{
  "id": 3503791,
  "title": "Zara Qairina inquest: Forensic examiner finds multiple writers in student’s journals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/zara-qairina-inquest-forensic-examiner-finds-multiple-writers-in",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-26T12:20:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/08/26/zara-qairina-inquest-forensic-examiner-finds-multiple-writers-in-students-journals/232781"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KOTA KINABALU, Aug 26 — Forensic document examiner Tay Eue Kam testified in the Coroner’s Court that multiple individuals wrote the journals linked to the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir. The 79th witness stated that the green journal labeled W1 and the pastel-purple journal labeled W2 contained handwriting from more than one person. Most of the handwriting in W1 was attributed to Zara Qairina, except for two pages with pencil entries. In W2, Zara Qairina’s handwriting was found on most pages, except for entries on pages 58, 59, 61, 76, 87, 88, 98, and 100, which were written by others. Indented writings on pages 51 and 53 of W2 also did not match Zara Qairina’s handwriting. The dark brown journal W3 contained writings from at least two people, with Zara Qairina’s handwriting on some entries and different individuals on others. The olive-green \"Love and Peace\" journal WK9 contained writings from more than two individuals as well. Tay also examined 15 loose sheets labeled Y1 to Y15 and found writings by more than two people. Some entries in Y1 to Y15 could not be attributed to Zara Qairina, with entries on Y1b to Y5b, Y9b, Y10a, and Y10b strongly attributed to others, and Y9a found to have been written by multiple people. Tay’s examination involved comparing handwriting from the journals, schoolbooks, and loose sheets with known samples of Zara Qairina’s handwriting and those of other students. She noted limitations due to a gap in Zara Qairina’s handwriting samples between 2024 and 2025, and that the students involved were under 16, which could have made it harder to distinguish individual writers. Zara Qairina passed away at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, after being found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel at around 4 am. The inquest will resume the following day with the same witness.",
  "summary": "KOTA KINABALU, Aug 26 — Several journals examined in connection with the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir contained...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Inquest into Zara Qairina's death briefly halted after tense exchange",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/inquest-into-zara-qairinas-death-briefly-halted-after-tense-exchange",
        "published": "2026-08-26T03:58:42.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Vibes",
        "title": "Zara Qairina Inquest: Coroner walks out as crucial psychiatric evidence takes centre stage",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/zara-qairina-inquest-coroner-walks-out-as-crucial-psychiatric",
        "published": "2026-08-26T05:44:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Zara inquest paused after coroner walks out over clash with counsel",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/zara-inquest-paused-after-coroner-walks-out-over-clash-with-counsel",
        "published": "2026-08-26T05:56:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malaysiakini",
        "title": "'Am I not fair enough?': Tense moment as coroner walks out of Zara inquest",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/am-i-not-fair-enough-tense-moment-as-coroner-walks-out-of-zara-inquest",
        "published": "2026-08-26T06:30:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Zara Qairina inquest: Forensic examiner finds multiple writers in student’s journals",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/zara-qairina-inquest-forensic-examiner-finds-multiple-writers-in-3509992",
        "published": "2026-08-26T12:20:16.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}