KOTA KINABALU, Sept 3 — The parents of schoolgirl Zara Qairina Mahathir, who died on July 17, have been allowed to be interested parties in the inquest into her death.

Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan said he would allow the counsels for her parents, Mahathir Hashim @ Marikin and Noraidah Lamat, to take part in the proceedings.

They will be permitted to question deponents and have access to documents throughout the inquest.

Lead counsel for Mahathir, Sherzali Asli, told the court that the 44-year-old biological father had been separated from his wife since 2018.

“He has not seen her recently but had been in contact with Zara until her death,” he said.

When asked about the father’s presence, he said Mahathir had not been privy to information and should have the right to know the cause of his daughter’s death.

Mahathir was not present at today’s proceedings.

The inquest took a short recess at 10.05am while it deliberated on whether Zara’s alleged bullies should also be allowed to be interested parties in the case.

The application was objected to by lawyers for Zara’s mother as well as the Sabah Law Society (SLS).

Coroner Amir Shah later allowed all the alleged bullies to be named as interested parties, citing the need to protect all the children involved.

“After listening to four parties, I must say that all that has been said about child offenders is speculative, so we must protect all the children. I am allowing the accused to be interested parties in the inquest.

“I am also allowing the Sabah Law Society to be recognised as holding a watching brief, as well as the Education Ministry,” he said.

The court also deliberated on whether to allow witness statements instead of on-the-spot questioning, as argued by Shahlan Jufri, counsel for Zara’s mother.

He said relying on witness statements alone was risky as it could lead to “concoctions, tailoring and afterthought”.

“If they use the witness statement and it is incriminating, we cannot cross-examine and disprove it, unlike on-the-spot questioning,” he said.

The court allowed the parties involved to screen and decide which of the child witnesses would be questioned.

The children who are questioned will do so on camera to protect their identities.

The inquest, scheduled to run until the end of the month, will hear from around 68 witnesses, including 35 children.

A site visit will also be conducted at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar on September 11 at 9.30am.

The court adjourned for lunch at 11.01am and is scheduled to resume at 2pm with the first witness.

The deputy public prosecutors, also known as conducting officers, are Datuk Badiuszaman Ahmad, Nahra Dollah, Mohd Fairus Johari, Dana Arabi Wazani, Sofia Sawayan and Dacia Jane Romanus.

Aside from Shahlan, Zara’s mother is represented by Rizwandean M Borhan, Mohd Luqman Syazwan Zabidi, Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh, Farrah Nasser and Elhanan James.

Datuk Ram Singh, Joan Goh and Prem Elmer Ganasan represent one of the five alleged bullies, while Azhier Farhan Arisin, Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah, Fareez Salleh and Sylvester Kuan represent the other four.

Sherzali, Nurul Rafeeqa Afdul Mutolip and Clarice Vyonne Conrad are representing Zara’s father.

The SLS is represented by Jamadi Saleh.