Zara Inquest Mannequin Used To Simulate Fall Produced In Court

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The mannequin used to simulate the condition of Zara Qairina Mahathir, who is said to have fallen from the third floor of a school dormitory building, was brought to the inquest proceedings at the Coroner's Court in Kota Kinabalu today.
The dummy, wrapped in two brown packages, was opened by crime scene investigation officer Maidon Bernadus, from the Sabah police contingent headquarters, before the coroner, Sessions Court judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan, on the fifth day of the inquest proceedings into the teenager's death.
The fifth witness showed the damaged condition of the mannequin, with both its left and right legs broken and its head torn off after being dropped from the third floor of the dormitory last Aug 3.
Yesterday, the witness told the court that he and his team conducted two simulations using the dummy, the first by dropping it vertically without any forward push, while the second with a minimal push forward.
He said that, overall, the result of the first simulation was the closest to the position of the victim based on the initial investigation.
When questioned by lawyer Shahlan Jufri, representing Zara’s family, Maidon said the simulation was made on the third floor following a briefing by the case's investigating officer Wong Yew Zhung.
“According to Wong’s initial investigation, the victim’s last known position (according to the witness) was believed to be in the (third-floor) toilet, facing the corridor,” he said.
Maidon told the court that the lower half of the dummy used in the simulation was wrapped with bricks secured with adhesive tape marked with a forensic label, adding that the bricks were selected because they were considered suitable to replicate the physical weight of the deceased, which was 53kg.
In his witness statement, Maidon said that the original weight of the mannequin was 10kg, but additional weight was added using bricks to closely match the victim’s body weight.
Dummy not same height as Zara
When Sahlan asked why a 180cm-tall mannequin was used when Zara’s height was 153cm, the witness said it was because he could not find one with the same height as the victim.
To another question by Sahlan, how could the height difference affect the centre of gravity and the distance of the fall, Maidon replied, “I am not sure”.
After the witness completed giving his statement, the court ordered the mannequin to be kept in police possession.
The inquest proceedings continue with the sixth witness, a security guard at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, Linah Mansoding@Jaliha, 65, testifying.
Zara died on July 17 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel in Papar at 4 am.
On Aug 8, the Attorney-General’s Chambers ordered her remains to be exhumed for a post-mortem, before announcing an inquest into her death on Aug 13.
- Bernama

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