A security guard at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar testified in the Coroner’s Court on Wednesday that she discovered the unconscious body of Zara Qairina Mahathir lying face-up in a drain with blood on her neck at approximately 3 a.m. on July 16.
Linah Mansoding @ Jaliha, 65, who has served as a security guard at the school since 2012, told the court she was on night duty from 8 p.m. on July 15 to 8 a.m. the following morning. During her routine patrol of the girls’ hostel, Block Rabiatul Adawiyah, at around 2 a.m., she noticed nothing out of the ordinary. She then proceeded to the adjacent Block Sumayyah to continue her rounds.
At approximately 3 a.m., while at Block Sumayyah, a student alerted Linah that another student had fainted in a drain near Block Rabiatul Adawiyah. “I rushed over and found a female student, identified as Zara, lying unconscious in the hostel drain,” Linah said, reading her witness statement on the fifth day of the inquest before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Linah promptly contacted the Head Warden, Azhari Abd Sagap, and took a photograph of Zara in the drain before his arrival. Azhari called for an ambulance, which arrived around 4 a.m., and Zara was transported to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment. Linah also confirmed that the dormitory building lacked closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and metal railings along its corridors.
Police Testimony Highlights Limitations in Fall Simulation
Inspector Maidon Bernadus, the fifth witness in the inquest, admitted to the court that he and his team lack expertise in biomechanics, the study of physical forces in falls. Responding to questions from Shahlan Jufri, the lawyer representing Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, Maidon confirmed, “Correct,” when asked if his team lacked biomechanical expertise. He also acknowledged unfamiliarity with fall biomechanics and uncertainty about how a 27-centimeter height difference between the mannequin used in a police simulation and Zara’s actual height might affect the fall’s trajectory or center of gravity.
Maidon testified that on August 3, the Sabah Police Contingent’s D10 team conducted a fall simulation at Block Rabiatul Adawiyah starting at 3 a.m., using ambient dormitory lighting and forensic floodlights. In the first simulation, a mannequin was dropped without any pushing force, yielding results that closely aligned with the initial findings of the investigating officer during a prior site briefing.
Lawyers for Zara’s mother argued that expert testimony from a qualified biomechanist is critical to understanding the physical dynamics of Zara’s fall and determining whether she was pushed from the third floor or fell accidentally. Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh, also representing Noraidah, noted that the testimony of the first witness, a pathologist, was limited to post-mortem findings and lacked the biomechanical analysis needed to evaluate the fall’s mechanics and resulting injuries.
On the second day of the inquest, lawyer Rizwandean M Borhan questioned Queen Elizabeth Hospital pathologist Dr. Jessie Hiu, who confirmed she is not a biomechanics expert. Biomechanics specialists analyze the mechanical and physical principles of balance, movement, and injury causation, often providing critical insights in legal cases involving trauma or death.
Ongoing Inquest Seeks Answers
The inquest into Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death, chaired by Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan acting as coroner, began on September 3 and is scheduled to continue over 17 days until September 30. The proceedings are led by Deputy Head of Prosecution II, Datuk Badius Zaman Ahmad, alongside deputy public prosecutors Nahra Dollah, Mohd Fairuz Johari, Dana Arabi Wazani, Sofia Sawayan, and Dacia Jane.
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