{
  "id": 14375753,
  "title": "Police only knew of 2 school probes into Zara’s death, says investigating officer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/police-only-knew-of-2-school-probes-into-zaras-death-says-14375753",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-14T05:14:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/14/police-only-knew-of-2-school-probes-into-zara-s-death-says-investigating-officer"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The investigating officer in Zara Qairina Mahathir's death case informed the Kota Kinabalu coroner's court that there were only two internal investigations conducted by the school's disciplinary unit into the teen's passing. Wong Yew Zhung testified that he was only aware of the probes held on July 17 and 18, 2025. He made this statement because he had received five accounts from senior students. Assistant chief discipline teacher Nurul Syahadah Ibrahim had previously testified that five internal probes had taken place, but she noted the students' statements were not shared with the police. The police took over the investigation on July 16, and the school's disciplinary unit continued its inquiries for record-keeping after that. Zara was found unconscious near a drain at her school dormitory on July 17, 2025, and died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital the same day. Her remains were exhumed on August 9, and a post-mortem examination was conducted on August 10. Five minors were charged with verbally abusing Zara, given the pseudonyms Students A, B, C, D, and E, on August 20.",
  "summary": "This follows testimony last year that police were not informed of five internal probes conducted by the school’s disciplinary unit.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Police only knew of 2 school probes into Zara’s death, says investigating officer",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/police-only-knew-of-2-school-probes-into-zaras-death-says",
        "published": "2026-10-14T05:14:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Vibes",
        "title": "Zara Qairina inquest: Investigating officer says final findings showed no suspicious circumstances",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/zara-qairina-inquest-investigating-officer-says-final-findings-showed",
        "published": "2026-10-14T06:55:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}