PETALING JAYA: The Kota Kinabalu coroner’s court heard today that the late Zara Qairina Mahathir claimed a “tomboy” student harassed her while she was staying at the hostel.
Bernama reported that Zara’s aunt, Nur Shira Abdullah, 46, who appeared as the 71st witness in the inquest into her death, said the girl had told her about the matter when she returned home for Hari Raya Aidilfitri last year.
According to Nur Shira, Zara said her roommate told her that the student in question had allegedly been physically harassing Zara while she was asleep. Zara also experienced several other situations that made her feel uncomfortable throughout her time at the hostel.
“While Zara was telling us about the matter, my child accidentally recorded her,” she said in her testimony before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Nur Shira also told the court that Zara had complained about being instructed to fetch hot water from the lower floor of the hostel between 1am and 2am.
She said Zara had also informed her that some of her money had gone missing and she believed it had been stolen.
Nur Shira said Zara usually shared matters related to school and hostel life, as well as her relationships with friends, rather than family problems.
“Zara never said she felt unloved or afraid of her mother. Zara shared these incidents (at the hostel) as things that made her uncomfortable, but she was still able to talk about them normally,” she said.
Nur Shira also said Zara had told her she lodged a complaint with a warden, but the warden had not believed her.
On the family’s refusal for a post-mortem examination to be conducted, Nur Shira denied that they had made a hasty decision. She said a doctor in the forensic room simply instructed her to sign a form without giving a detailed explanation.
She also denied allegations that the family discussed the post-mortem issue in a public area, stressing that Zara’s mother Noraidah Lamat only voiced the matter once inside the ward when no other visitors were present.
Zara, 13, was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel at about 4am.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers had previously directed that an inquest be conducted after reviewing the police investigation report.
The inquest continues tomorrow.
