By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: A child witness testified that she was shocked to see the late Zara Qairina Mahathir lying motionless on July 16.
The witness, a student of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha, told coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan that after questioning Zara on the night of July 15, she returned to sleep in another dormitory around 10pm.
Lawyer Shahlan Jufri, representing Zara's family, told the media that the 10th child witness also testified that she remained in her room between midnight and 3am on July 16.
"The witness said she was awakened by a friend who told her that Zara was lying motionless below.
"She said she was shocked upon seeing Zara's condition from the third-floor staircase," he told the media after today's inquest, which examined only one child witness at the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex.
Shahlan added that the witness recalled being informed earlier that night by her roommate about a missing wallet containing cash and an identification card belonging to another student. Zara was suspected of taking it.
Zara was called to the witness' dormitory around 9pm, where she denied taking the items in front of the witness and several others.
The witness testified that she had said: "Just admit it if you took it, we would not get angry."
Shortly after, another group of students also came to question Zara.
"The witness stated that after that, she no longer took part in the conversation between Zara and the other students and did not know if anyone had tried to stop the questioning.
"She recalled that one student had clearly used the word 'stupid'," he said, adding that the witness did not notice any unusual emotional reaction from Zara before leaving the room.
He also said the student confirmed that the meeting with Zara on the night of July 15 was neither an MA (Dormitory Meeting) nor an MB (Room Meeting).
The witness told the Coroner's Court that it was common for senior students to reprimand juniors for violating dormitory rules.
Shahlan said the witness confirmed that the meeting with Zara on the night of July 15 involved members of a student group called Circle Nineteen, including herself.
"All members of the group were from the same grade but stayed in different dormitory blocks.
"The witness said she did not know whether the Circle Nineteen group also advised other students in cases involving disciplinary issues or missing items," he said.
Meanwhile, the forensic document expert team is expected to appear before the Coroner's Court for a second round of document examinations beginning tomorrow and continuing on Oct 13 and 14 (Monday and Tuesday).
The team comprises Tay Eue Kam, Dr Dzulkiflee Ismail, and Dr Wan Nur Shuhaila Mat Desa.
The examination aims to review 11 newly opened document items presented by the 17th witness, who is a chemist and DNA expert, to compare them with exhibits already tendered in court as well as other documents provided by the family's legal team.
The inquest will resume on Monday.
Original article was posted here
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