KOTA KINABALU, Sept 24 — The inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir at the Coroner’s Court today heard from a student, the second child witness in the proceedings.
The student concluded the testimony before Coroner Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan at 4.15pm. The court will resume tomorrow with the testimony of a third child witness.
To date, 10 witnesses have testified since the inquest began on September 3.
25 adult witnesses and 33 more child witnesses are expected to testify in upcoming sessions of the inquest.
Pursuant to the Evidence of Child Witness Act 2017, which expressly forbids the publication of any details that may identify a minor, press personnel were prohibited from the floor during the in-camera testimony to protect the witness's identity.
Zara, 13, 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.
