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Kota Kinabalu: Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Chua Sze Hung told the Coroner’s Court that his conclusion that Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death was most consistent with suicide represented his professional opinion as an expert deponent.

Chua, the 67th deponent, said his findings were also based on materials evaluated in the psychological autopsy report and confirmed that his role was to assist the Coroner, while the final determination remained within the jurisdiction of the Coroner’s Court.

During proceedings, Chua agreed that reactions of shock, denial or difficulty in accepting the possibility of suicide by family members are not unusual, particularly when the deceased appeared normal or cheerful before the incident, and said such reactions did not in themselves conflict with forensic or psychological findings consistent with suicide.

He further testified that the identified predisposing factors could not be viewed separately or mathematically as they interacted with one another to form Zara’s psychological vulnerability as an adolescent, although the factors alone were not necessarily sufficient to cause the incident without the direct triggering factor that occurred on the night of July 15, 2025.

Chua also told the court that adolescents under acute stress may act impulsively due to limited thinking at that moment, adding that factors such as adolescence, immature impulse control, acute stress, sleep deprivation and other psychological factors could affect decision-making ability and lead to cognitive constriction, where an individual finds it difficult to see alternative options or solutions.