KOTA KINABALU: There were no signs of bruising or indications of abuse on the body of the late Zara Qairina Mahathir when she arrived at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), the Coroner’s Court heard today.
Witness Dr Janefer Voo, 32, a medical officer at the hospital’s Emergency and Trauma Department, said she received Zara at approximately 4.38am on July 16 in an unconscious state.
She added that Zara sustained multiple injuries, including swelling and bleeding at the back of her head, a closed fracture of the left wrist, an open fracture of the left ankle, and a closed fracture of the right ankle.
Following the initial examination, a “Trauma Alert” was activated at the QEH Emergency Department at about 4.42am for immediate referral to the Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Surgery, and Anaesthesiology teams.
“Based on my assessment, the patient was suspected to have sustained a severe traumatic brain injury, injuries to the back of the head, fractures on both ankles and the left wrist, and was also suspected of having internal bleeding.
“Due to the patient’s very low blood pressure, she was suspected to have sustained internal injuries “due to “High Impact” trauma to the body, which caused internal bleeding.
“There were no signs of bruising or indications of abuse on the patient’s body,” Dr Voo said in reading her witness statement before the court.
Coordinating officer Datuk Badiuszaman Ahmad requested that Dr Voo sign her witness statement.
Dr Voo further testified that after resuscitation and imaging procedures were carried out, the patient was found to have bleeding in the brain, an open fracture of the left ankle and heel, closed fractures of the left arm and right leg, fractures of the L2, L3, and L4 lumbar vertebrae, as well as blood clots in the pelvic bone and left psoas muscle.
Dr Voo is a trainee medical officer from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), currently attached to HQE.
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