KOTA KINABALU: An English teacher from SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha told the Coroner’s Court that copies of Zara Qairina Mahathir’s diary entries were deleted from a WhatsApp chat “for our own safety” out of fear they might be leaked.
Nor Asimah Zaiton, 50, said the files were removed by a colleague after being told of a police directive, adding that she believed they could be reprimanded for mishandling evidence.
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She said she received the diary copies from another teacher but did not pass them to Zara’s mother as the case was already with the police and staff had been instructed not to share information.
Asimah also recounted seeing Zara’s tears while bandaging her injured hand in the ambulance and said she later informed the girl’s mother upon arriving at the hospital.
She told the court she noticed bleeding on Zara’s leg and ankle but no other injuries, and added that the student’s clothing had been handed to her by a State Education Department counsellor for reasons unknown.
