KOTA KINABALU, Sept 12 — Two students were reportedly told to clean up Zara Qairina Mahathir’s blood after she was taken away by an ambulance at 4am, said security guard Linah Mansoding.
Linah told the Coroner’s Court here today that it was likely the head warden, Ustaz Azhari, who was at the scene, who had asked three students to help move Zara Qairina closer to the exit point while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
Later, two of the students were reportedly asked to clean the blood after Zara Qairina was taken away.
Linah is believed to have been among the first at the scene after Zara Qairina’s fall, having been informed by one of the students. She was later joined by two other students, the head warden, two other security guards, and other wardens.
Zara Qairina was discovered unconscious on the ground floor of her dormitory at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar in the early hours of July 16.
Medical experts later confirmed that she died from traumatic brain injury consistent with a fall from height.
During questioning by the lawyer representing Zara Qairina’s mother, Shahlan Jufri, Linah recounted the events from about 3.15am, when she was informed that her daughter had been found unconscious.
Shahlan: Do you know who moved Zara Qairina on July 16 after she was found?
Linah: The chief warden and three Form 4 students.
Shahlan: Where did they move her?
Linah: They placed her in front of the hostel, near the warden’s house and the Block A exit, while waiting for the ambulance.
Shahlan: What were you doing at the time?
Linah: I just looked on. I wanted to help, but there was nowhere else to hold, so I just watched.
Shahlan: What was her condition?
Linah: Her left leg was badly injured, with the bones jutting out. Most of the blood came from that leg. I also saw blood at the back of her neck.
Shahlan: Was there blood at the scene?
Linah: Yes, there was blood where she was first found, and also at the spot where she was moved.
Shahlan: Who cleaned the blood?
Linah: After the ambulance left, two Form 4 students cleaned the area. They used a torchlight which another security guard held.
Shahlan: Who asked them to clean up the blood?
Linah: I think it was the chief warden who told them.
Shahlan: Was all the blood cleaned?
Linah: Not everything. Some blood from the spot where she was found had washed away with the rain. The rest, especially around the cement area, was left and later turned black. The cleaners did not wash it off.
Linah was the sixth witness in the inquest into Zara Qairina’s death.
She also told the court that Azhari had asked her to delete a photo she had taken of Zara Qairina when she was first discovered.
“The head warden said he was afraid the photo would go viral because the students would often borrow my phone.
“It might go viral, so I was asked to delete it,” she said.
The photo she took at the scene has been a crucial piece of evidence, as it is the only image of Zara Qairina when she was first found.
