KOTA KINABALU, Sept. 29 -- With only 19 per cent of the inquest into the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir completed, proceedings are expected to extend beyond the upcoming state election and likely continue through the end of the year.

Lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, who represents one of the students accused of bullying Zara Qairina, said that the pace of the proceedings shows that it will extend well beyond the initially scheduled end date of September 30

The coroner has analysed the progress of the inquest and said only 14 witnesses had been heard so far out of an estimated 68.

"That's only about 19 per cent into the case. Initially, it was fixed until September 30, but looking at the pace, it's very unlikely to finish this year,"...