KOTA KINABALU: The chief warden of the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha’s hostel in Papar told the Coroner’s Court today that initially the school had no knowledge of the story “kalau aku touch-touch, kau berdarah’ (if I touch you, you will bleed), which was allegedly said by ‘Kak M’ to Zara Qairina Mahathir.
Azhari Abd Sagap, 31, said they only learned about the matter after an audio recording of Zara Qairina and her mother Noraidah Lamat’s conversation went viral on social media following the incident on July 16.
“The school then conducted an investigation into the matter. Evidence related to the issue was handed over to the police. We also brought the student known as ‘Kak M’ and all the students mentioned in the audio to give statements to the police,“ he said.
The eighth witness in the inquest into Zara Qairina’s death also revealed that the school’s investigation found the story “if I touch you, you’ll bleed” actually happened in May.
“The investigation revealed that ‘Kak M’ is alleged to have said this after her younger sibling, who is in Form Two, was mocked by Zara Qairina and her friends.
“The student (Kak M) was emotionally unstable at the time because her room was messy and dirty,“ he said when answering a question from lawyer Abdul Fikry Jaafar, representing the children accused of being involved in the Zara Qairina bullying case.
The witness also said that the mocking incident against ‘Kak M’s younger sibling happened in writing when Zara Qairina and her friend left a note that said, “Dia seorang yang sok orku, sengaja takutkan Form 1 (Tingkatan Satu), padahal baru juga junior.” (She’s a show-off, deliberately scaring the Form 1 students, even though she’s just a junior.”
“The younger sibling’s nickname was also mentioned in the evidence we submitted to the police,” he said.
Azhari explained that the term ‘sok sok’ means to pretend to be something, while ‘orku’ is an abbreviation of the word ‘orang kuat’ (strong person).
The inquest proceedings before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan will continue tomorrow.
Zara Qairina, 13, died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17. She was admitted to the hospital the day after being found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel in Papar at 4 am.
On Aug 13, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) ordered an inquest to be held after reviewing the investigation report submitted by the police, while previously, on Aug 8, the AGC issued an order to exhume Zara Qairina’s grave to allow for an autopsy to be performed. – Bernama