KOTA KINABALU: Zara Qairina Mahathir’s mother wants the police to exhume Zara’s body for a post-mortem to be conducted to determine her cause of death.

Noraidah Lamat, through her lawyers, filed a request on July 31 to the Attorney General’s Chambers in Kota Kinabalu, asking the Magistrate’s Court to conduct an inquest to determine Zara’s cause of death as soon as possible.

“Prior to that, on July 30, our client had filed an additional police report asking for the cops to exhume Zara’s body for the inquest to be conducted,” said her lawyers, Hamid Ismail and Shahlan Jufri, in a joint statement on Friday (Aug 1).

Zara, a Form One student, had died after she was believed to have fallen off her hostel in SMA Tun Datu Mustafa in Papar, on July 16.

Hamid said that Noraidah had expressed her dissatisfaction with how the authorities handled Zara’s case and felt that there were many unanswered questions, as well as discrepancies in the whole case.

In the statement, Hamid mentioned that Noraidah believes that her daughter did not commit suicide and believes there are criminal elements to her death.

He said that while the police assured them of an investigation, the family did not receive any updates on the case until July 28, when the State Police Commissioner, Datuk Jauteh Dikun, issued a brief statement stating that investigations were ongoing.

Then, on July 31, Jauteh stated in a press conference that approximately 60 people had been called to provide their statements.

Hamid revealed that a subsequent police report was lodged by Noraidah on July 30, asking for the police to investigate this matter thoroughly, as she has a previous voice recording from Zara saying that she was being bullied.

“In the police report, Noraidah also mentioned her suspicions over Zara’s cause of death, which had been mentioned as falling from the third floor of a building.

“But Zara’s face had no physical injuries or bruises, which would be there if she had fallen from a high place,” he said.

Hamid said Noraidah also felt suspicious when they were told earlier during the incident not to lodge a report over her daughter’s death, but to let the school handle it.

“A post mortem should have been carried out to find out her cause of death, but none was performed, and so we want her body to be exhumed for a post mortem to be conducted,” he said.

He urged those with credible information which can help solve this case to inform the police or the family’s lawyers as soon as possible.