KUALA LUMPUR — UMNO has expressed full support for the Attorney General’s Chambers’ (AGC) decision to hold an inquest to determine the cause and circumstances surrounding the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir.

UMNO secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the party hopes the inquest will be conducted independently and transparently by the law.

“We hope this inquest will be carried out freely and transparently under the provisions of the law to ensure justice is served for the late Zara Qairina,” he said at a press conference after UMNO’s Supreme Council meeting at Menara Dato’ Onn.

Earlier, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk M. Kumar revealed there were breaches in standard operating procedures (SOPs) in handling the case of Zara’s death.

According to him, the SOPs require a post-mortem to be conducted if the cause of death is unknown or if there are suspicious elements involved.

Zara Qairina was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near the dormitory of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar.

On August 9, her grave at the Islamic Cemetery in Tanjung Ubi, Kampung Mesapol, Sipitang was exhumed to allow for a post-mortem, before she was reburied early the following Sunday morning.