KOTA KINABALU, Dec 5 — The Coroner's Court has adjourned the inquest into the death of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir and cautioned the public against commenting on the 52-day-long proceedings.
The court was adjourned to accommodate a related criminal trial involving five minors accused of bullying Zara, scheduled for December 8 to December 12, and December 15 to December 19.
Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan issued the caution at the conclusion of today's session, stating that the inquest will resume on January 21 next year.
"I therefore wish to remind the public not to make any comments or statements regarding the case. If anyone has new or additional evidence, they should approach the conducting officer.
“That is the proper channel. Do not pre-empt the inquest," he said, emphasising that public commentary and speculation risk prejudicing the integrity of the proceedings, undermining its purpose of serving the interests of justice.
Earlier, the court heard testimony from SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha's former student affairs senior assistant Asni Marjan, who is set to retire next month.
The 57th witness testified before the court that he had no knowledge of the text messages allegedly sent by the mother of a student, referred to as Student A, to the school's chief warden Azhari Abdul Sagap on the night of the incident. Student A is facing a bullying charge in connection with Zara Qairina’s death.
The messages, sent between 10.28pm and 10.54pm on July 15, were produced in court by counsel Joan Goh, who represents Student A. The messages reportedly concerned an issue in the dormitory that evening.
In his testimony, Asni stated that to the best of his recollection, the chief warden neither showed him these messages nor informed him of their existence at the relevant time.
He added that, to the best of his recollection, he was never shown any such messages by the chief warden and was not informed of them at the material time.
Zara, 13, died on July 17 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious near a drain at 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.
