Kota Kinabalu: A child witness who had questioned Zara Qairina Mahathir over a missing purse told the Coroner’s Court Thursday that she was shocked to find Zara lying unconscious the next morning on the grounds of their hostel.
Counsel Shahlan Jufri said the 10th child deponent said she last saw Zara around 9pm on July 15, when Zara was called to her dormitory to answer accusations regarding a missing wallet containing cash and an identification card.
He further said the 10th child deponent told the court that she went to sleep in another dorm around 10pm and claimed she did not leave the room between midnight and 3am.
“The next morning, she was awakened by a friend who told her that Zara was lying motionless below their dormitory.
“She said she was shocked upon seeing Zara’s condition from the third-floor staircase,” Shahlan said.
Shahlan said the 10th child witness recounted that several students had also joined in questioning Zara that night.
“She said after a while, she no longer took part in the conversation and did not know if anyone had tried to stop the questioning,” said Shahlan when briefing the media after the proceedings on Thursday.
According to Shahlan, the child deponent recalled that one of the students had even called Zara “stupid” at the time.
Shahlan further said the deponent did not notice any unusual emotional reaction from Zara before leaving the room.
He also told the media that the child deponent confirmed the meeting with Zara on the night of July 15 was either an MA (Dormitory Meeting) or MB (Room Meeting).
“The witness told the coroner that it was common for senior students to reprimand juniors for breaching dormitory rules at the school.
“She further confirmed that the discussion with Zara that night involved members of a group known as Circle Nineteen, of which she was also a member.
“All members of the group were from the same grade but stayed in different dormitory blocks,” he said, adding that the deponent did not know whether the group also advised other students in other disciplinary or missing-item cases.
Meanwhile, the forensic document examination team is expected to return to the Coroner’s Court today (Friday) for the second phase of document analysis, continuing on Monday and Tuesday.
The team comprises Tay Eue Kam, Dr Dzulkiflee Ismail, and Dr Wan Nur Shuhaila Mat Desa.
The examination will focus on 11 newly opened document items presented by the 17th witness, a chemist and DNA expert, to be compared with exhibits already tendered in court, as well as documents submitted by Zara’s family’s legal team.
