Handwriting expert confirms Zara wrote distressing diary entries

 By Olivia Miwil

June 25, 2026 @ 1:39pm

Conducting officer Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Fairuz Johari (right) and lawyer Azhier Farhan Arisin (left) during the inquest into the late Zara Qairina Mahathir at Kota Kinabalu Court Complex. NSTP/OLIVIA MIWIL

KOTA KINABALU: A document examiner and handwriting expert told the inquest that diary entries expressing emotional distress were written by the late Zara Qairina Mahathir.

The 74th witness, Dr Linthini Gannetion, testified that the authorship and integrity of the entries in journals marked W1 and W2 had not been disputed.

During cross-examination, lawyer Azhier Farhan Arisin referred Dr Linthini to consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Chua Sze Hung's psychological autopsy report.

He referred to an entry in journal W2 dated June 17, 2025, in which the deceased wrote: "mental saya pun nda kuat la, lebih baik saya mati ja dalam dunia ini kalau begitu jalan kehidupan saya" ("My mental strength is not strong. It is better if I just die if this is how my life is meant to be.")

Representing four of the five children charged in a case related to Zara Qairina's death, Azhier also referred to another passage in the same entry, in which the teenager pleaded: "tolong la, mental saya nda kuat mau hadap semua ni" ("Please, my mental strength is not strong enough to face all of this"), before questioning the point of being alive if she had to cry every day.

Azhier: W1 and W2 are described as the deceased's 2025 journals, correct?

Linthini: Correct.

Azhier: You made no allegation of tampering or alteration in W1, W2 or W3. Your examination was limited to determining authorship, correct?

Linthini: Correct.

Azhier: I refer you to page 3, Section 3.0 of your Report II. The tampering examination in Part II concerned only the loose sheets Y1 to Y15 and book WK9, correct?

Linthini: Correct.

Azhier: Based on your findings, the W2 entry in which the deceased wrote that it would be better if she died was written in her own handwriting, correct?

Linthini: Correct.

After three days on the stand, Dr Linthini completed her testimony before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan on the 77th day of the inquest into the teenager's death on July 17 last year.

The inquest will resume tomorrow with another expert witness.