Court Eyes Locus In Quo Visit Next Week In Zara Qairina Inquest

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- The Coroner’s Court is tentatively planning to conduct a locus in quo visit to the scene related to the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir at the hostel building of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) Tun Datu Mustapha, Papar, next week.

However, lawyer Shahlan Jufri, who represents Zara Qairina’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, said the exact date for the visit to the school hostel had yet to be fixed.

“We expect to visit the school (SMKA) Tun Datu Mustapha again next week, but the date will be determined later,” he told reporters after the inquest proceedings, which were held behind closed doors here today.

Shahlan said that to date, all child witnesses had completed giving their testimony, and proceedings this Friday would involve a school teacher, while several others would be called in the inquest proceedings next week.

In today’s proceedings, Shahlan said the 23rd child witness was recalled to testify on the receipt of several items and written papers linked to Zara Qairina.

Among the exhibits tendered were a keychain featuring an avocado figurine and several pieces of paper that were admitted as evidence in the inquest proceedings.

The witness told the court that the items were given by Zara Qairina through her friends, who were also Form One students, but the witness could not recall the exact date of receipt, only stating that the keychain had been received a long time ago.

Zara Qairina, 13, died at Hospital Queen Elizabeth on July 17 last year, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near the hostel of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar at about 4 am.

On Aug 13, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) directed that an inquest be conducted after examining the police investigation report.

Prior to that, on Aug 8, the AGC issued an order for Zara Qairina’s grave to be exhumed to allow a post-mortem examination to be carried out.

-- BERNAMA