Kota Kinabalu: The Coroner’s Court heard that a warden had permitted the students to clean up the area where Zara Qairina Mahathir’s incident took place.
Rezany Mohd Taupek, 45, in answering questions from conducting officer Mohd Fairuz Johari, said when students came to him and asked to clean up the place, he just said “yes”.
Fairuz: When the police came to the school, had all traces at the scene of the incident already been cleaned?
Rezany: I’m not sure.
Fairuz: Do you know who gave the instruction to clean the scene?
Rezany: I’m not sure.
Fairuz: There is testimony stating that you were the one who instructed that the scene be cleaned. Can you explain?
Rezany: Some students came to see me and asked, “Can we clean the scene?” I said yes and allowed them.
Fairuz: The student who asked to clean up the scene, was it referring to the place where Zara first fell or the place where Zara was moved to?
Rezany: At first, I thought it was the place where Zara had been moved to.
Fairuz: Which student asked for permission to clean the scene?
Rezany: I can’t remember the student.
Fairuz: Which students or teachers were involved in cleaning the scene?
Rezany: I don’t remember the names of the students.
He also did not remember how many students were involved in cleaning the scene.
When asked why he allowed the students to clean the area where the incident occurred, Rezany said it was because the place was a main entrance used by students.
On why he did not wait for the police to arrive, Rezany said it did not cross his mind at the time.
Regarding the two-day shutdown of the public phone, Rezany said it was done to avoid panic and the spread of unverified information as the “matter” was still being confirmed.
