Witness Testifies Mother Daughter Bond Was Good At Zara Qairina Inquest

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Noraidah Lamat poses with a photo of her daughter, Zara Qairina Mahathir, who succumbed to her injuries a day after being found unconscious near her school dormitory on July 16. — The Borneo Post picKOTA KINABALU, Oct 29 — The relationship between Zara Qairina Mahathir and her mother, Noraidah Lamat, was good, based on witness testimony at the inquest into the teenager’s death at the Coroner’s Court here today.
The testimony was given by the 25th child witness, a classmate who lived in the same dormitory as Zara Qairina, on the 30th day of the inquest proceedings before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Sharing the witness’s account, lawyer Shahlan Jufri, representing Zara Qairina’s mother, said the witness told the court that she had stayed at Zara’s home in Sipitang for two nights and found that the relationship between Zara and her mother was cordial.
“Among the activities during her stay at Zara’s home were doing homework, and Zara’s mother took both of them for a visit around Pekan Sipitang.
“The witness said that while she was at Zara’s home, she saw that the relationship between Zara and her mother was good. She confirmed that Zara’s mother had washed and ironed her clothes,” Shahlan told reporters after the proceedings.
According to Shahlan, the witness also said she had seen Zara writing in a dark green diary, in which she mentioned her aspiration to become a Badar (surau prefect) because she idolised a senior student who held that role.
He said the witness also described Zara as cheerful and lively and that she never showed any signs of stress or being bullied at school.
Meanwhile, lawyer Joan Goh, representing one of the children involved in Zara Qairina’s bullying case, said the witness mentioned that her money, which went missing on July 14, was later found in Zara’s locker.
“She identified the money — there was a small black ink mark on one of the RM10 notes, and apparently on the night of July 15, when they checked Zara’s locker, this money was found inside,” she said.
The inquest also heard testimony from two other child witnesses, the 24th and 26th witnesses.
Zara Qairina, 13, was confirmed dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital here on July 17 after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory at 4am on July 16.
The inquest proceedings will resume on Thursday. — Bernama

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