KOTA KINABALU: A child witness told the Coroner's Court here that she volunteered to help several female teachers search for Zara Qairina Mahathir's diary in the girls' dormitory room after other students were too afraid to do so.
The testimony was given by the 28th witness, a student of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, on the 32nd day of the inquest into Zara Qairina's death before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan on Wednesday (Nov 5).
Sharing the witness's testimony, lawyer Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh, who represents Zara Qairina's mother, said the witness told the Coroner that at about 11.15am on July 16, she, together with several senior and junior students as well as teachers, gathered at the school's surau.
According to the witness, she heard several students inform a teacher that Zara Qairina kept a diary, but when asked to retrieve it, none of them dared to volunteer.
Mohd Syarulnizam said the witness then accompanied a female teacher to Zara Qairina's dormitory block, but only the witness went up to the student's room while the teacher waited downstairs.
"When in Zara Qairina's room, the witness tried to open several students' lockers, but all were locked except for one believed to belong to her. Upon opening it, the witness saw clothes hanging inside bearing Zara's name," the lawyer said when met by reporters after the proceedings.
He said the witness told the court that she checked a black bag, and in its main compartment, she found two diaries - one green with "Love & Peace" written on it and another purple with "Simple Style" on the cover.
Mohd Syarulnizam said the witness confirmed that she was alone in Zara Qairina's room at the time, and admitted that she had briefly flipped through both diaries without reading their contents in detail.
He said the witness then handed the diaries to a female teacher after returning to the surau, and saw the teacher reading part of the contents in front of other students before putting them away.
"The witness also said that she did not know the real purpose for which they were asked to search for the diary, nor could she recall whether Zara Qairina had written any specific notes in it," said Mohd Syarulnizam, adding that the witness was a member of the Circle Nineteen student group and had no conflict with Zara Qairina.
Meanwhile, lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, who represents one of the teenagers involved in the Zara Qairina bullying case, said the same witness testified that she did not witness any incident on the night of July 16 and only woke up at about 4.50am to get ready for school.
Zara Qairina, 13, was confirmed dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital here on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory at about 4 am on July 16.
The inquest will resume Thursday (Nov 6). - Bernama
