Zara Qairina Lost Ability To Breathe, Unconscious In Her Final Hours - Doctor Tells Inquest

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- The medical officer who pronounced Zara Qairina Mahathir dead told the Coroner’s Court here today that the Form One student had the lowest level of consciousness in her final hours and was unable to breathe on her own.

Dr Pavankumar Balachandran, 32, who is with the Neurosurgery Department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (HQE), said the prognosis was severely guarded, which means her chance of survival was extremely poor, and the 13-year-old was intubated and placed on mechanical ventilation.

The fourth witness said this when queried by the conducting officer, Deputy Chief Prosecutor II Datuk Badius Zaman Ahmad, on the fourth day of the inquest into the teenager’s death.

Dr Pavankumar testified that Zara Qairina’s initial neurological assessment showed a Glasgow Coma Scale (GSC) of E1VTM1, with fixed, dilated pupils and absent brainstem reflexes.

“The patient’s level of consciousness was very low … the scale of E1VTM1 was the lowest level of consciousness,” he said.

When questioned by lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, who is representing a juvenile charged with bullying the deceased, the doctor said he had called for a family conference, as such cases carry a very poor prognosis and outcome.

Ram: Am I correct to say that by the time you received Zara Qairina in the neurosurgery ward, you knew that she was going to die? Dr Pavankumar: “Like I said before, I knew that such cases carry a very poor prognosis and outcome.”

He also clarified that the decision to conduct a post-mortem was a matter between the Department of Forensic Medicine (mortuary) and the police.

When asked by the Coroner, Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan, if he was the one who pronounced the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir on July 17, Dr Pavankumar replied: “Yes.”

Dr Pavankumar added that the teenager was admitted to the neurosurgery ward at 6.40 pm on July 16, but showed no clinical improvement and died at 1.07 pm the next day.

At the end of today’s proceedings, the court also heard testimony from Crime Scene Investigation Inspector Maidon Bernadus from the Sabah Contingent Police Headquarters.

He said that on Aug 3, he and his team conducted two simulations using a mannequin — the first was dropped vertically from the corridor without being pushed, while the second was with minimal forward push.

According to him, the mannequin originally weighed 10 kilogrammes, but additional weight was added using bricks until it reached about 53 kilogrammes to resemble the deceased’s physical weight.

A video recording of the simulation was played in court, and the witness was instructed to bring in the mannequin that was used.

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.

On Aug 8, the Attorney General’s Chambers ordered her remains to be exhumed for a post-mortem, before announcing an inquest into her death on Aug 13.

The hearing continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA