Inkues Zara Qairina: Koroner, peguam lawat lokasi kejadian

Zara Qairina Mahathir, a 13-year-old student, passed away in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17th last year, just a day after being found unconscious near her boarding school. Her autopsy commenced this weekend with investigators visiting the incident site at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha. The visit, the second since a previous one on September 11th last year, included the classroom and technology design room within the school, the hostel and female boarding house facilities.

The coroner, Amir Shah Amir Hassan, arrived at the scene at 10:05 am for the locus in quo session, joined by the alternate counsel acting as the inquiry officer and the lawyer representing the interested party. The visit aimed to gain a clearer understanding through firsthand observations and direct references to the actual conditions during the natural disaster that claimed Zara Qairina's life.

Several adult witnesses, comprising teachers and children, also attended and were questioned regarding specific locations, arrangements, and physical conditions referenced in their previous statements. All involved parties spent approximately three hours surveying the site before concluding at 1:30 pm. Zara Qairina, who had been taken to the hospital following her unconsciousness near her school's hostel in Papar around 4 am on the 4th, succumbed to her injuries at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17th last year.

On August 13th, 2025, the State Prosecution Authority (AGC) ordered the autopsy to be conducted after reviewing the police's investigative report. Prior to this, on August 8th, the AGC had instructed that Zara Qairina's grave be exhumed to allow for a second post-mortem examination. The autopsy proceedings at the Coroner's Court will continue tomorrow.