Kota Kinabalu: The mother of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir has surrendered her mobile phone to the police for forensic investigation, said her lawyer Hamid Ismail.
The phone is believed to contain crucial audio recordings of conversations between Zara and her mother prior to the teen’s death, some of which went viral.
Hamid said the device would be analysed by forensic teams in Cheras, KL. He urged the public to refrain from making speculative or insensitive comments online, saying Zara’s mother remains traumatised and is still grieving.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});“She needs your prayers and support, not wild speculation. Please understand she just lost her 13-year-old daughter,” he said.
Hamid said the phone submission had been delayed by a day to allow Zara’s mother to rest after undergoing a four-hour statement-taking session at the Sipitang district police headquarters.
He also confirmed no post-mortem was conducted when Zara was found. This was not due to a refusal. It simply wasn’t conducted,” he said.
The legal team thanked the Federal Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) for returning the investigation papers to the police which Hamid described as a step forward in pursuing justice.
Zara’s death has sparked national attention, with calls mounting for a formal inquest. On Wednesday, NGO Gerakan Kuasa Rakyat Malaysia (G57) submitted a memorandum to the Istana Negara, calling for a royal-backed inquest.
Its Chairman Datuk Zulkarnain Mahdar said the move seeks to address public doubts and ensure justice is served transparently.
Hamid and partner Shahlan Jufri said the need for a re-investigation into the case was among four requests submitted in a letter dated on Aug 5 to AG Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar.
“We hope that the directives issued by the AGC include three issues we had proposed. These include an investigation to be conducted by experienced investigators from Bukit Aman, the exhumation of Zara’s body for a post-mortem to determine the true cause of death, and a formal inquest to establish whether there were criminal elements involved in the case.”
