KOTA KINABALU: Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir was unlikely to have been pushed or accidentally fell from the third floor of her hostel, a pathologist told the Coroner’s court here.
Dr Jessie Hiu, who led a four-member team to conduct Zara Qairina’s post-mortem after the body was exhumed, said that the railings at the hostel were higher in comparison to the teenager’s height for her to accidentally topple or be pushed over.
Dr Hiu said she was asked to provide a professional opinion on the antemortem injuries suffered by the 13-year-old on Aug 2 and inspected the scene of the incident.
She found that the hostel’s corridor railing stood at 118cm while the deceased’s height was 154cm, which would place the railing barrier well above her centre of gravity (above the pelvic area).
In her opinion, she said that it was virtually impossible for the girl to have toppled over without deliberately climbing onto the ledge based on the measurements.
“It is unlikely that the deceased accidentally fell or was pushed from a standing position next to the concrete railing along the corridor,” she said, but not ruling out that the girl could have climbed the barrier too.
Dr Hiu is the first witness in the inquest by Sessions Court judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan who is sitting as the coroner.
The expert added that Zara Qairina appeared to have landed first on her left foot, then her right, before falling backwards onto her side and striking the back of her head.
“Following the impact, she fell backward, predominantly onto her left side, sustaining injuries to her left wrist, left forearm, left elbow and the back of her head,” she said, adding that injuries were consistent with a fall.
Dr Hiu also recorded a fractured sternum, which she explained was consistent with damage occurring after death.
She said the girl suffered a laceration to the back of her head with bleeding on the brain’s surface, which led to swelling and hypoxic encephalopathy (brain injury due to the lack of blood flow and oxygen to the brain).
The expert also found abrasions on the deceased’s elbow and that the left wrist and forearm were deformed due to fractures and dislocation.
Other injuries were multiple leg fractures, including a fracture of the left heel bone as well as dislocation of the left ankle joint and bruising on the feet.
There were also fractures to the second to fourth lumbar vertebrae, bleeding in the left psoas muscle (muscles in the lower back connecting the spine to the thigh bone) and a localised pelvic haematoma (blood collected in the pelvic cavity), she said.
However, she said there were no injuries detected to the chest, abdominal or pelvic organs, nor were there signs of trauma in the genital or anal areas.
Dr Hiu maintained that the injuries were consistent with a fall and dismissed suggestions that it could have been inflicted by other causes.
The court allowed a request by counsel Datuk Ram Singh for a mannequin to be brought to court to assist in illustrating the injuries.
Zara Qairina was found unconscious at a drain at 4am on July 16 near her school hostel in Papar, Sabah.
She was later pronounced dead at Hospital Queen Elizabeth on July 17.
On Aug 20, five teenagers were charged with bullying Zara Qairina in the Kota Kinabalu Juvenile Court.
The inquest continues today.
