Zara S Final Cries Haunt Her Dormmate

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KOTA KINABALU: Zara Qairina Mahathir's cries of 'Aku nda curi bah' (I didn't steal) on the night before she was found unconscious were the final moments her dormmate remembered.
The testimony was given by the 18th child witness, who studied and shared a dorm with Zara Qairina at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha, Papar, during the 26th day of the inquest proceedings into her death at the Coroner's Court here, on Wednesday (Oct 22).
Lawyer Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh, who represents Zara Qairina's mother, said the witness testified that on the night before the incident (July 15), she heard a student call out to Zara Qairina from the front of the dorm, asking her to go to the next dorm room to meet with senior students.
According to her, during that moment, Zara Qairina was in front of her locker, writing something.
"She stood up and walked towards the next dorm room. When Zara returned to her room at 11 pm, the witness said she lay down on the floor crying before shouting those words.
"Before the witness fell asleep, she could still see Zara on the floor. All the dormmates were in the room and heard her cries, but none attempted to comfort or console her while she wept.
"At that time, the dorm lights had already been turned off. Zara was not using a pillow as she lay on the floor, resting her head on her arm and facing the left side of the bed. The witness said it was the first time she had seen Zara crying and shouting in the dorm," Mohd Syarulnizam told reporters when sharing the witness's testimony after the proceedings.
The court was also informed that on the same day, a wallet went missing and Zara Qairina was accused of stealing it.
The witness stated that four of Zara Qairina's dormmates inspected her locker, bag and trousers, but could not find the missing item.
The witness also stated that no teachers or wardens were involved in the inspection or in the “Mesyuarat Aras” (floor meeting) conducted by senior students at the hostel.
Meanwhile, lawyer Joan Goh, who represents one of the children implicated in the Zara Qairina bullying case, said the 19th child witness, the victim's classmate, described Zara Qairina as a cheerful student.
The witness told the court that Zara Qairina often wrote in a green-covered diary inscribed with the words “Love and Peace”, but she had never read the content of the diary.
The witness also testified that she had lost a Malaysian flag pin, attached to her school bag, on July 8.
Zara Qairina, 13, died on July 17 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious across a drain near her school hostel at 4 am.
The inquest would resume on Thursday (Oct 23). – Bernama

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