Man nabbed over fake claims about Zara’s death

Man nabbed over fake claims about Zara’s death

Man nabbed over fake claims about Zara's death

PETALING JAYA: A man who allegedly spread false claims about the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir has been arrested.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Comm Datuk M. Kumar said the investigation of a TikTok video led to the arrest of a 51-year-old man.

“Police investigations of a 2min, 6sec video… (found that it) contained false statements (by) claiming that her death was… murder.

“We arrested the suspect at 10.20pm on Aug 18. He has been remanded for three days until Aug 21,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (Aug 19).

Comm Kumar said the suspect is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, Section 505(B) of the Penal Code, and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

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He added that the police will not compromise if any party is found manipulating facts to spread fear, disturb court proceedings and disrupt public order.

“Give the authorities the space needed to conduct the investigation professionally and avoid any speculation that could affect the process,” he said.

Zara Qairina, 13, passed away on July 17, a day after being found unconscious on the ground floor of her school dormitory in Papar, Sabah.

The matter was initially classified as sudden death, but the investigation was reopened after allegations arose that she had been bullied.

Her body was then exhumed for a post-mortem.

Five teenagers are scheduled to be charged in the Kota Kinabalu Juvenile Court on Wednesday (Aug 20) with bullying Zara Qairina.