KOTA KINABALU, Sept 8 — A document examiner told the Coroner’s Court today that she did not refer a note written on a sheet of paper by the late Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir about her mother to a psychiatrist for evaluation.
Nurul Atiqah Mohd Noh, 44, a document examiner attached to the Chemistry Department's Forensic Science Analysis Centre's Document Examination Division, said this in response to questions from lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, who is representing a juvenile charged with bullying the deceased.
Ram: Referring to exhibit Y9 (a sheet of paper), did you read the sentence: “ok aku harap sangat nanti di akhirat aku nda mahu jumpa kau…jangan kau cari aku, aku nda mau liat muka mu lagi.. pun aku kan terpaling salah di mata mu…baik kau nda payah lahirkan aku, kau bunuh ja aku.” (Ok, I really hope that in the afterlife I will never see you…do not look for me, I do not want to see your face again…I know I am entirely at fault in your eyes…it would have been better if you had never given birth to me, just kill me)
Atiqah: Yes.
Ram: When you read this, did it come to your mind to tell the investigating officer to refer this statement to another expert, like a psychiatrist?
Atiqah: No.
She added that she noticed a stain on the top right corner of the sheet (Y9) but was unsure what it was.
Ram: Now, look at exhibit Y8 (another sheet of paper)…I read the part of the content “Bismillah, saya Zara Qairina, ingin memutuskan persahabatan dengan…” (In the name of Allah, I, Zara Qairina, wish to end a friendship with...) dated January 5, 2025. Did you analyse it?
Atiqah: Yes.
Ram: When you saw the bloodstain, did you advise that it be sent to the chemist for analysis?
Atiqah: It was sent to the Forensic DNA Division first before being sent to me.
She also told the court she had examined an exercise book belonging to the deceased.
Ram further asked whether she had analysed the cover page of the exercise book, which had the words “pergi mati” (go and die) written in the ‘Subject’ column.
“Yes, I have analysed it,” Atiqah said.
Earlier, she said her division had received 21 bags containing four notebooks, two textbooks, and 15 sheets of paper, all of which were identified as belonging to the deceased.
When questioned by Deputy Public Prosecutor Dana Arabi Wazani, the witness said it was impossible to imitate the handwriting found in the two notebooks, 15 sheets of paper, and two textbooks belonging to the student.
This was because the handwriting across the documents involved many topics and had been written over a long period of time.
“The examination found similarities in the style of writing, namely, rounded handwriting with clear letter formation, balanced spacing between letters, and positioning of letters on the line or page,” said Atiqah.
The hearing before Coroner Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan continues tomorrow.
Zara, 13, died on July 17 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, where she had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel in Papar at 4am.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers ordered her remains exhumed for a post-mortem on August 8, before announcing a formal inquest into her death on August 13.
