WHY THE GAG ORDER?
Earlier on Tuesday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Azalina Othman said that the five teenagers involved in the case will be protected under the Child Act 2001.
“This includes confidentiality, the right to legal representation and fair treatment,” Azalina said in a Facebook post.
“While we will not tolerate bullying, these are still children in the eyes of the law and their rights must be safeguarded even as we hold them accountable.”
Azalina was commenting on the concerns raised by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) earlier over the possible public disclosure of the identities of the five teenagers. The commission had said that this is to “prevent further stigmatisation of the children involved”.
The AGC had said in a statement on Tuesday that the teenagers will be charged only with bullying-related offences and not for offences with a direct link to Zara’s death.
The decision to proceed with the current charge was based on evidence and facts obtained during the investigation, reported Free Malaysia Today.
The AGC also stressed that an inquest would still proceed to determine the actual cause of Zara’s death.
The AGC also dismissed a suggestion by lawyers representing Zara’s family that further probes or an inquest could later justify a more serious charge under Section 507D(2), claiming that this was “speculative and not supported by accurate facts”.
Under Section 507D(2), if a victim dies by suicide as a result of such provocation, those convicted can be imprisoned up to 10 years.
Lawyers representing Zara’s family had earlier urged the AGC to postpone the charges against the five minors for purportedly bullying the 13-year-old student.
According to the lawyers, the proceeding with the current Section 507C(1) charge could preclude the more serious offence from being applied later, even if new evidence emerges due to “constitutional protection against double jeopardy” which prevents someone from being tried twice for the same act.
Instead, the lawyers called for the five minors to be charged under Section 507D(2), which criminalises “causing a person to believe that harm will be caused”, according to local media Malay Mail.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-zara-qairina-death-bullying-sabah-children-court-underage-teenagers-5304181
