Kota Kinabalu: A school warden told the Coroner’s Court on Thursday that all details surrounding the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir had been fully disclosed to investigators, stressing that SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha never attempted to cover up the incident.
Visibly emotional, Azhari Abd Sagap said allegations that he, the principal and school staff had tried to shield bullies or even a killer were “cruel and unfounded,” and had left both the school community and his own family unfairly vilified.
Azhari, the eighth deponent at Zara’s inquest, emphasised that he had fully cooperated with the police from the beginning.
“If we were trying to protect bullies or Zara’s killer, I would not have told the police what happened on the night of July 15. I informed the police everything on the night of July 16, before her mother lodged a second report.
“I was the one who dealt with police, brought in witnesses, and even handed over the audio involving ‘Kak M’. I was the one who told the police about ‘Kak M’ and made clear that ‘Kak M’ was not the one who first found Zara unconscious, so I do not understand why she was being attacked online or why her face went viral,” said Azhari who continued his testimony on Thursday before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
The 31-year-old chief warden, who is also a religious teacher, broke down as he defended one of his students wrongly accused on social media after she happened to be the first to find Zara unconscious.
“She is a good student. Last year she was among the first three to complete her Quran memorisation in a programme I organised. The accusations against her are cruel. She does not deserve this just because she found Zara first,” he said through tears.
Azhari recounted in detail the steps he took from the moment Zara was discovered unconscious in the early hours of July 16.
“I tried to save Zara at that time. I tried to bring her to hospital…I called 991 for an ambulance, followed her there and waited until her mother arrived. I stayed in the emergency unit until evening without even showering. Was that the behaviour of someone trying to hide the truth?” said Azhari.
He explained he only left Zara’s mother on July 16 and 17 as he needed to meet an investigating officer.
After giving his statement at Papar District Police Headquarters, he returned immediately to the hospital.
On the morning of 17 July, he accompanied another student to give a statement to police before going back again to check on Zara and meet her mother.
That same morning, he led dawn prayers for more than 600 students.
“I was there at the hospital when the machines were switched off, and I followed her body to forensics and then to the burial place. From July 16 until Bukit Aman took over the case, police were in constant contact with me. We hid nothing. I never wanted Zara to suffer injustice,” he said.
He said he and his colleagues had been unfairly painted as villains despite their cooperation.
Azhari said just two weeks before the incident, his wife had been transferred to the same school after years apart, but because of the case, their young child had to be left with relatives in Beaufort.
His family too, he said, had faced harsh criticism. Azhari added that he was personally affected because he had taught Zara in class and was touched to discover that his subject was mentioned in her diary.
He recalled once telling his students to respect Islamic dress codes, and Zara later following his advice by wearing hand socks.
“I don’t know what Zara was going through. I too want justice for her. But why are we being attacked? I know her pain from her diary.
“That is why I followed everything on social media and gave police the audio and every detail. If I wanted to cover up, I would never have revealed who ‘Kak M’ was,” Azhari said.
He also questioned why Zara’s mother had not raised concerns earlier, despite the school’s own inquiries suggesting issues as early as May.
“I even checked our official school WhatsApp group. There was not a single complaint,” he said.
In answering a question from counsel Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah on whether the allegation that Zara’s death was a premeditated murder, Azhari said it was false allegations.
“It’s all fitnah. When you see Zara at that time, there were no scratches at all. Her injuries were the result of a fall and I know she fell from above.
“About Zara’s clothes, we did not hide her clothes as her clothes were given to her mother,” he said.
He also revealed that while at the hospital, Zara’s mother told him that Zara’s father was at home because he was sick.
