Kota Kinabalu: No witnesses saw the incident that led to Zara Qairina Mahathir being found unconscious near a drain at her school hostel, the Coroner’s Court here heard on Tuesday.
Investigating officer Inspector Wong Yew Zhung, the 83rd deponent in the inquest before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan, said his investigations found that no security guards or hostel wardens patrolled the hostel’s third floor on the night of the incident, and there were no closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the hostel area that could provide footage.
Wong said checks with the school and hostel management found no records of formal complaints by Zara or her parents or guardians concerning bullying, physical harm or other incidents involving her, while medical evidence and the post-mortem findings by Dr Jessie Hiu showed no injuries other than those consistent with a fall from a height.
He said no other physical injuries indicating that Zara had been harmed by another person before she was found unconscious were identified, while examination of data extracted from mobile phones seized during the investigation yielded no information or evidence that could explain the circumstances or manner of her death.
Wong said the investigation included witness statements, examination of the scene, checks with school and hostel management, scrutiny of documents related to Zara, medical and post-mortem evidence, and analysis of digital evidence to help the Coroner’s Court determine the cause, manner and circumstances of her death; Zara, 13, was found unconscious near a hostel drain on July 16, 2025, and died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital the following day.
