Kota Kinabalu: Forensic pathologist Dr Jessie Hiu, the first witness in the inquest into the death of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir, told the Coroner’s Court Thursday that it was up to the court to decide whether Zara had committed suicide or otherwise.
She said this in response to questions from counsel Datuk Ram Singh, representing a juvenile charged in the Children’s Court with bullying the deceased.
Ram had asked the question twice, but Dr Hiu maintained her answers.
Ram: From your testimony yesterday (Wednesday) and today (Thursday), you stated that Zara neither accidentally fell nor was pushed. My question is, if it is not by accident or push, is there a possibility that she jumped on her own accord? Dr Hiu: She was standing on the floor next to the railing, not on top of the railing as shown in the photographs.
Ram: If it is not by accident or push while standing or sitting on the railing, is there a possibility that the deceased fell on her own accord?Dr Hiu: That is for the court to decide.
Ram: In short, whatever definition we use, would the situation involving the deceased be considered suicide, since there was no accident or push? Dr Hiu: Same answer. It is for the court to decide.
Dr Hiu, who continued giving her testimony before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan, further testified that the distance from the top of the railing to the lowest part of the suspended grill was about 128cm.
Ram had suggested that, given Zara’s height of 154cm, Zara would have needed to bend lower when standing in front of it, but Dr Hiu maintained her reconstruction of the fall was based on the height of the dormitory wall and the horizontal metal grill from the floor, not from the height of the suspended grill. Dr Hiu further said the height of the dormitory wall was above Zara’s centre of gravity and it was therefore unlikely the fall was accidental or the result of a simple push.
She told the court that her findings, later set out in the post-mortem and witness statement, were based on measurements and observations she made during that scene examination.
Her reconstruction was based on the autopsy findings and the site visit, while relying on police officers to indicate the spot where Zara was found and to provide a photograph of her body at the scene.
To a question from Ram on whether Phenytoin, an anti-seizure medication used in the treatment of epilepsy, was given to the deceased when she was brought to the hospital, Dr Hiu said she was not sure but the attending doctor informed it was a routine treatment for patient in severe traumatic brain injury.
Asked whether the injuries could have come from assault or prolonged abuse, Dr Hiu said it was not, because the injuries in this case were consistent with a fall from height and not chronic physical abuse.
“The injuries from abuse are usually scattered and of different ages, but Zara’s were consistent with a single high-force fall.
“The severe fractures to Zara’s feet could not have been caused by kicking or beating, as such force would have left significant skin and soft tissue damage, which was absent.
“There were no signs Zara had been dragged after the fall, apart from minor abrasions on her forearm and elbow,” Dr Hiu said, adding she was not able to get the medical records on the deceased from any hospital prior to her admission to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 16.
Earlier, a child-sized mannequin was presented to the court to assist the medical expert in explaining the injuries found on the deceased.
Dr Hiu, who has been with the Department of Forensic Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, since 1998, marked six areas on the mannequin, corresponding to injuries found on Zara Qairina’s body.
The six areas were the back of the head, palm, back of the forearm, back of the elbow, right ankle and left foot.
Zara Qairina, 13, was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17. She had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory in Papar at 4am.
On Aug 13, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) announced that an inquest would be conducted into her death after reviewing the police investigation report.
On Aug 8, the AGC ordered the exhumation of Zara Qairina’s remains to allow for a post-mortem.