Kota Kinabalu: Five teenage girls pleaded not guilty at the Children’s Court here Wednesday to the charges of using abusive words against Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir last month.
The five made the plea before Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus in closed proceedings.
They are accused of uttering abusive words directed at Zara Qairina, which were heard by the victim, and could have caused her distress.
The offence allegedly took place between 10pm and 11pm on July 15.
The girls were jointly charged under Section 507C(1)/34 of the Penal Code, which relates to the offence of using or making any threatening, abusive or insulting words, or communication, where a person is likely to feel harassed, distressed, fear or alarmed.
It provides for a jail term of up to one year, or fine, or both, on conviction.
The court set Sept 25 and Oct 16 for pre-trial case management, trial dates on Dec 8-12 and Dec 15-19. The girls were released on bail of RM5,000 each with RM1,000 deposited in a local surety.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Nor Azizah Mohamad, Nik Haslinie Hashim and Deepa Nair Thevaharan appeared for the prosecution.
Counsel Datuk Ram Singh, together with counsels Joan Goh and Elmer Prem Gunasan, represented one of the teenagers.
The other four were represented by counsels Azhier Farhan Arisin, Abdul Fikry Jaafar, Farah Nazriah Chun Lee, Fareez Salleh and Sylyester Kuan.
Counsels for Noraidah Lamat, the late Zara’s mother, Hamid Ismail, Shahlan Jufri and four others, were also present at the proceedings.
All the counsels for the five teenagers acted on the pro-bono basis.
Counsels Dominic Ghani and Nabila Norsahar were present as watching brief on behalf of the Sabah Law Society.
During the proceedings, the court also issued a Gag Order under Section 15 of the Child Act.
Previously, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), in a statement, said it had examined the investigation papers into the student’s death, which were referred by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), and decided to charge several suspects based on available evidence.
The AGC also said an inquest proceeding still needs to be conducted to determine the actual cause of Zara Qairina’s death.
On Aug 12, the AGC decided to conduct an inquest to ascertain the cause and circumstances behind the death of the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha student after reviewing the investigation report submitted by PDRM. The Coroner’s Court here on Monday set Sept 3 to commence the inquest proceedings.
Zara Qairina died at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital on July 17 after being found unconscious in a drain near the school hostel on the morning of July 16.
The five made the plea before Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus in closed proceedings.
They are accused of uttering abusive words directed at Zara Qairina, which were heard by the victim, and could have caused her distress.
The offence allegedly took place between 10pm and 11pm on July 15.
The girls were jointly charged under Section 507C(1)/34 of the Penal Code, which relates to the offence of using or making any threatening, abusive or insulting words, or communication, where a person is likely to feel harassed, distressed, fear or alarmed.
It provides for a jail term of up to one year, or fine, or both, on conviction.
The court set Sept 25 and Oct 16 for pre-trial case management, trial dates on Dec 8-12 and Dec 15-19. The girls were released on bail of RM5,000 each with RM1,000 deposited in a local surety.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Nor Azizah Mohamad, Nik Haslinie Hashim and Deepa Nair Thevaharan appeared for the prosecution.
Counsel Datuk Ram Singh, together with counsels Joan Goh and Elmer Prem Gunasan, represented one of the teenagers.
The other four were represented by counsels Azhier Farhan Arisin, Abdul Fikry Jaafar, Farah Nazriah Chun Lee, Fareez Salleh and Sylyester Kuan.
Counsels for Noraidah Lamat, the late Zara’s mother, Hamid Ismail, Shahlan Jufri and four others, were also present at the proceedings.
All the counsels for the five teenagers acted on the pro-bono basis.
Counsels Dominic Ghani and Nabila Norsahar were present as watching brief on behalf of the Sabah Law Society.
During the proceedings, the court also issued a Gag Order under Section 15 of the Child Act.
Previously, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), in a statement, said it had examined the investigation papers into the student’s death, which were referred by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), and decided to charge several suspects based on available evidence.
The AGC also said an inquest proceeding still needs to be conducted to determine the actual cause of Zara Qairina’s death.
On Aug 12, the AGC decided to conduct an inquest to ascertain the cause and circumstances behind the death of the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha student after reviewing the investigation report submitted by PDRM. The Coroner’s Court here on Monday set Sept 3 to commence the inquest proceedings.
Zara Qairina died at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital on July 17 after being found unconscious in a drain near the school hostel on the morning of July 16.