KOTA KINABALU, Sept 12 — A security guard at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha said students were prevented from going home after learning that 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir had died.
Linah Mansoding @ Jaliha, 65, told the Coroner’s Court here today that some of the students were in shock and feeling scared, but they were not allowed to call their parents or go home because the principal had not given them permission.
“There was chaos when the kids found out, some got very scared especially after she was declared dead.
“Many wanted to call their parents and go home, but the school didn’t allow for it. The warden said that they didn’t get the principal’s permission because she was visiting Zara’s mother at the time in Sipitang. So, to calm the kids down, they slept together in the sick bay temporarily,” she said.
Linah said that one of the student’s mother had come to the school on the night of the 17th at around 10pm to try and take her daughter and a friend home but was refused even after an hour’s discussion.
“They were at the gates for over an hour, the two girls were inside, one of them really scared and anxious but she was still not allowed to leave,” she said during questioning.
The children were eventually allowed to return home on the 18th of July, the day after Zara was declared dead.
Linah had also told the coroner’s court that the public pay phones in the school were “turned off” in the two days after the incident but said there were still other channels to call parents.
Zara’s unconscious body was found on the ground floor of her hostel after 3am on July 16. She was declared dead from traumatic brain injury most likely due to a fall from height.
