THE Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has returned the preliminary investigation report into the death of school student Zara Qairina Mahathir to the police for further action and completion of critical elements.
Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar confirmed that his office had issued specific instructions to the investigating team to reorganise and address gaps within the case file.
“We have given certain directions, which means there are several matters that must be restructured,” he said. “However, I cannot disclose what they are at this point, but there are matters that need to be completed.”
Mohd Dusuki said the step was necessary to ensure that the investigation is carried out in a thorough and comprehensive manner, particularly addressing areas previously found to be incomplete.
His remarks come a day after lawyers representing the mother of the late Zara Qairina publicly criticised the original investigation, citing what they described as serious flaws and oversights.
In a statement, the legal team alleged that the scope of the investigation had been too narrow, omitting several crucial aspects.
Chief among the concerns was the fact that no post-mortem was conducted before Zara’s burial, despite her body being discovered beneath a school dormitory building in Sipitang on 16 July.
The lawyers also highlighted that the clothing and personal items found on the victim were not seized by police as potential evidence.
The statement further revealed that information regarding bruises on Zara’s back was only taken down much later, on 3 and 4 August, at the Sipitang police station.
The absence of a post-mortem report and the failure to secure key physical evidence have led to concerns that the police may not have had adequate material to conduct a full and effective investigation.
Authorities have yet to release further details on the next steps or timeline for the completion of the revised probe. - August 6, 2025
