Zara Inquest hears injury evidence supports fall

A SENIOR forensic pathologist has cautioned the Coroner’s Court in Kota Kinabalu against drawing firm conclusions about the circumstances surrounding the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, despite agreeing that her injuries are consistent with a fall from height.

Datuk Seri Dr Bhupinder Singh Jeswant Singh, 74, testified that his review of the case supported earlier post-mortem findings, but stressed that injury patterns should not be used in isolation to determine the precise sequence of events.

“I have reviewed all the documents provided to me pertaining to this case.

“A meticulous post-mortem examination was carried out by the forensic pathologist, and I agree with the findings regarding both external and internal injuries,” New Straits Times quoted him saying while reading his witness statement before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.

The court heard that Bhupinder, an associate professor in forensic and legal medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and University College Dublin Malaysia Campus in Penang, was the 68th witness called by the legal team led by Datuk Ram Singh.

Zara was discovered unconscious on the ground floor of her hostel and later died on July 17, 2025, at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Her remains were exhumed on Aug 9, 2025, followed by a second post-mortem at the hospital’s Department of Forensic Medicine the next day.

Bhupinder told the court he concurred with the earlier assessment by forensic pathologist Dr Jessie Hiu, who had concluded that the injuries were consistent with a fall from height.

However, he emphasised that multiple variables influence the severity and nature of injuries sustained in such incidents, making it difficult to determine exact circumstances.

He explained that factors including height, body weight, velocity, the type of surface impacted, body orientation at the moment of impact and tissue elasticity all play a role, although height remains the dominant factor.

He further noted that while the examination of clothing is a key aspect of forensic investigation, no such materials were available for analysis in this case, limiting the scope of assessment. - April 13, 2026