KOTA KINABALU: Several witnesses in the inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir are expected to be recalled after a previously undisclosed original document related to the incident surfaced this week.
All parties agreed on Wednesday that some of the child witnesses and teachers would need to return to the stand, with the Coroner scheduling proceedings to resume on Thursday with testimony from a new teacher.
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State Prosecution Director Nara Dollar said the discovery of the document—revealed by the 53rd deponent—had prompted her team to consider recalling two of the 15 child witnesses previously called, while seven remaining deponents may no longer be needed.
Lawyers representing Zara’s parents and another student indicated they would also seek to recall several teachers and child witnesses after reviewing the document, stressing the importance of understanding the children’s state of mind and accounts at the time.
The inquest was shaken on Tuesday when a teacher, Nur Shukriah Mohd Fauzi, disclosed that the document—containing students’ original statements—had been kept in the school’s Discipline Unit file without being handed to police or the court.
