By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: A senior student had volunteered to help teachers look for the late Zara Qairina Mahathir's diaries after the 13-year-old was found unconscious outside her dormitory on July 16.
The student, who was the 28th child witness, told the Coroner's Court that several seniors and juniors gathered with teachers at the surau of SMKA Tun Mustapha here, hours after Zara Qairina was taken to hospital.
Earlier, around 3am on the same day, Zara Qairina was found unconscious near the school dormitory.
"At that time (at the surau), the witness heard some students telling the teachers that Zara had kept a diary. When the teachers asked the students to help search for it, none volunteered.
"Seeing this, the witness volunteered to look for Zara's diary," lawyers representing Zara Qairina's family said.
The witness went to the dormitory block and opened Zara Qairina's locker, where she found a black school bag.
Inside the bag's main compartment, she discovered two diaries — a green one titled "Love & Peace" and another purple one titled "Simple Style".
The witness said she was alone in the dormitory at the time, while a teacher who accompanied her to the block waited downstairs.
She admitted briefly flipping through both diaries but did not read them thoroughly.
When she and the teacher returned to the prayer hall, the witness handed over the diaries to another teacher, who read part of the contents in front of other students before keeping them away.
"The witness stated that she did not know the real reason they were asked to search for Zara's diary, nor did she know or recall whether Zara had written any specific notes in it."
The witness, who was a member of the Circle 19 group, also said she had no conflict with Zara Qairina.
On the night of July 15, she did not notice anything unusual and only woke up around 4.50am the following day.
Meanwhile, the 29th child witness, a Form One student, said she had initiated the search of Zara Qairina's bag after learning she had been summoned to another room to be questioned about stolen items.
"My intention in asking my friends to check Zara's bag was only to help a student find her missing bank card, and also to help another student who had lost her wallet and identity card.
"I suspected Zara at that time because on about five previous occasions, missing items such as flag pins and water bottles from the dormitory were found inside her locker," she said in her witness statement.
The Coroner's Court was also told there had been a major theft incident in which several students, including herself and Zara Qairina, stayed in the dormitory over the weekend.
The next morning, many reported that their money was missing.
"When the seniors conducted a spot check, the stolen money was found inside Zara's bag. However, when questioned, Zara denied stealing it."
There was also an occasion when Zara Qairina described a bottle left on a water dispenser, as "cute." When she later returned to the dorm, the witness saw Zara Qairina carrying the same bottle she had admired earlier.
The inquest resumes tomorrow.
Original article was posted on New Straits Times Online
Comments
Post a Comment