21/05/2026

THURSDAY | MAY 21, 2026 5 Zara harassed by ‘tomboy’ student, court told KOTA KINABALU: The Coroner’s Court here was told that the late Zara Qairina Mahathir had claimed she was being harassed by a “tomboy” student while staying at the hostel. The deceased’s aunt, Nur Shira Abdullah, 46, who appeared as the 71st witness in the inquest into the teenager’s death, said Zara Qairina had personally told her about the matter when she returned home for the Aidilfitri holidays last year. Nur Shira added that Zara Qairina said her roommate had told her that the student in question had been physically harassing her while she was asleep and she also experienced several other situations that made her feel uncomfortable throughout her time at the hostel. “While Zara was telling us about the matter, my child accidentally recorded Zara’s account,” she said on Tuesday while testifying before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan. The witness also told the court that Zara Qairina, who was staying on the third floor of the hostel, had complained that she was instructed to fetch hot water from a water dispenser located at the lower floor between 1am and 2am. She added that Zara Qairina also told her that some of her money had gone missing and believed it was stolen. Nur Shira said Zaira Qairina would share matters related to school and hostel life as well as relationships with friends, rather than about family problems. “Zara had never said she was unloved by her mother or was afraid of her mother,” she said. The witness also claimed that Zara Qairina had told her she had lodged a complaint with a warden, but that the latter did not believe her. On the refusal to conduct a post-mortem examination, the witness denied that the family had made a hasty decision, saying that a doctor in the forensic room had merely instructed her to sign a form without a detailed explanation. She also denied allegations that the family had discussed the post-mortem issue in a public area, stressing that the deceased’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, had only voiced the matter once inside the ward when there were no other visitors around. Zara Qairina, 13, was confirmed dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel at about 4am. The Attorney General’s Chambers had previously directed that an inquest be conducted after reviewing the police investigation report. – Bernama Woman loses RM163,500 in scam NILAI: An assistant manager at a private company lost RM163,500 after allegedly falling victim to a non-existent stock investment scheme promoted on social media in March. Nilai police chief Supt Johari Yahya said the local woman, in her early 40s, lodged a police report at 6.33pm on Tuesday after realising she was duped by the syndicate. He said the victim, who lives in Kajang, told police she had been dealing with an unknown individual on Facebook who offered a stock investment scheme promising lucrative returns. The victim was instructed to download an application known as “AB Limited” onto her mobile phone before making several fund transfers to bank accounts provided by the suspect. “She realised she had been scammed after repeated attempts to withdraw the purported profits through the application failed,“ he said in a statement here yesterday. Johari said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and efforts are underway to trace the suspect. – Bernama

Ex-Telekom M’sia staff in US charged with siphoning $20m

o Trio alleged to have diverted funds from telcommunications company for own financial benefit, deceiving counterparties, suppliers, auditors and supervisors: American authorities

a US multinational for US$54 million, when in fact only six terabytes were purchased. The defendants then allegedly sold the excess capacity to other companies, diverting funds from the illicit sales through a sham entity, the DOJ said. They were also accused of inflating the cost of cable purchases, redirecting nearly US$2.9 million in payments to a bank account they controlled, and allegedly claimed reimbursements for fabricated work expenses, it said. The three also allegedly impersonated employees and interns to capture their salaries and on one occasion used an AI-assisted imposter to deceive human resources staff, the DOJ said. Meanwhile, Telekom Malaysia Bhd said it will continue to extend its full cooperation with the DOJ concerning former employees of TM USA Inc. The telecommunications company said in a statement yesterday that it had earlier initiated its own investigation pursuant to the suspicion of misconduct by the individuals, which led to their dismissal. “Information from the investigation was then shared with the relevant authorities. The matter is currently under the purview of the DOJ and the US court,” it added. TM said it upholds strict governance and compliance standards and does not tolerate any form of misconduct. – Reuters/Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: The United States has charged three senior employees of Telekom Malaysia (TM) for allegedly misappropriating over US$20 million (RM79.56 million) from the Malaysian state telecommunications firm, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday. Mohd Hafiz Lockman, Mohd Yuzaimi Yusof and Khanh Thuong Nguyen, who were senior executives at the US subsidiary of TM, were accused of using false statements and forged records to siphon funds from the company and deceive counterparties, suppliers, auditors and supervisors in the United States on various occasions between July 2020 and February 2026, authorities said. “The three individuals are alleged to have conducted a deliberate and calculated embezzlement scheme, falsifying corporate records for their own financial benefit,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr said in a statement. Mohd Hafiz was arrested at San Francisco Director Mohd Misuari Abdullah said the special operation was conducted to ensure that owners of imported and luxury vehicles comply with traffic laws and to prevent leakage of government revenue. He said among the primary offences detected were expired Motor Vehicle Licences involving 35 cases, lack of insurance coverage with 31 cases, the use of fake trade registration numbers and unauthorised engine replacement. “Operations throughout Kelantan found that many luxury vehicle owners still failed to renew their licences or road tax despite driving high-value vehicles. “Some owners renewed their insurance but did not extend their road tax. More shockingly, vehicles were still driven despite road tax and insurance expiring since 2020,” he said at the Op Kenderaan Mewah (Luxury) and Op Hari Raya Aidiladha (HRA) 2026 press conference here on Tuesday. “All vehicles were seized for further investigation and to prevent recurring offences. Among the models facing action are the Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche Panamera V6, Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Alphard, Toyota Vellfire, BMW 528i Limousine, Audi TTS, and Mercedes Benz,” he said. Mohd Misuari said the operation revealed an estimated annual loss of RM34,547.80 in government revenue from unpaid road tax on all seized vehicles. “The highest road tax recorded was RM6,612 annually, while the lowest was RM70. Despite owning luxury vehicles, compliance with the law is mandatory. “RTD will not compromise with any vehicle owner who fails to follow traffic regulations,” he said. He added that the status or ownership of a luxury vehicle does not shield it from

airport, while the other two accused turned themselves in to authorities last month. The trio were charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, the DOJ said. Mohd Hafiz, Mohd Yuzaimi and Nguyen could not be immediately reached for comment. The DOJ said it declined to file charges against TM itself, after the company self-reported the criminal conduct and pledged to cooperate with authorities. Reuters reported in March that the department was rolling out a policy to encourage firms to report criminal misconduct in exchange for reduced penalties and other benefits. The defendants were accused of diverting millions of dollars from TM into bank accounts they controlled, according to the US indictment. On one occasion, TM was asked to approve a sale of eight terabytes of capacity to

42 luxury vehicles seized over expired road tax, insurance KOTA BHARU: The Kelantan Road Transport Department (RTD) has seized 42 luxury vehicles through Op Luxury 2.0, conducted statewide since Jan 1, for offences including expired road tax and lack of insurance.

Mohd Misuari (left) with some of the seized vehicles at the press conference on Tuesday. – BERNAMAPIC enforcement action.

involving 50 teams across the state, including branches and Kelantan RTD enforcement stations,” he said. He added that checks were also conducted at the Lembah Sireh Bus Terminal in Kota Bharu, including on outstanding summonses, driving licences, driver logbooks and technical inspections of buses. Additionally, RTD is utilising technologies such as the Falcon motorcycle unit and drones to monitor traffic flow and detect traffic violations. – Bernama

Meanwhile, Mohd Misuari said RTD will increase monitoring during Op Khas HRA, from May 24 to 31, to ensure road safety and smooth traffic flow throughout the festive season. “This operation targets nine major offences, including speeding, using mobile phones while driving, overtaking on double lines and driving in the emergency lane. “A total of 187 enforcement personnel and 33 operational vehicles will be deployed,