A forensic document examiner from Malaysia’s Chemistry Department, Nurul Atiqah Mohd Noh, testified in the Coroner’s Court today, revealing that a notebook belonging to the late Zara Qairina Mahathir contained handwriting from both Zara and another individual. The findings, presented during the inquest into Zara’s death, shed light on the authenticity of key documents.
Nurul Atiqah, reading her written testimony, identified a “Diamonds” notebook, labeled W3 and numbered from pages 1 to 103, dated between November 16, 2024, and May 24, 2025. She noted that the handwriting on pages 2, 7–14, 25–37, 46, and 58–64, as well as 73–89, displayed significant differences from Zara’s specimen handwriting, labeled SA. “I conclude that the disputed handwriting was not written by Zara Qairina,” she stated. However, page 1 of W3 contained a mix of Zara’s handwriting and that of another person.
In her examination, Nurul Atiqah analyzed 15 sheets of paper (marked Y1–Y7 and Y9–Y15, plus Y8), four notebooks, and two textbooks to determine authorship. All documents except W3 showed consistent similarities with Zara’s specimen handwriting, confirming they were written by her. “The handwriting in Y1–Y7, Y9–Y15, Y8, W1, and W2 exhibits consistent similarities with specimen SA, leading me to conclude they were written by Zara Qairina,” she affirmed.
Upon completing her analysis, Nurul Atiqah resealed the documents in their original evidence bags with the Chemistry Department’s security labels. She handed them, along with three copies of her forensic report, to the police on September 2 at 10:45 a.m.
