The head warden of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha told the Kota Kinabalu coroner’s court today he heard Zara Qairina Mahathir crying and shouting “I didn’t steal, stupid” after leaving a dormitory room on the night of July 15.
Azhari Abd Sagap, 31, said a Form One student had complained to her dormitory leader about missing belongings, and Zara was summoned for questioning.
He said Zara was asked whether she had stolen the items, and was then told to swear an oath, to which Zara swore “wallahi” (by Allah) that she did not, Berita Harian reported.
“I’m not sure if it was at the same time or not, but in Zara’s room, a Form One student opened her locker and bag to search for the missing items and found a Malaysian flag pin belonging to the dorm leader.
“At that point, the dorm leader went to the next room and questioned her again, but Zara denied it. Some harsh words were exchanged by the dorm leader.
“She was told to swear ‘wallahi’ again, but Zara refused. That was the end of it. After leaving the room, Zara cried and shouted ‘I didn’t steal, stupid’,” he was quoted as saying.
Azhari said Zara was last seen going to the toilet that night. She was later found unconscious under the building in the early hours of July 16.
He said wardens later conducted an internal investigation at the girls’ dormitory isolation room and the school’s musollah (prayer room), where five students provided written statements on what had happened before Zara was found.
Diaries discovered and handed to police in stages
Azhari had told the inquest earlier that three diaries, two exercise books, and 15 pages of handwritten notes belonging to Zara were discovered in stages after her death and later handed over to the police.
Bernama reported him as saying that the first two diaries were found in her locker on July 16, and a third diary and an exercise book were discovered the following day when her belongings were being packed.
On July 19, another teacher came across 15 pages of diary entries hidden in Zara’s classroom bookshelf.
All the items were eventually handed to the investigating officer.
Zara died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17 and was buried at the Tanjung Ubi Muslim cemetery in Sipitang the same day.
On Aug 8, the Attorney-General’s Chambers ordered her remains to be exhumed for a post-mortem, before announcing an inquest into her death on Aug 13.
The inquest continues.
