Kota Kinabalu: Zara Qairina Mahathir’s mother told the Coroner’s Court that several WhatsApp messages about her daughter’s case were circulated before the inquest, causing her emotional pressure and allegedly influencing public perception.
Noraidah Lamat said in her supplementary statement that on Aug 27, 2025, a person identified as Wan informed her that a primary school teacher in Sipitang had allegedly circulated defamatory content and narratives about the case, while the teacher’s child was studying at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha (SMKA TDM), Kinarut.
She also told the court that her stepdaughter, Malianah Mahathir, was contacted by Inspector Maya on Aug 15, 2025, and was allegedly told that following disciplinary action against three police officers, the matter would be “turned” on Zara’s mother, which Noraidah regarded as an attempt to manipulate her family and abuse police powers.
Noraidah said two cousins of hostel chief warden Azhari Abdul Sagap, identified as Awang Kodi and Rostina, later handed her screenshots of a family WhatsApp group discussing Zara’s case, including claims that she had been bullied and killed, which she believed contained internal information obtained from Azhari.
She further said that on Sept 2, 2025, a person identified as Eyka, the aunt of a student at SMKA TDM, informed her that a One Page Report from the school’s Guidance and Counselling Unit concerning Zara’s case had been circulated, which she believed was intended to tarnish Zara’s name, influence public opinion and interfere with the police investigation.
