By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: The coroner's court will decide tomorrow whether the inquest into the death of the late Zara Qairina Mahathir will continue with the testimony of Dr Noor Aishah Rosli.
During the afternoon session, coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan directed all parties to file their written submissions by 10am tomorrow, before he delivers.
He said the court required submissions to determine whether Noor Aishah should continue testifying in light of questions surrounding her qualifications and further information regarding her testimony in previous cases.
"It is also based on Shahlan Jufri's argument (who is representing Zara Qairina's mother, Norodah Lamat) represents Zara's mother) whether the court can stop a person in the middle of giving evidence, or whether the court should decide the issue at the end of the inquest.
"If the court decides or agrees with Shahlan that the witness should continue and complete her testimony, the court may only accept her qualification as a counsellor. Then what happens to the report? What weight should the court give it, especially in an inquest?" he said.
The issue of the witness was raised when conducting officer Nahra Dollah objected to Noor Aishah continuing her testimony on the grounds that she was not an expert.
Earlier in the morning session, the 51-year-old acknowledged that she was not a registered child clinical psychologist under the Allied Health Professions Act 2016.
Since yesterday, Noor Aishah had been testifying in her capacity as a child clinical psychologist and registered counsellor.
Lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, who represents one of the accused children related to the late Zara Qairina Mahathir, also said that it would be an issue for the court if the witness was only a counselor but not a registered clinical psychologist.
Zara, 13, was found lying unconscious on the ground floor of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha on July 16 last year. She died the following day.
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