Kota Kinabalu: Zara Qairina Mahathir’s father and stepsister are expected to testify in the inquest into her death, which is scheduled to resume on Sept 7 this year.
Mahathir Hashim Marikin and his daughter are expected to be the next deponents to testify before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan during the five-day proceedings.
The proceedings, which entered their 86th day on Thursday, have so far heard testimony from 79 deponents.
The next proceedings are also expected to recall Forensic Psychiatry Consultant Dr Chua Sze Hung and Nurul Atiqah Mohd Noh from the Document Examination Division, Forensic Science Analysis Centre and Chemistry Department.
Zara, 13, was found unconscious on the ground floor of her school hostel on July 16, 2025, and was pronounced dead the following day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The inquest, which began on Sept 3, 2025, has heard evidence from various deponents, including students, teachers, police officers, forensic pathology experts, psychiatrists and forensic document examiners.
The team of officers conducting the inquest comprises former Sabah Prosecution Director and current Melaka Prosecution Director Nahra Dollah, as well as Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohd Fairus Johari, Dana Arabi Wazani, Sofia S Sawayan and Dacia Jane Romanus.
Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, is represented by counsels Shahlan Jufri, Datuk Rizwandean Bukhary M Borhan, Mohd Luqman Syazwan Zabidi Md Zain, Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh, Farrah Nasser and Elhanan James.
Meanwhile, Mahathir is represented by counsels Sherzali Herza Asli, Nurul Rafeeqa Afdul Mutolip and Clarice Vyone Conrad.
Counsels Datuk Ram Singh, Joan Goh and Prem Elmer Ganasan represent Student A, while Azhier Farhan Arisin, Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah, Mohammed Fareez Mohammed Salleh and Sylyester Kuan represent Students B, C, D and E.
For the record, five teenagers, identified only as Students A, B, C, D and E, were charged in the Children’s Court over allegedly insulting Zara. All five pleaded not guilty, and the case is still ongoing.
