KOTA KINABALU, Sept 19 — The Coroner's Court was informed that a student, identified only as 'A', had taken more than two weeks of medical leave following the tragic July 16 incident that led to the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir.
Student A is one of five minors charged in connection with Zara's bullying case.
Azhari Abd Sagap, 31, the hostel head warden at SMK Agama Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, testified that Student A’s mother had sent him two separate medical certificates from a health clinic via WhatsApp.
The eighth witness in the inquest into Zara's death said the first medical certificate covering July 28 to August 4 was sent on July 28, while the second one, for August 8 to August 18, was sent on August 7.
“On August 11, Student A’s mother sent a WhatsApp message saying she would come to the school that week to collect all her daughter’s belongings and thanked [the warden] for looking out for her child throughout her time at the school,” he said.
Azhari accessed the WhatsApp message and read it during examination by Student A’s counsel Joan Goh on the tenth day of the inquest proceedings today.
He added that he was aware Student A had seen Zara placed by the side of the warden’s house, along the path between Block A and Block B, before the ambulance arrived at the hostel.
When asked whether he was aware that Student A had subsequently left the school due to trauma, Azhari replied: “No. She did not exhibit signs of trauma.”
He further testified that the hostel security guard Linah Mansoding @ Jaliha had taken a photograph of Student A and a companion, showing Student A displaying a ‘peace’ sign.
This image was captured on the occasion when both individuals were requested to attend the school to provide their statements.
Goh: Can a photograph alone demonstrate the absence of trauma?
Azhari: Yes. She even made a ‘peace’ sign in the photograph taken by the security guard.
Yesterday, he told the Court that Student A had transferred schools several weeks after Zara was found unconscious near her dormitory on July 16, but he was unaware of the reason.
During today’s proceedings, Azhari testified that Zara's mother Noraidah Lamat had informed him that Student A was her daughter’s close friend and knew everything about her.
He noted that Student A had accompanied Zara back to her home in Sipitang on July 12 after a Parent-Teacher Association community event.
“That is what I know. Maybe that is why Zara Qairina’s mother regarded Student A as a close friend who knew her daughter well,” Azhari said.
The inquest proceedings before Coroner Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan will resume on Monday (September 22).
Zara died on July 17 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital I in Kota Kinabalu and was buried at the Tanjung Ubi Muslim cemetery in Sipitang the same day. She was admitted to the hospital a day earlier after being found unconscious near a drain at her school hostel in Papar at 4am.
On August 8, the Attorney-General’s Chambers ordered her remains to be exhumed for a post-mortem, before announcing an inquest into her death on August 13.
