Late teen's diaries provide more material than family recordings, psychiatrist tells Zara Qairina inquest
By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: The diaries of the late 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir provide more material evidence of her internal mental state than audio recordings or verbal interactions with family members, the Coroner's Court heard today.
Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Chua Sze Hung testified that verbal interactions alone are a less accurate indicator of an individual's psychological well-being.
"It is common for an adolescent to mask their distress. They would present an outwardly pleasant presence, and there is a risk of presenting a false self.
"In contrast, the diary is the most genuine self-representation, free of social and interpersonal pressure and judgment. It is a raw, private, and unfiltered self. The diary would be more material," the 67th witness testified before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Dr Chua was replying to coordinating officer Dacia Jane Romanus regarding the materiality of the evidence on the 71st day of the inquest into Zara's death.
The recalled witness was provided with three witness statements, from Zara's uncle, Abu Bakar Lamat, aunt Nur Shira Abdullah, and another relative regarding their observations of the relationship between Zara and her mother, Noraidah Lamat.
All three relatives testified in court this week.
Dacia also requested a recorded phone conversation between the mother and daughter to be played for Dr Chua.
The witness reiterated that a diary was a safe space for Zara to process her true emotions.
"I would like to rehighlight that conflicts can be intermittent or pervasive. It can be a single event, repetitive, or chronic.
"The psychological pain is real, given that it had reached a point where she wished for her own death and the death of her parent," he said.
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