THE five teenagers identified as Students A, B, C, D and E, who were charged in the Court for Children in connection with the Zara Qairina Mahathir case, have no family ties to any VIPs, VVIPs or politicians, the Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday.
Investigating Officer Inspector Wong Yew Zhung confirmed that his investigations found no evidence of any VIPs, VVIPs or politicians providing protection, exerting influence or taking any action to help the five students evade legal action.
The 83rd deponent confirmed this when questioned by counsel Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah.
Fikry: Based on your investigation, did you find that any VIPs, VVIPs or politicians had family ties with Students A, B, C, D and E?Wong: No.
Fikry: Based on your investigation, did you find any evidence that any VIPs, VVIPs or politicians had provided protection, exerted influence or taken any action to help Students A, B, C, D and E evade legal action in this case?Wong: None.
Meanwhile, Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan sought clarification from Wong on his understanding of the terms VIP and VVIP, which had been raised by Fikry.
Wong said he understood a VIP to include someone such as a social media influencer. However, he maintained that no influencer had pressured him or approached other witnesses in connection with the five students.
Asked whether anyone had pressured him during the investigation, Wong said the stress he experienced stemmed from the demands of handling the case. He added that he had done his best to carry out his duties professionally.
On his experience investigating the case, Wong said he had learned a great deal and gained new knowledge throughout the process. He added that he was happy to learn new things, although he found it difficult to express his feelings.
Wong also confirmed that the police classification of Zara’s death remained a sudden death report (SDR), when questioned by Amir, who noted that investigations had been conducted after police received the first information report (FIR), before the case was classified at 6pm on July 17, 2025.
The coroner also asked whether the investigation had covered the issue of notes left by the deceased, to which Wong answered in the affirmative.
Wong explained that an SDR case could be reclassified under Section 302 if evidence of criminal elements was found.
However, when Amir sought confirmation on whether the classification remained unchanged to date, including after the post-mortem, Wong answered yes.
