Kota Kinabalu: A child deponent told the Coroner’s Court that the incident on the night before Zara Qairina Mahathir was found unconscious at the SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha hostel was “frightening.”
Counsel Shahlan Jufri, who, together with counsel Mohd Sharulnizam Mohd Salleh, briefed the media, saying the deponent had responded to a supplementary question from Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan on Friday.
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Shahlan said the deponent mentioned that similar incidents had occurred previously at the hostel, but the incident involving Zara that night was particularly frightening.
He further briefed that the deponent, who stayed in the dorm where Zara was being questioned, described the atmosphere at the time as tense.
“A senior student had instructed all junior students ‘not to listen, not to look, and not to hear.’
“She estimated that the incidents in the dormitory occurred over an extended period and involved three separate events: the questioning of Zara by several senior students regarding allegations of stealing a wallet; questioning concerning the discovery of a ‘Jalur Gemilang’ pin in Zara’s bag; and the reading of a piece of paper belonging to Zara, which expressed her intention to become a Badar, in front of other students.
“She said that Zara remained in the room for a long period,” said Shahlan.
He added that the deponent estimated the first incident lasted 20–30 minutes, the second 20–30 minutes, and the third 10–20 minutes.
During the third incident, Shahlan said the deponent recognized a senior student loudly reading the paper about Zara’s intention to become a Badar (spiritual leader), saying, “Aku ni Form 4 pun tidak mau jadi Badar!”
“At that time, the deponent saw that Zara remained seated with her head lowered.
“During the second incident, she confirmed that abusive words were hurled by a senior student, including insults such as ‘stupid,’ ‘damn,’ and ‘pig.’
“She said they were shocked by the situation and chose to remain silent,” Shahlan added.
The inquest will resume on Monday.
