Handwriting expert to testify as Zara Qairina death inquest continues

THE inquest into the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir will continue on Tuesday with a forensic handwriting and document examiner expected to give evidence before the Coroner's Court.

Dr Linthini Gannetion, a specialist in handwriting and document examination, has been called by the legal team representing Zara Qairina's mother, Noraidah Lamat, and will testify as the 74th witness in the proceedings.

Sinar Harian reported that her evidence will be heard before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan as the court continues examining the circumstances surrounding the schoolgirl's death.

The inquest is being conducted by Sabah Director of Public Prosecutions Nahra Dollah, assisted by Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohd Fairuz Johari, Dana Arabi Wazani, Sofia S. Sawayan and Dacia Jane Romanus.

Zara Qairina was found unconscious beneath the hostel building of a religious secondary school in Papar on 16 July last year.

She was taken for treatment but was pronounced dead the following day at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu.

The inquest is continuing to determine the circumstances that led to her death. - June 23, 2026