KOTA KINABALU: During the inquest proceedings into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir on Tuesday (Feb 3), the Coroner’s Court heard testimony from a religious teacher who recounted her final meeting with the deceased about two months before the student’s death.
The 63rd witness, Nur Ain Jabah, 38, who taught Zara Qairina at Sekolah Agama Negeri Kampung Naluyan in Sipitang, said the meeting took place in May 2025, when the deceased stopped by the school during the school holidays.
Nur Ain said she taught and came to know Zara Qairina from 2023 to 2024, when the deceased studied at the school, where she taught subjects including Tauhid, Akhlak, Hafazan and Imlak. Throughout that period, they had a close teacher-student relationship.
She said that during the meeting, she asked about Zara Qairina’s situation at her secondary school, including whether the deceased faced any problems or was being bullied by her peers.
“She told me everything was fine, that her friends were all kind and that no one was bullying her. She said she was happy at her new school. That was the last time I met her,” she said while testifying before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Nur Ain said she also advised Zara Qairina to perform her prayers consistently, respect her teachers and not keep problems to herself, adding that she told the deceased she was always ready to listen if she faced any difficulties.
She added that Zara Qairina liked helping teachers, was active in co-curricular activities and often sought teachers’ advice if she had minor misunderstandings with friends.
The witness also told the court she had previously been aware of an act known as “barcode” (self-harm marks), which she described as a trend on TikTok involving several students, including Zara Qairina, when the deceased was in Year Five. She said the matter was addressed by teachers and did not recur after advice was given.
Nur Ain further informed the court that on the day the deceased was confirmed to have died on July 17, 2025, she and several other teachers planned to visit Zara Qairina at the hospital after attending a school event.
However, she said they later received the news of the deceased’s death and she felt deeply saddened because she did not have the opportunity to see the deceased one last time.
Meanwhile, the 64th witness, Sekolah Agama Negeri Kampung Naluyan headmistress Nur Hidayah Mohamad, 39, described Zara Qairina as a cheerful, affectionate and sociable student who had no disciplinary record throughout her time at the religious school.
Nur Hidayah, who had served as headmistress since 2014, said she knew Zara Qairina since infancy because the deceased was related to her, and she also knew her as a student from the time she began studying at the school at the age of six.
She said that throughout six years of schooling, Zara Qairina often helped other pupils, including bringing students who were crying or facing problems to the teachers’ room. She added that the deceased consistently ranked among the top 10 academically and was active in co-curricular activities, particularly storytelling competitions on the lives of prophets up to district level.
Nur Hidayah said Zara Qairina had a very close relationship with teachers at the religious school as well as her classmates, and described the deceased as someone who helped create a cheerful atmosphere in the classroom.
Zara Qairina, 13, died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel at about 4am.
On Aug 8, 2025, the Attorney General’s Chambers ordered the exhumation of the deceased’s remains to allow a post-mortem examination to be conducted. On Aug 13, the AGC ordered an inquest to be held after reviewing the police investigation report.
The inquest proceedings will resume on March 31, while the locus in quo visit to the scene related to the death at the hostel building of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha, scheduled for Friday, was postponed. – Bernama
