By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: The late Zara Qairina Mahathir took other people's belongings as she assumed no one was using them, a witness told the Coroner's Court.
The 24th child witness told Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan that Zara Qairina was known to take other students' belongings such as water bottles, underscarves, headscarf pins and socks from the hostel or surau.
"Zara would usually tell the witness when she took these items.
"And when asked why, Zara would simply say: 'They're not using them, so I just took them.'
"The witness said she often advised Zara to return the items, she promised to do so, but she didn't until others started looking for their missing things and found them in her locker. Only then did she return them," lawyer Joan Goh said after the proceedings today.
Goh, who is representing one of the five children charged in connection with Zara Qairina's case, said the witness was Zara Qairina's close friend, and that her own underscarf had also once been taken by her.
The witness described Zara Qairina as a cheerful person, although she had been ostracised by several classmates from Form 1 to Form 4.
"The witness said she personally saw Zara being ridiculed and ostracised by other hostel students. She often heard other Form 1 students mocking Zara almost every day, saying things like, 'You're fat.' Zara would only respond, 'Yes, I am,' and laugh."
Zara Qairina never got angry, but the witness noticed she would express her feelings in her diary.
The witness also testified that she recalled unusual behaviour from Zara Qairina two weeks before July 16, the day when she was found unconscious.
"Zara had been distant and, while waiting for prayers at the surau, she often wrote in her diary while laughing to herself.
"At times, she would suddenly get angry and curse, saying things like, 'Why does it have to be like this?'
"Zara frequently talked about what it would feel like to jump from the third floor, and sometimes said things like, 'It's better if I die,' and, 'If I die, would anyone care?'"
Earlier, the 23rd child witness also acknowledged that other students mocked Zara Qairina for pretending to be a "badar" after she started writing down the names of those who did not perform prayers.
The child witness, who is a senior and a badar herself, testified that a badar's responsibility is to manage religious-related programmes, including questioning students who failed to perform their prayers.
After Zara Qairina was found unconscious on July 16, a teacher had shown the witness a photograph of Zara Qairina's diary content on a phone.
"The witness said the purpose of showing the diary content was to reveal Zara's opinion about her. The witness was excited and happy to read it.
"She had heard from friends that Zara wanted to be like her," lawyers from Zara Qairina's family said.
The 23rd child witness, along with several seniors, was asked to help lift Zara Qairina from where she was found unconscious to an area near the stairs at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha on July 16.
Zara Qairina died the following day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The inquest continues tomorrow.
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