A former school principal testified she was unaware of five students’ written statements regarding Zara Qairina’s death until after police received them
KOTA KINABALU: A former principal told the Coroner’s Court she was unaware of written statements from five students concerning the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir.
Shaharom Hashim, 51, the former principal of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha, said she only learned about the statements after they were handed to police.
“I was only made aware of the students’ witness statements on July 16 and 17 after they were handed over to the police,” she testified.
The 47th witness was being questioned by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Fairuz Johari before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan. Shaharom said the school submitted two reports about the incident.
She stated the first report concerned the student’s fall in the dormitory and was submitted to the Papar District Education Office and State Education Department.
The second report, detailing the chronology, came from the student affairs secretary on Aug 12, 2025.
Asked by the coroner if any minister had visited the school, Shaharom said to her knowledge none had.
She confirmed officials from the Ministry of Education and Islamic Education Division visited, with counsellors present.
Meanwhile, recalled witness and head warden Azhari Abd Sagap, 31, testified a student found a piece of paper prior to the incident.
He said the paper containing text about Zara Qairina was found during a gotong-royong activity on the hostel’s third floor.
The paper was later handed to police for investigation on July 21, 2025. Zara Qairina, 13, died on July 17 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being found unconscious near her school hostel.
Her remains were exhumed for a post-mortem on Aug 8 following an order from the Attorney General’s Chambers.
An inquest into her death was announced on Aug 13, with proceedings set to continue.
