, cursing him and calling him son of a pig, among other things.
Ram said he felt threatened and worried about his safety and that of his family members.
“I took some measures in terms of security surveillance and avoiding public places,” he said.
Ram lodged a report on Sept 2. During that time, the person was still sending him messages.
It is understood that the person had apparently apologised to Ram and asked for the police report to be retracted not long after that.
It is also learnt that the person surrendered himself to the police on Tuesday.
Ram is representing one of the five teenagers accused of hurling abusive words towards their hostel mate Zara Qairina prior to her death.
Zara Qairina was found unconscious below her hostel building in Papar on July 16 and was pronounced dead a day later when receiving treatment at the hospital.
