KOTA KINABALU: The warden chief of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha told the coroner that Zara Qairina Mahathir’s mother should have known what happened on the night before Zara was found unconscious on the hostel grounds.
Answering questions from counsel Shahlan Jufri, the witness, Azhari Abd Sagap, agreed that a parent had the right to know, but said he did not relay details of that night to Zara’s mother.
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He testified that on July 16 he did not know what had occurred, and on July 17 he informed the police, after which Zara’s mother lodged a police report and could obtain information from the authorities.
Azhari said that after the funeral, teachers were called in by the police for investigation except himself and another student, adding that in his communications with one Inspector Wong he was never instructed not to publicise the incident.
He told the coroner that he experienced severe stress from public criticism, sought hospital treatment, denied allegations of covering up the case or having an improper relationship with a student, and said Zara was only questioned about an alleged theft that night, which she denied, with no violence involved.
