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THE parents of five teenagers facing trial for allegedly insulting 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir have lodged police reports, claiming that the prosecution team attempted to interfere with witnesses.
In addition, the mother of a student witness has also filed a separate report, bringing the total to six.
The inquest, which began on 8 December and was originally scheduled to conclude this week, is now expected to resume on 19 January next year.
Lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, representing one of the accused, confirmed that the police report was filed yesterday.
“Statements are recorded, the investigation is ongoing, so I suppose it will continue next year pending investigation. We don’t know the outcome yet, but this involves certain characters in the proceedings.
“Of course, this was revealed through certain questions, and as far as we are trying, we are not revealing other things, okay. We are bound by the gag order, but certain important details are important for the press and the public to know the latest developments,” he said during a press conference today.
Expressing his disappointment, Ram added, “We are very disappointed. We thought we were going to have a smooth sailing proceeding, but somehow some technical interference happened.”
Lawyer Joan Goh, also representing one of the accused, said that following the police reports, instructions had been received to initiate contempt proceedings against relevant parties. “So, we will be proceeding with that very soon,” she stated.
Meanwhile, lawyer Azhier Farhan Arisin, representing the other four teenagers, confirmed the matter and called for a transparent investigation into the alleged witness tampering.
He explained that the report filed by the witness’s mother claimed that her child was allegedly pressured to alter her testimony and prevented from speaking the truth.
“At this time, I will not go into details of the proceedings that took place in the Court For Children out of respect for the gag order. However, what I can say is that, up to this point, we will give our full cooperation. That’s all I can say. The case is still in the hands of the police. We will hand it over to the police,” he said.
Azhier added that his clients also intend to lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), citing concerns that their right to a fair hearing in the Court For Children may have been compromised.
The five teenagers are accused of using insulting words against Zara on the night of 15 July, allegedly causing her distress. They pleaded not guilty on 20 August, and the trial is scheduled from 8 to 19 December.
The legal teams representing the accused include Ram Singh, Joan Goh, and Prem Elmer Ganasan for one defendant, while Azhier Farhan Arisin represents Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah, Fareez Salleh, and Sylvester Kuan. - December 18, 2025