A TEACHER from SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha has told the Coroner’s Court that the incident involving the late Zara Qairina Mahathir on the night of 15 July 2025 amounted to verbal bullying by senior students.
Solehah Md Noh, the 50th witness and a teacher at the school since 2015, said she was informed by another teacher that Zara Qairina had been called to a dormitory, where several senior students confronted her over an alleged theft.
According to a statement issued by the legal team representing Zara Qairina’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, the witness told Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan that the girl had been scolded with words such as “stupid (bodoh)” and “Cursed (sial)”, directed at her in anger by senior students over the accusation.
The witness added that dorm mates had also checked the victim’s bag and locker. “The witness agreed that the incident could be categorised as verbal bullying.
“This is because there were harsh words directed at Zara Qairina in an angry tone by the senior students, which could cause emotional distress,” she said in her testimony.
She also informed the court that on 16 July, the day after the incident, the school held an off-site intervention session involving 11 dormitory students who were traumatised by what had occurred.
The witness confirmed that an internal investigation and counselling sessions had taken place involving the students concerned, but admitted that Zara Qairina’s mother had never been informed of the findings or the counselling conducted, even up to today.
She further confirmed that the previous witness, teacher Yuslina, had scanned entries from Zara Qairina’s diary after the incident, purportedly for school records and to understand the cause of the episode.
Although she and several teachers were at the hospital on 17 July, the witness acknowledged that none of them informed Zara Qairina’s family about what had happened to the student on the night of 15 July.
The inquest into the cause of Zara Qairina’s death continues on Monday. - November 22, 2025
