Former Sabah chief minister Shafie Apdal sentenced to five weeks’ jail for contempt of court over remarks about Zara Qairina inquest.
PETALING JAYA: Former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal has been sentenced to five weeks’ imprisonment after the Sessions Court found him guilty of contempt of court over remarks he made concerning the ongoing inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir.
Sessions Court judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted the Semporna MP under Section 99A of the Subordinate Courts Act 1948, which carries a maximum penalty of six weeks’ imprisonment and a fine of up to RM300.
However, the court granted Shafie a stay of execution of the sentence pending his appeal to the High Court.
The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutors Mustaffa P. Kunyalam and Nadia Izhar, while Shafie was represented by lawyers Jakariya Ab Jalil and Chen Ket Chuin.
The contempt proceedings stemmed from remarks Shafie made during an event in Kinabatangan in September last year, where he reportedly described Zara’s death as “murder” and questioned the authorities’ handling of the case while the inquest was still ongoing before the Sessions Court.
The Attorney-General obtained leave from the court on Oct 23 last year to initiate contempt proceedings against Shafie.
Zara, 13, died at Hospital Queen Elizabeth on July 17 last year, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel in Papar. The inquest into the cause of her death is ongoing.
