Istana Seri Kinabalu denies claims Sabah governor's family involved in death of student

The Star

2 days ago

KOTA KINABALU: Istana Seri Kinabalu has denied claims that the state governor's family was involved in the recent death of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir at SMA Tun Datu Mustapha in Sipitang.
In a statement, Istana Seri Kinabalu denied these claims, which had been circulating on various social media platforms, calling them baseless, irresponsible, and defamatory to the Head of State's family.
The statement warned the public against spreading unverified and slanderous information that could harm reputations.
It also reminded the public that sharing false information may be subject to legal action under existing laws, including the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
'Any updates related to the investigation should be referred to the Royal Malaysia Police or the Education Ministry to avoid confusion and misunderstanding among the public,' the statement read.
Other than the governor, others who were accused of having links to this case were Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud's wife Rosnih Nasir, who had retired as principal of the school last year.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun was also accused of protecting one of the suspects, who they claimed was his child, had denied the claims as well.
Zara Qairina Mahathir, 13, had died from an apparent fall from her third floor school hostel at a religious school in Papar at around 3am on July 16.
Many have blamed this incident on bullying and accused the suspects of being children of important and influential people.
Internet users are making up many theories and putting out unverified information pertaining to Zara's deaths, the suspects as well as the school, which was accused of covering up the truth.