No suspicious circumstances found in Zara Qairina’s death, investigating officer tells inquest
KOTA KINABALU, Oct 14 — The investigating officer handling the inquest into the death of teenager Zara Qairina Mahathir testified on Wednesday that final police investigations revealed no suspicious circumstances surrounding her fatal fall at a school hostel.
Inspector Wong Yew Zhung, 32, who served as the 83rd witness in the ongoing inquest, stated his findings during cross-examination by counsel Shahlan Jufri at the Kota Kinabalu Coroner’s Court, Sinar Harian reported.
Shahlan raised questions regarding events prior to the incident, citing testimony from a student who claimed Zara Qairina was seen crying after meeting a Form Four student in a hostel dorm room.
The lawyer also highlighted that no witnesses or students directly observed how the teenager fell before her body was discovered on the ground floor, suggesting potential elements of foul play or suspicion.
Witness accounts and suicidal ideation
In response to the defense counsel’s queries, Inspector Wong referred to witness statements from a student identified as “Student A,” who disclosed that the deceased had previously expressed intentions to jump off a building.
“As far as I remember, Student A stated that Zara had mentioned several times wanting to jump off the building and that she was dissatisfied with her life due to personal issues involving school and family,” Wong told the court.
When pressed further by Shahlan to offer his professional opinion on whether suspicious elements existed from the sequence of events prior to her discovery at the hostel ground level, Wong reaffirmed the police’s final investigative conclusions.
“In my opinion, based on the conclusion of my investigation, there were no suspicious circumstances,” Wong testified.
Post-mortem instructions
Addressing the necessity of a post-mortem examination, the investigating officer confirmed that he sought direct instructions from superior officers to determine the precise medical cause of Zara Qairina’s death.
The Coroner’s Court proceedings before the presiding coroner in Kota Kinabalu are expected to continue as additional expert witnesses and police investigators are recalled to complete the inquiry.
— The Malaysia Times
