Zara got on well with mum, another child witness tells court

KOTA KINABALU: The rela­tionship between Zara Qairina Mahathir and her mother Noraidah Lamat was good, based on witness testimony at the inquest into the teenager’s death here.

The testimony was given by the 25th child witness, a classmate who lived in the same dormitory as Zara Qairina, on the 30th day of the inquest proceedings before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.

Sharing the witness’s account, lawyer Shahlan Jufri, represen­ting Zara Qairina’s mother, said the witness testified that she had stayed at Zara Qairina’s home in Sipitang for two nights and found that the relationship between the deceased and her mother was cordial.

“Among the activities during her stay at Zara Qairina’s home were doing homework, and the deceased’s mother took both of them for a visit around Pekan Sipitang.

“The witness said that while she was at Zara Qairina’s home, she saw that the relationship between Zara Qairina and her mother was good. She confirmed that the deceased’s mother had washed and ironed her clothes,” Shahlan told reporters after the proceedings.

According to Shahlan, the witness also said she had seen Zara Qairina writing in a dark green diary, in which she mentioned her aspiration to become a badar (surau prefect) because she idoli­sed a senior student who held that role.

He said the witness also des­cribed Zara Qairina as cheerful and lively and that she never showed any signs of stress or being bullied at school, Bernama reported.

Meanwhile, lawyer Joan Goh, representing one of the children involved in Zara Qairina’s bullying case, said the witness mentioned that her money, which went missing on July 14, was later found in the deceased’s locker.

“She identified the money. There was a small black ink mark on one of the RM10 notes, and apparently, on the night of July 15, when they checked Zara Qairina’s locker, this money was found inside,” she said.

The inquest also heard testimony from two other child witnesses, the 24th and 26th witnesses.

Zara Qairina, 13, was confirmed dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital here on July 17 after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory at 4am on July 16.

The inquest continues today.