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THE Papar Coroner’s Court has granted the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) leave to initiate contempt proceedings against former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and social media user Che Muna Din over comments made about the ongoing inquest into the death of 13-year-old student Zara Qairina Mahathir.
Coroner Jessica Ombou, presiding at the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex, ruled that both applications disclosed a prima facie case of contempt of court.
“After hearing the applicant’s submission and examining the cause papers, the court is satisfied that there exists a prima facie contempt and hereby grants leave,” she said.
Remarks made at Kinabatangan event
According to the AGC’s statement filed in court, Shafie, who is also the Warisan president, is alleged to have made remarks amounting to interference with the administration of justice during his “Jelajah Inspirasi DSSA” event in Kinabatangan on September 20.
The comments were streamed live on his official Facebook page. During the speech, Shafie was recorded saying:
“Imagine our child Zara, entering school, not knowing what happened to her. Sabah police investigated — they don’t know. Sabah doctors investigated — they don’t know. They had to bring doctors from Kuala Lumpur, police from Kuala Lumpur.
‘Three-star officers came from Bukit Aman. They said the child’s hand was broken, her leg was broken. There were marks on her back. And they said, not me, that the girl was bullied.
“This is not bullying, this is murder.”
“If the police said it was bullying, the child would still be alive, right? But it took so long. The child was buried, the grave dug up, the body exhumed. After that, there’s questioning again, “inquest” they say, the court investigates.
‘You keep asking the same people, the Sabah police, the same people; Kuala Lumpur police, the same people; the court too, the same people. Why is this happening? Where is the justice?’”
The prosecution said the remarks “constitute interference with an ongoing judicial proceeding” and were intended to influence the coroner’s findings in the inquest into Zara’s death .
They argued that Shafie’s public statement posed a real risk of prejudicing the case and undermining confidence in the administration of justice.
Facebook post by Mona Din
In a separate filing, the AGC alleged that Che Muna Din, known by her social media name “Mona Din” posted comments on September 4 criticising the testimony of Dr Jessie Hiu, a forensic pathologist at Hospital Queen Elizabeth in Kota Kinabalu and the first witness in the same inquest.
The prosecution said her remarks, published on Facebook, “constituted a direct interference with ongoing judicial proceedings” and carried a “real and substantial risk of prejudicing the coroner’s verdict.”
According to the court documents, the statements were “clearly aimed at influencing public opinion and the perception of integrity of the inquest proceedings currently before the Papar Coroner’s Court.”
The inquest into Zara Qairina’s death presided over by Coroner Jessica Ombou is ongoing at the Papar Coroner’s Court.
It seeks to determine the cause and circumstances of the teenager’s death after her body was exhumed for a second autopsy earlier this year.
Zara, a secondary school student from Papar, was found dead under circumstances that prompted claims of bullying and possible foul play. Her death has since drawn national attention and widespread public debate.
Both Shafie and Mona will be formally served with committal notices in the coming days. If convicted of contempt under Order 52 of the Rules of Court 2012 and Section 13 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, they could face a fine or imprisonment.
The court has yet to fix a date for the full hearing. - October 23, 2025
