KUALA LUMPUR – Former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has been sentenced to five weeks’ imprisonment after the High Court today found him guilty of contempt of court over remarks related to the inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir.
The sentence was ordered to take effect immediately.
However, the court granted a stay of execution pending an appeal by the Parti Warisan president, meaning the jail term will be suspended until the appeal is heard.
The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutors Mustaffa P. Kunyalam and Nadia Izhar, while Shafie was represented by lawyers Jakariya Ab Jalil and Chen Ket Chuin.
The contempt proceedings stemmed from remarks Shafie made during an event in Kinabatangan in September last year, where he allegedly described the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir as “murder” and questioned the authorities’ handling of the case despite an ongoing inquest.
On October 23 last year, the Attorney-General obtained leave to initiate contempt proceedings against the former Sabah chief minister.
Zara died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel in Papar. The inquest into her death is ongoing. – July 29, 2026