Zara Appeared Emotional After Returning From Senior S Room Witness

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The Coroner’s Court holding an inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir was told that the girl appeared to be emotional after returning from dormitory room A3-6 on the night of July 15.
The testimony was given by the 27th witness, who was Zara’s dormitory mate at SMK Agama Tun Datu Mustapha, Papar, on the 31st day of the inquest proceedings today.
Sharing details of the witness’ statement, lawyer Joan Goh, representing one of the students involved in Zara’s case, said the witness recounted hearing someone from the adjacent room calling out to Zara to come to room A3-6.
“Later, the witness learned that Zara had been accused of stealing a student’s bank card and was called to meet a Form Four senior in the adjacent dormitory room. The witness, however, did not know the identity of the senior who met Zara that night.
“When Zara returned to room A3-5 at around 11pm, the witness saw her in an emotional state… lying on the floor and crying in front of her cupboard,” Goh said when met by reporters after the proceedings.
Goh said it was the first time the witness had seen Zara in such a state, and in fact, the Form One student had never complained about any personal problems, study pressure, or harassment from other students before.
The witness also said that Zara often wrote in her purple and green diary, including about her aspiration to become a member of Badar (the school’s surau supervisory body).
“The witness had no conflict with Zara. In fact, she was among the students who conducted a spot check on Zara’s locker, during which she found the (missing) flag pin,” Goh added.
Zara, 13, was confirmed dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital I, Kota Kinabalu, on July 17, after being found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory at 4am the previous day.
The inquest proceedings before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan continue on Nov 5.
- Bernama

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