Kota Kinabalu: The sixth child witness confirmed that she knew why Zara Qairina Mahathir was found on the grounds of SMKA Tun Mustapha’s hostel on the morning of July 16, possibly because she had been accused of stealing.
Counsel Shahlan Jufri, who briefed the media after Monday evening’s proceedings, said the child deponent believed the reason was that Zara had been accused of stealing.
“The deponent said that at around 11pm, Zara left the dorm in tears. That was the last time the deponent saw Zara on the night of the incident,” said Shahlan.
Shahlan further said the sixth child deponent also testified that she knew who had scolded Zara that night.
“She said she did not want to get involved in the incident where Zara was scolded.
“The deponent stated that at 10.20pm (July 15), Zara entered her (the deponent’s) dorm to meet a senior student. Shortly after, four seniors, including two whom the deponent knew, came into the dorm to meet Zara.
“The deponent told the court that Zara was called in connection with two theft cases involving missing wallets. She overheard conversations about theft being mentioned, but it was unclear.
“She heard a loud voice, as though scolding Zara, but could not confirm the person who scolded Zara at that time.
“The child deponent also told the Coroner that she had never seen Zara hanging out in or entering that dorm before,” said Shahlan.
According to Shahlan, the deponent said students who liked to curse usually did so only with friends.
He also briefed the media that the child deponent said she once delivered Zara’s private letter to Zara’s dorm, and that a student, who was both a witness and a member of Zara’s dorm, received the letter.
Shahlan said Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan also asked the deponent several questions regarding the delivery of that letter from her to the student who was a member of Zara’s dorm.
He further briefed the media that the child deponent also took the initiative to identify the teacher who had confiscated a student’s mobile phone on the morning of the incident, as phone use was not allowed in the dorm.
Meanwhile, Shahlan said the fifth child deponent (Deponent 13) stated that the practice of senior students scolding or reprimanding harshly was a common culture among hostel students.
“The child deponent said junior students are considered to have to gone through such experiences because the seniors themselves had gone through them before.
“The deponent was close to the group Circle 19, which consisted of 19 students who often carried out activities together.
“The deponent also said harsh words such as ‘stupid’ and ‘damn,’ used by one of the Circle 19 members towards Zara, were used among friends,” he said.
Shahlan also told the media that the legal team submitted 3D and 2D sketch layout plans to all parties during the proceedings.
“The plans were not drawn to actual scale and were prepared using photographic evidence and available information to provide a visual representation of the dorm rooms on the entire third floor of the Rabiatul Adawiyah Hostel Block.
“The plans were intended to assist the child deponents as references and to help the Coroner identify the locations of the students at the material time of the incident,” said Shahlan, who was assisted by counsels Rizwandean M. Borhan, Mohd Sharulnizam Mohd Salleh, Luqman Syazwan Zabidi and Farrah Nasser.
