Zara case: Charge suspects with more serious crime, AG told

The family of deceased Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir wants the five teenagers who allegedly bullied her to be charged with a more serious offence.

This followed Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar’s statement yesterday that they plan to press charges under Section 507C(1) of the Penal Code, which relates to the offence of using or making any threatening, abusive, or insulting words or communication.

In a statement, a legal team representing the family said they have requested the AG to reconsider his decision.

They believe the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) should utilise Section 507D(2) instead, which stipulates offences related to provoking a person into causing harm to himself or another person.

“We appeal to the AG to reconsider charging the teenagers under Section 507D(2) of the Penal Code.

“If the evidence at hand is still inadequate to secure a conviction under this provision, we hope the prosecution can be halted temporarily while a further investigation can be carried out from this angle.

“But if there is enough evidence to charge all of the teenagers with a more serious offence under Section 507D(2), we pray that they will be charged under the provision,” the statement read.

It was signed by six lawyers, namely Hamid Ismail, Shahlan Jufri, Rizwandean Borhan, Mohd Luqman Syazwan Zabidi, Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh, and Farrah Nasser.

For the record, Section 507C(1) provides a maximum punishment of one year’s jail, or a fine, or both.

On the other hand, Section 507D(2) provides a similar punishment for the act of provoking into causing harm, but the jail term can be increased to a maximum of 10 years if the victim attempts to commit suicide or commits suicide as a result of such provocation.

Adding further, the legal team said they are also concerned with the AGC’s plan to press charges under Section 507C(1) due to its potential to affect future cases against the suspects.

“...if the suspects plead guilty tomorrow or in the coming days, under the principle of double jeopardy, they cannot be charged under Section 507D(2) or a more serious offence later,” the statement read.

Yesterday, Dusuki told Bernama that five teens will be charged in the Kota Kinabalu Juvenile Court on Wednesday for allegedly bullying Zara (above).

Zara was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital I on July 17.

She had been admitted to the hospital after being found unconscious in a drain near the dormitory of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar at 4am on July 16.

Police initially classified the case as “sudden death” and skipped a post-mortem after her mother signed a consent letter declining it, which is now under scrutiny for breaching police protocol.

Several rallies have taken place since the incident, demanding justice for her death, in which foul play is suspected. On Saturday, about 5,000 people attended the latest “Justice for Zara” solidarity rally in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The gathering marked the 12th consecutive day on which 14 rallies have been held across Sabah over the last two weeks.

AGC to charge 5 teens in Zara case

Probe papers on Zara's death sent to AGC this morning, Saifuddin says

Muhyiddin calls for law to punish both bullies and negligent parties

Zara's death: 21 probes on alleged attempts to incite unrest