Shafie Apdal Sentenced to Five Weeks’ Jail for Contempt of Court in Zara Qairina Case

KOTA KINABALU, July 29 — Semporna Member of Parliament and Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has been convicted of contempt of court by the Sessions Court today and sentenced to five weeks’ imprisonment over public remarks relating to the inquest into the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina.

Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan ruled that the Attorney-General, acting as the applicant, had established the contempt charge against the former Sabah chief minister beyond a reasonable doubt.

In delivering the verdict, the court invoked Section 99A and Paragraph 26 of the Third Schedule to the Subordinate Courts Act 1948, taking into account mitigation arguments by the defence as well as submissions by deputy public prosecutors.

“The Court is satisfied that the applicant has proven the Notice of Application in Enclosure 1 (contempt of court) beyond a reasonable doubt against the respondent and found the respondent to be guilty of contempt of court and he is convicted for the said offence,” Judge Amir Shah said in his judgment.

However, the court granted a stay of execution on the custodial sentence pending the filing and outcome of an appeal to the High Court, despite objections raised by the prosecution team.

Shafie was represented by defense counsel Jakariya AB Jalil and Chen Ket Chuin, while Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam and Nadia Mohd Izhar appeared for the prosecution.

The legal proceedings stem from a show-cause notice issued by the Coroner’s Court on September 22 last year, which questioned statements made by Shafie that were alleged to have interfered with ongoing inquest proceedings. On October 23, Coroner Amir Shah granted leave to the Attorney-General to formally initiate contempt proceedings.

The inquest relates to the tragedy involving Zara Qairina, who died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu on July 17 last year, a day after being discovered unconscious near a drain at her school dormitory compound in Papar.

-NMT