By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: Noraidah Lamat had gone to the site where her daughter, Zara Qairina Mahathir, was found lying unconscious, a witness told the Coroner's Court.
Nur Shira Abdullah, the 71st witness in the inquest, said she, her husband and Noraidah went to Zara's dormitory at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha on July 20 last year.
"We also asked Zara's dorm mates whether they knew what had happened on the night of the incident.
"When one student appeared as though she wanted to speak, I saw another student elbowing her, as if signalling her not to say anything.
"I then asked, 'Why are you elbowing your friend? Did someone tell you not to say anything?' The students then replied that they did not know and that they had slept early that night.
"After that, we were shown the location where Zara was found by a senior student. The student also briefly informed us Zara's body position, when she was found," Nur Shira read from her witness statement on the 69th day of the inquest into Zara's death.
The Form One student was found unconscious at her school on July 16 and was pronounced dead the following day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Prior to visiting the dormitory, they had submitted an official letter requesting an incident report regarding the case. It was received by the school warden, identified only as Cikgu Rohayati, instead of the principal.
"On the same day, Zara's personal belongings were handed over to us by the school. The belongings were placed in an empty room and, in my view, were in a disorderly condition and piled up in a very upsetting manner.
"We cried upon seeing Zara's personal belongings treated in such a way."
After Zara Qairina's burial, Nur Shira said she overheard a school administrator at that time advising Noraidah not to spread news about the incident.
She added that during Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek's visit to the hospital where Zara was warded, the family was informed that the school had been instructed not to provide information to family members because the case was still under investigation.
"I was also informed about a proposal to bring Zara's body to the school for final respects, but I objected to the proposal because, in my view, the body should be managed promptly for burial."
Earlier that same day, the three of them went to the Papar district police headquarters to obtain feedback regarding the earlier police report and to lodge another report regarding the alleged actions of the principal in preventing Noraidah from lodging a police report.
The 46-year-old self-employed told coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan that during the reporting process, the investigating officer displayed unprofessional behaviour, including complaining that he was hungry and had not eaten while the reporting process was ongoing.
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