KOTA KINABALU, Sept 9 — The emergency doctor who first treated 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir testified today that she did not notice any “barcode” injuries or self-inflicted cuts on the teenager’s wrists during her initial physical assessment on July 16.
Dr Janefer Voo, from the Emergency and Trauma Department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, told the Coroner’s Court that while she is familiar with such marks from other young patients, her primary focus on the day had been on Zara’s life-threatening injuries.
“At that time, I noticed Zara’s arm was deformed, and the fractured area had already been placed in a splint. I did not notice any barcode injuries,” the 32-year-old doctor said.
During the proceeding, lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, representing five teenagers accused of bullying Zara, questioned Dr Voo extensively on the topic.
Ram: As you checked Zara for injuries on her body, did you come across any barcode injuries?
Dr Voo: No, I didn’t notice any barcode injuries.
Ram: Didn’t notice or didn’t check?
Dr Voo: Didn’t notice. When the patient arrived, we did a quick exam… where we could see the deformity on the left hand, so it was put on a splint. Regarding any barcode injury, we didn’t notice.
When asked to explain “barcode” injuries, Dr Voo described them as cuts made with sharp objects in a pattern resembling a barcode, which she said were typically self-inflicted.
She confirmed she had seen such injuries on other young patients, mostly teenagers, during her five years in the emergency department.
The term “barcode” was reportedly mentioned at least once in Zara’s personal journal entries, which were submitted as evidence yesterday.
Some of the journals also contained what appeared to be blood smudges.
