Home minister: Police to exhume Zara Qairina’s body for post-mortem ASAP, AGC confirms further investigation warranted

Home minister: Police to exhume Zara Qairina’s body for post-mortem ASAP, AGC confirms further investigation warranted



Noraidah Lamat holds a framed photograph of her daughter, Zara Qairina Mahathir. — The Borneo Post pic

Saturday, 09 Aug 2025 12:37 PM MYT


MACHANG, Aug 9 — The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) will exhume the body of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir as soon as possible to complete the investigation into her death.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said this followed instructions issued by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) yesterday for the exhumation of the girl’s body to allow a post-mortem procedure to be carried out.


“The police will implement the decision. I was briefed by the Inspector-General of Police (Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail) this morning that the police will immediately carry out the procedure.

“Of course, the focus by the police is to update the investigation, collect all evidence and in carrying out this task, the police will not compromise on the principle of justice because we need to be fair to everyone involved, including the family of the late Zara and the school,” he said here today.


He was met by reporters after the opening of the “Ijtimak Madani Ulama dan Guru Pondok Kelantan 2025” by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Machang campus here.


Saifuddin Nasution assured that the police will keep the public informed with the latest updates on the case from time to time.

In a statement yesterday, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) announced that the body of Zara Qairina would be exhumed to allow a post-mortem examination to be conducted.


The AGC stated that further investigations by the police were necessary to ensure all aspects of the case were thoroughly examined.

Zara Qairina, 13, was confirmed dead at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on July 17.

She had been rushed to the hospital after being found unconscious in a drain near the dormitory of a religious school in Papar at about 4 am on July 16.

Meanwhile, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department Director Datuk M. Kumar said that the exhumation and post-mortem of Zara Qairana’s body would be carried out under Section 331 and Section 335 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

“A thorough investigation is underway and the investigation papers will be referred back to the Attorney General’s Chambers shortly,” he said in a statement today.

He stressed that justice would always be upheld and the investigation carried out was in accordance with the law, facts and evidence obtained. — Bernama