THE 35th witness in the inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir told the Kota Kinabalu Coroner’s Cour today that the late student had confided in her mother about pressure and ridicule from senior pupils, revealing tensions at her school in the weeks before her death.
The coroner’s court on Wednesday heard testimony from the 35th witness in the inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir, a former Form One student at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha.
The witness disclosed that Zara had previously complained to her mother about being bullied by senior students at school.
The witness said that in May (2025), during the mid-year examination week, Zara borrowed her call card to contact her mother.
She overheard the conversation in which Zara expressed concerns that a senior student and several others often spoke badly about her.
“There were Form Two students who did not like Zara because she liked to record the names of pupils who did not perform their prayers,” the witness told the court.
The witness added that the last time she saw Zara was on 6 July 2025 at the Musolla during Zohor prayers, where Zara, acting as a prefect, was recording the names of pupils who did not pray.
She also recounted an incident on the night before Zara’s death, on 15 July 2025. While washing clothes with friends on the ground floor of the hostel, a junior student suddenly shouted “emergency, emergency!” and claimed that a student’s wallet had gone missing.
The student stated that if the wallet was not found, her mother would transfer her to another school. Shortly thereafter, the wallet was reportedly located, and Zara was accused of theft.
The witness further recounted hearing several students speaking ill of Zara on the same night, including calling her “sok-sok Badar” or pretending to be or acting religious.
The inquest proceedings are scheduled to resume on Monday, 17 November 2025. - November 12, 2025
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