KOTA KINABALU: A teacher told the Coroner’s Court that staff who read Zara Qairina Mahathir’s books and diaries in search of possible clues believed the Form One student might have faced difficulties at home.
Miswati Lundu said this view emerged after she and a colleague skimmed through the entries, acknowledging under questioning that it was only an assumption and not based on any firm conclusion.
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She confirmed that no one instructed them to form such assumptions and admitted they did not inform the police about it despite knowing the speculation had circulated on social media.
Miswati explained that teachers read the diaries because they hoped to find emotional clues that might shed light on Zara’s state of mind, though she said only she and a colleague had gone through them.
She added that she later found 15 handwritten sheets resembling Zara’s writing inside a blank exercise book on a classroom shelf and believed the notes also belonged to the student.
