By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: The coroner's court was told that a witness thought something was off with the late Zara Qairina Mahathir after she had asked friends questions about leaving them.
The 21st child witness said Zara Qairina had told another friend: "Bye, if I leave, will you still love me?"
The witness also said another friend received a note from Zara Qairina written inside a Quran translation book that read, "Bye… from your beloved Zara."
During examination-in-chief, lawyer Azhier Farhan Arisin asked about the student's reaction after hearing Zara Qairina's statement.
"Shocked. She suddenly said that, and we didn't know what she meant by it," Zara Qairina's friend testified before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
The witness described Zara Qairina as a happy and cheerful person who was comfortable with other students. However, she was unsure how Zara Qairina coped with her emotions when she was sad or angry.
Azhier: In your opinion, were those "bye" messages just jokes, or did you feel they were something serious?
Witness: Something serious.
Azhier: When you think about it now, did it sound like someone saying goodbye?
Witness: Yes, I think so.
The witness also said she had seen Zara Qairina's diaries and assumed she enjoyed writing.
The student testified that she had once seen a frightening drawing of a pocong (shrouded ghost) in red and black, drawn by Zara Qairina, and described the drawing as having a sorrowful emotion.
Another child witness testified there was someone in the third floor toilet at the SMKA Datu Mustapha dormitory at 2.35am on July 16, less than an hour before Zara Qairina was found unconscious on the ground floor.
The 22nd child witness said she woke up at that time to take a shower.
Lawyer Joan Goh, who is representing one of the five children charged in a case related to Zara Qairina, said the witness usually took a shower early to avoid congestion in the bathroom.
"The witness went to the toilet on the third floor, which is on the same level as her room.
"She pushed the door of cubicle Number One, which was closed, but the door pushed back slightly as if someone inside was leaning against it.
"The witness noticed that the person inside was wearing a sports shirt of the same colour as that of the witness's sports house," Goh said in her statement after the inquest concluded today.
The 13-year-old girl, who was Zara Qairina's friend, did not know who was inside that toilet as she could not see the person's face.
The witness did not hear any sounds coming from the cubicle and proceeded to use another toilet stall instead.
While taking a shower, the witness heard the sound of the cubicle door opening. When she came out, there was no one in cubicle Number One.
"When the witness returned to the room, she heard footsteps on the staircase near the toilet but did not see anyone around at that time.
"The witness then went back to the room, packed some books, and went back to sleep at around 3am. The witness did not hear any other sounds after that," Goh said.
In the previous proceedings, witnesses testified that Zara Qairina had left her dormitory around 11pm and was seen at the toilet by few other students.
Zara Qairina, 13, was called by several seniors the night before and questioned over several missing items.
On July 16, around 3.15am, Zara Qairina was found unconscious and pronounced dead the following day.
The inquest will resume tomorrow.
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