Papar: 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 Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, on the 32nd day of the inquest into Zara Qairina’s death before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, lawyer Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh, who represents Zara Qairina’s mother, shared the witness’s testimony, stating that at about 11.15 am on July 16, she, along with several senior and junior students and teachers, gathered at the school’s surau. The witness recounted hearing several students inform a teacher about Zara Qairina keeping a diary, but when asked to retrieve it, no one was willing to volunteer.

Mohd Syarulnizam explained that the witness then accompanied a female teacher to Zara Qairina’s dormitory block. However, only the witness proceeded to the student’s room while the teacher waited downstairs. Inside Zara Qairina’s room, the witness attempted to open several lockers, finding only one unlocked, which was believed to belong to Zara. Upon opening it, the witness discovered clothes with Zara’s name on them.

The lawyer further detailed that the witness found two diaries in a black bag’s main compartment: one green with ‘Love and Peace’ and another purple with ‘Simple Style’ on the cover. The witness admitted to briefly flipping through both diaries without delving into their contents.

After returning to the surau, the witness handed the diaries to a female teacher, who read part of the contents in front of other students before putting them away. The witness was unaware of the diary’s intended purpose and could not recall any specific notes Zara Qairina may have written.

Meanwhile, lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, representing one of the teenagers involved in the Zara Qairina bullying case, noted that the same witness testified to not witnessing any incident on the night of July 16, stating she only woke up at about 4.50 am to prepare for school.

Zara Qairina, 13, was confirmed dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu on July 17, a day after being found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory at about 4 am on July 16. The inquest is set to continue tomorrow.