(Kota Kinabalu, July 30) Former Sabah Chief Minister and Warisan chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has been found in contempt of court by the Kota Kinabalu Magistrates' Court and sentenced to five weeks in prison for remarks he made during the ongoing inquest into the death of Zara Kaleyna Mahadi. The sentence was immediately stayed to allow Shafie to pursue an appeal at the High Court.
The Ruling
Magistrate Amir Shah Amir Hassan found Shafie Apdal in contempt of court under Section 99A of the Subordinate Courts Act 1948, after determining that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt. The magistrate sentenced Shafie, 68, the MP for Semporna, to five weeks' imprisonment — below the maximum of six weeks and a RM300 fine permitted under the provision. The execution of the sentence was stayed, with the magistrate granting Shafie's application to appeal to the High Court.
The Remarks
The contempt finding arose from a speech Shafie delivered on September 20, 2025, at a public gathering in Keningau, Sabah, at a time when the inquest into Zara Kaleyna's death was actively proceeding before Magistrate Amir Shah. During that speech, Shafie referred to Zara's death as a murder, saying "this child was killed", and challenged the ongoing court process with remarks questioning the purpose of the inquest and asking where justice was. The full video was played in open court during the contempt proceedings.
Key Findings in the Judgment
Magistrate Amir Shah's judgment was clear and detailed. He concluded that the remarks could not be sheltered by freedom of expression. He found that the speech had pre-empted the inquest's core function — determining how Zara died — by publicly announcing a conclusion of murder before the court had completed its work. He said this constituted a serious interference with the administration of justice. The magistrate noted that whether the coroner was or would be influenced by the remarks was immaterial; what mattered was that the remarks were made to the public while the inquest was still live and actively hearing evidence. He also found that Shafie had not taken any steps to remove or correct the remarks after the fact, allowing them to remain available to the public, which compounded the harm. The court said the remarks created a real and substantial risk of interfering with the administration of justice and of eroding public trust in the judicial system.
Background: The Zara Kaleyna Case
Zara Kaleyna Mahadi, 13, a Form One secondary school student, was found unconscious near a dormitory at the Tun Datu Mustapha National Religious Secondary School in Papar on July 16, 2025. She was pronounced dead the following day at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu. The inquest into her death began on September 3, 2025, and remains ongoing, with the next date scheduled for August 24, 2026. No official determination of the cause of her death has been made.
Stay and Appeal
The sentence of five weeks' imprisonment was stayed on Shafie's application, pending the High Court's determination of his appeal. The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutors Mustapha P Kunjan and Nadia Izha. Shafie's legal team comprised lawyers Zakaria Abdul Jalil and Chan Keh Choon.
