KOTA KINABALU, Sept 11 — An entourage from the coroner’s court today carried out more fall simulations at the Papar boarding school where 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir was found unconscious in the early hours of July 16.
Counsel Datuk Ram Singh said several scenarios were tested using two mannequins weighted with water to approximate Zara Qairina’s 53kg frame.
“The mannequins were fitted with weights and measurements were taken. The idea is not to replicate her body exactly but to understand the impact on landing and whether it is consistent with the photographs,” he told reporters outside the school.
The team also examined the suspended grill and tested various ways a fall could have occurred.
Security officers in harnesses demonstrated how someone might have crossed over or held onto the beam before falling.
“The crime scene investigators climbed up the railings and grills to test a few directions scenarios. We tried all the possibilities. Lawyers were given the opportunity to ask whatever doubts they have and query. We can also ask more questions in court later,” Ram said.
A convoy of vehicles with police escorts arrives at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, Sabah, on September 11, 2025, for a simulation reenactment in the inquest into former student Zara Qairina Mahathir, 13.
Ram, who is representing a classmate of Zara Qairina in a separate bullying case, noted the mannequin was badly damaged but stressed its limitations.
“Of course, it is not the same density as flesh and bone. The mannequin is only an example, not directly comparable,” he said.
The entourage also inspected the ground floor where Zara Qairina was found. Ram pointed out that she lay near a drain but not inside it.
Ram said the visit helped visualise the circumstances of the fall.
“For any crime, locus in quo is important. From the third floor, it is frightening — I myself wouldn’t jump,” he said, using the Latin legal term for the exact place where an event occurred.
About 60 people took part in the exercise, including lawyers, police investigators, Fire and Rescue Department officers, and school authorities.
Demonstrations were conducted from the third floor of the SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha hostel block, where the teenager was last seen.
