The coroner’s court in Kota Kinabalu was told today that Zara Qairina Mahathir appeared emotional after returning to her dormitory room from a senior’s room on the night of July 15.
According to lawyer Joan Goh, the 27th witness, who was Zara’s dormitory mate at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, Sabah, recounted hearing someone from the adjacent room calling out to Zara to come to room A3-6.
“Later, the witness learned that Zara had been accused of stealing a student’s bank card and was called to meet a Form 4 senior in the adjacent dormitory room.
“The witness, however, did not know the identity of the senior who met Zara that night.
“When Zara returned to room A3-5 at around 11pm, the witness saw her in an emotional state… she was lying on the floor and cried in front of her cupboard,” Bernama reported Goh as saying after the proceedings.
The lawyer said it was the first time the witness had seen Zara in such a state, as the Form 1 student had never complained about any personal problems, study pressure or harassment from other students before.
She said the witness also testified that Zara often wrote in her purple and green diary, including about her aspiration to become a member of the school’s surau supervisory body.
“The witness had no conflict with Zara. In fact, she was among the students who conducted a spot check on Zara’s locker, during which she found a (missing) flag pin,” said Goh.
Zara, 13, died on July 17 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious in a drain near her school’s hostel at 4am.
The inquest before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan continues on Nov 5.
