The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has confirmed it will proceed with charging five minors in connection with the bullying of the late Form 1 student, Zara Qairina Mahathir.
Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar stated that the prosecution would move forward under Section 506C(1) of the Penal Code, which addresses harassment that is likely to cause a person to feel harassed, distressed, fearful, or alarmed.
“We will proceed,” he told Harian Metro.
The decision comes despite a plea from lawyers representing Zara’s family to postpone the charges. The lawyers had urged the AGC to instead charge the minors under Section 507D(2) of the Penal Code, which covers causing a person to believe that harm would be inflicted.
The two sections carry vastly different penalties. A conviction under Section 507D(2) provides for up to 10 years in prison, a fine, or both, while the maximum penalty under Section 506C(1) is a one-year jail term, a fine, or both.
The family’s lawyers had argued that further investigation was needed to gather more evidence to support the heavier charges under Section 507D(2). They also voiced concern that charging the teens now could prevent them from facing more severe charges later, should new evidence emerge during the inquest into Zara’s death.
Zara was found unconscious at 4 a.m. on July 16 after reportedly falling from the third floor of her school’s hostel in Papar, Sabah. She was pronounced dead the following day at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu. Her body was exhumed on August 9 for a post-mortem examination amid allegations of bullying.
