KOTA KINABALU: A security guard testified at the inquest into Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death that she heard no arguments among students at the female hostel on the night the Form One pupil was found unconscious.
Linah Mansoding @ Jaliha, 65, stated she also did not hear any loud noises while on duty that night when the student was discovered near a drain at the school hostel at 4.00 am on July 16.
The mother of four responded to questions from Joan Goh, counsel representing a teenager accused of bullying the deceased, on the seventh day of the inquest proceedings.
“I did not hear any loud noises. I did not hear the students fighting; all their rooms were dark. I have never heard of any physical assault cases among the hostel students. They only engage in playful behaviour. There are no hitting incidents—just verbal exchanges… like saying ‘you’re stupid’,” said the witness.
Linah, who has worked at the school since 2012, mentioned she has heard of thefts involving students, with such matters referred to teachers or security personnel.
“However, I do not know whether any disciplinary action was taken against students for theft…as I remember, there were none,” she said.
The witness further informed the court that she did not know from which floor Zara Qairina had fallen and had not seen any bloodstains in the corridors of the first, second, or third floors of the hostel building.
Earlier testimony revealed that the deceased’s bloodstains at the scene had dried, hardened, and turned black.
She added that despite continuous rain for two days beginning at dawn that day, the dried and hardened bloodstains remained visible as of today.
Recalling her first acquaintance with Zara Qairina, the witness stated she initially saw the deceased on TikTok.
“I saw her on TikTok… I approached her and asked, ‘Is this your TikTok?’. She replied, ‘Yes’. The second time, I saw her at the clothes drying area.
“I asked her, ‘Why are you running around so late at night?’. She merely smiled and said she was accompanying her friend to wash clothes,” said Linah, who concluded her testimony today.
The inquest proceedings before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan will resume next Wednesday, Sept 17.
Zara Qairina died on July 17 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel in Papar at 4 am.
The Attorney General’s Chambers ordered her remains exhumed for a post-mortem on Aug 8 before announcing an inquest into her death on Aug 13. – Bernama