The chief warden of the SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha’s hostel in Papar told the coroner’s court today that initially the school had no knowledge of the “kalau aku touch-touch, kau berdarah” (if I touch you, you will bleed) statement that was allegedly made by “Kak M” to Zara Qairina Mahathir.
Azhari Abd Sagap, 31, said they only learnt about the matter after an audio recording of Zara and her mother Noraidah Lamat’s conversation went viral on social media following the incident on July 16.
“The school then conducted an investigation into the matter. Evidence related to the issue was handed over to the police.
“We also brought the student known as ‘Kak M’ and all the students mentioned in the audio to give statements to the police,” he said.
The eighth witness in the inquest into Zara’s death also revealed that the school’s investigation found the statement “if I touch you, you’ll bleed” was actually made in May.
“The investigation revealed that ‘Kak M’ is alleged to have said this after her younger sibling, who is in Form Two, was mocked by Zara and her friends.
“The student (Kak M) was emotionally unstable at the time because her room was messy and dirty,” he said when answering a question from lawyer Abdul Fikry Jaafar, who represents four teens charged with bullying Zara.
Azhari also said that the mocking of Kak M’s younger sibling was in writing, when Zara and her friend left a note that read: “Dia seorang yang sok orku, sengaja takutkan Form 1, padahal baru juga junior.” (“She’s a show-off, deliberately scaring the Form 1 students, even though she’s just a junior.”)
“The younger sibling’s nickname was also mentioned in the evidence we submitted to the police,” he said.
Azhari explained that the term “sok sok” means pretending to be something, while “orku” is an abbreviation of the word “orang kuat” (a strong person).
The inquest before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan will continue tomorrow.
Zara, 13, died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel at 4am.
On Aug 13, the Attorney-General’s Chambers ordered an inquest to be held after reviewing the investigation report submitted by the police. On Aug 8, the AGC had issued an order to exhume Zara’s grave to allow for an autopsy to be performed.
