Kota Kinabalu: The Coroner’s Court heard on Monday that the father of Zara Qairina Mahathir had not seen his daughter in person since around 2017 following marital disagreements with her mother.
Testifying before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan, 45-year-old Mahathir Mohd Hashim @ Marikin said he moved to Kota Kinabalu for work in mid-2015 and later maintained contact with Zara solely via phone calls and WhatsApp messages after leaving Sipitang.
Reading his written witness statement, the 80th deponent described Zara as a cheerful child who loved the sea and had shown no signs or conditions that caused him concern during their earlier time together.
Mahathir testified that on the morning of July 16, 2025, Zara’s mother sent him a WhatsApp photo of their daughter on an emergency department bed without specifying which hospital she was in.
He told the court that after futile searches by his family at Sipitang and Beaufort hospitals, he eventually rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital upon learning she was there, though he could not recall how he obtained that information.
