Kota Kinabalu: Zara Qairina Mahathir’s mother told the Coroner’s Court on Wednesday that she only learned certain information about what happened to her daughter on the night of July 15, 2025 through social media and the inquest proceedings, and not from the school or police.
Noraidah Lamat, 46, the 82nd deponent, said she turned to social media to find out what had happened to her daughter after Zara was found unconscious on the hostel grounds and died the following day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
She said she did so because no one had informed her about what had happened to Zara.
“I did so not with any hateful intention towards anyone, but only to seek answers about what happened to Zara, my only child,” she said while reading her witness statement before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Noraidah said several teachers from the school met her at the hospital and at her home following the incident.
“However, during those meetings, none of the teachers told me what had happened to Zara although I had asked them.
“Their answer remained the same — all the students went to sleep early at 11pm. There were no eyewitnesses who saw the incident that night,” she said.
She said the school’s Senior Assistant for Student Affairs (PKHEM) had told her at the cemetery not to make the incident viral.
“At my house, she said the higher-ups had prohibited SMKA TDM from giving me information about Zara’s death because the case was still under police investigation.
“When I asked who the higher-ups were, the answer was the Papar investigating officer and the integrity division,” she said.
Noraidah also said she had once been told by the school principal not to make a police report.
“I was also never informed about the internal investigation conducted by the school into the incident on the night of July 15, 2025. I only learned about the internal investigation through the inquest proceedings,” she said.
Noraidah said she had also gone to Zara’s school to collect her belongings, where she was received by hostel wardens Cikgu Rohayati and Cikgu Rahmatina.
“I was shown the location of Zara’s belongings, which had been packed and placed in the isolation room (sick room).
“I handed over an official letter requesting preliminary information on what had happened to Zara. However, I did not receive a response,” she said.
According to Noraidah, the police first contacted her on July 16, 2025, while she was at Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1 here.
“The investigating officer asked me to take photographs of Zara’s condition in the red zone of the emergency department and send them via WhatsApp.
“My statement was first recorded at the Sipitang District Police Headquarters on July 19, 2025 by Inspector Rahimi Radzi.
“I provided the police with information about Zara’s condition at the hospital and what Zara had told me about the hostel. On July 28, 2025, I handed over Zara’s mobile phone at the Sipitang District Police Headquarters,” she said.
Noraidah said she was called by the Papar Criminal Investigation Officer on July 20, 2025.
“Besides me, statements were taken from my brother, Abu Bakar, and my neighbour, Nowati Raup, who could not read or write.
“At first, I was questioned and asked to answer the questions. However, I was puzzled because the investigating officer did not type what I told him.
“After I asked why he was not typing my statement into the computer, the investigating officer finally began typing.
“After the statement-taking session ended, we were asked to sign without being given time to read the contents of the statement first,” she said.
Noraidah further told the Coroner that she handed over her mobile phone at Karamunsing Police Station on Aug 7, 2025.
“Throughout the investigation, I was called back and gave additional statements several times, with the last one being on Aug 16, 2025,” she said.
