Kota Kinabalu: A mother of a child deponent revealed that her daughter only spoke about the incident involving Zara Qairina Mahathir three months later due to severe trauma suffered by her daughter after Zara’s incident.
The 66th deponent told the coroner on Wednesday that her daughter was highly emotional, stressed, and sobbing uncontrollably when informing her about the incident.
The 41-year-old deponent said her daughter, who was the 65th deponent, first mentioned the matter on July 16, 2025, while they were at the Likas Hockey Stadium for a tournament, but did not elaborate further at the time.
“Nearly three months later, my daughter finally told me in more detail what had happened and what she knew about the incident.
“I asked her why she only told me about it after almost three months.
“She informed me that she did not tell me immediately after the incident because she was still traumatised.
“Every time Zara’s name was mentioned or the matter was brought up, my daughter could not respond and would only cry.
“The incident had a deep impact on my daughter as she knew Zara personally. My family and I have tried our best to support her.
“After the incident, my daughter became more withdrawn and seemed to blame herself. She would also experience shaking due to severe trauma from what happened at the hostel.
“When we asked her about Zara, she would only say, ‘Mother, just recite Al-Fatihah for her.’ I could see that her emotions were unstable.
“My daughter blamed herself for not speaking to Zara, thinking that if she had talked or spent time with her, the incident might not have happened. At that time, she was busy with school hockey training and competitions,” she said.
Responding to a question from former Sabah State Prosecution Director and now Melaka State Prosecution Director, Nahra Dollah, the deponent said she has not yet referred her daughter for any treatment related to her condition.
The mother further testified that her daughter who is still studying at SMKA Tun Mustapha, had told her about an incident linked to Zara’s death.
“According to my daughter, on July 15, 2025, she had planned to meet a friend at Block A after prep time, but she fell asleep.
“At about 1am, she woke up and went to Block A of the school’s hostel to meet her friend.
“My daughter said that while she was on her way back to her room in Block B, she saw a female student walking around on Level 3 of Block A,” she said while reading her witness statement before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
According to the deponent, after her daughter shared the incident, she decided to contact a teacher at of the school, Ustazah Shukriah Fauzi and informed her of what had happened.
Her statement was later recorded by the police.
In November 2025, the inquest had concluded the testimonies of 35 child deponents and was expected to proceed with expert and remaining adult witnesses.
However, the inquest took a new turn with the calling of this new child deponent, considered a key witness as she told the coroner on Tuesday that she had met and talked to Zara one hour before Zara was found unconscious on the school hostel grounds.
According to her mother’s testimony, they only contacted a teacher at the school in February this year to inform her about what the child had disclosed.
