Kota Kinabalu: A hostel teacher told the inquest into Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death that she was aware of only one bullying case at the Putera hostel of SMKA Tun Mustapha.
Addorie Francis, 25, the inquest’s 45th witness, said the case involved a male student who was later suspended.
She told Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan that she did not know the details of the incident.
Addorie said her duties as a hostel teacher included monitoring dorm conditions, attending to sick students, and supervising them during prep sessions. She said she had never been instructed to patrol the hostel at night before lights-off.
When asked what action was taken against wardens who failed to perform scheduled duties, she said she was unsure.
Reading from her witness statement, Addorie said she was on night-prep patrol on July 15, the day before Zara fell from the girls’ dormitory building.
She had also accompanied students to a two-day Gami-code competition from 6am to 5pm on July 15 and 16.
She said she only learned about Zara’s fall on the morning of July 16 after a warden called her to look after Zara’s dormmates.
She could not do so as she had duties outside the school, so another dormitory teacher took over.
Addorie, who taught Zara Mathematics, said the student had never complained to her about bullying, personal problems, academic pressure or exhaustion.
She said teachers were shocked when they learned of the incident.
Asked whether the school held a meeting after Zara’s fall, Addorie confirmed a meeting chaired by the principal took place, although she could not recall the details.
She said the principal spoke about Zara’s condition in hospital but did not remember further explanations.
She said she did not know what happened to Zara’s roommates, who were placed in the hostel’s isolation room, nor which teacher was in charge of them.
Following the incident, Addorie said the school introduced a roll-call system requiring teachers on duty during prep to record their patrols.
She also said the only one of Zara’s roommates she knew, referred to as Student A, had once complained that her bed was shaking and had shown her a photo.
Addorie said she never received theft complaints.
