KOTA KINABALU: One of the students who had "interrogated" Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir over theft allegations has since moved to another room.
Chief warden Azhari Abd Sagap told the Coroners Court that the student, who was formerly the head of Zara Qairina's room, moved to another because she was traumatised by the incident.
He said only one, "Student E," stepped down voluntarily, citing trauma from the incident.
"She said she was unable to continue living there after what happened," Azhari said when questioned by lawyer Shahlan Jufri, who is representing Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat.
Four dorm leaders, identified as B, C, D, and E, were also implicated in the July 15 incident. However, school action against them was limited to taking statements and counselling sessions, conducted by a teacher. Despite their involvement, most of the dorm leaders remain in their posts and continue to stay in the same dormitory.
Meanwhile, student A, also one of the students accused of bullying Zara Qairina, has transferred to another school. Azhari told the court that Student A left SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha a few weeks after Zara was found unconscious at the hostel in Papar on July 15. He said he didn't know the reason for the transfer.
The inquest previously heard that five students, referred to as A, B, C, D, and E, had been charged in the children’s court on Aug 20 with verbally abusing Zara Qairina.
Testimonies also revealed that Zara Qairina’s mother, who asked for her daughter’s diary and purse while at the hospital on July 17, was told the items had already been handed to police.
In reality, the diary was still with a teacher and was only submitted to investigators at the Papar Police Station the following day.
Azhari said Noraidah later came to the school to collect her daughter’s belongings, which were kept at an isolation school, including a "Love and Peace" diary and purse, which contained RM7.
He said Zara Qairina’s personal "Love and Peace" diary, containing her private reflections, was found in her locker but 15 loose pieces of her reflections were found at a classroom book rack accessible to all students.
Lawyer Shahrul Shahlan described the discovery as "highly unusual."
"It is odd for 15 loose pieces of reflections to be placed on a communal book rack where anyone could access it," he said. The wooden rack is usually used for storing textbooks and exercise books.
Before her death, the court was told that Zara Qairina had been repeatedly accused of theft by her peers. In one incident, a missing purse belonging to a student led to Zara Qairina's locker being searched.
Azhari said several students later admitted in written statements that they had ransacked the locker without permission.
The inquest continues.
