A SECURITY guard told the Coroner’s Court here today that she discovered the unconscious body of Zara Qairina Mahathir lying face-up in a drain with blood on her neck at around 3am on 16 July.
Linah Mansoding @ Jaliha, 65, who has worked at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar since 2012, said she was on night duty when she made routine rounds at the girls’ hostel, Block Rabiatul Adawiyah, at about 2am and noticed nothing unusual.
“I then proceeded to the adjacent girls' hostel, Block Sumayyah, to continue my patrol,” said Linah, who was on duty from 8pm on 15 July to 8am the following morning.
At approximately 3am, while at Block Sumayyah, she was alerted by a student that another student had fainted in a drain near Block Rabiatul Adawiyah.
“I rushed over and found a female student, known as Zara, lying unconscious in the hostel drain,” she said, reading her witness statement before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan on the fifth day of the inquest into Zara’s death.
Linah contacted the Head Warden, Azhari Abd Sagap, and informed him of the incident. She also took a photograph of Zara in the drain before Azhari arrived. Once on the scene, he immediately called for an ambulance, which arrived around 4am. Zara was then taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.
Linah also confirmed that there were no closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras or metal railings along the corridors of the dormitory building.
Meanwhile, Inspector Maidon Bernadus, the fifth witness in the inquest, told the court he is not a biomechanics expert and does not possess knowledge in the field.
The statement came in response to questions from lawyer Shahlan Jufri, representing Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat.
Shahlan asked, “Did you and your team who conducted the reconstruction process lack expertise in biomechanics—in other words, you are not experts?” To which Maidon replied, “Correct.”
When asked if he was familiar with the field of fall biomechanics, Maidon responded, “No,” and confirmed that he is not an expert in the area.
Maidon also admitted he was unsure how the 27-centimetre height difference between the mannequin used in the reconstruction and Zara’s actual height could affect the centre of gravity or the trajectory of a fall.
In testimony delivered the previous day, Maidon explained that Sabah police had carried out a fall simulation at Block Rabiatul Adawiyah on 3 August as part of their investigation. The simulation, led by Maidon and conducted by the Sabah Police Contingent’s D10 team, began at 3am using ambient dormitory lighting and forensic floodlights.
He told the court that in the first simulation, a mannequin was dropped without any pushing force. The result, he said, closely resembled the initial findings made by the investigating officer during a prior site briefing.
However, lawyers for Zara’s mother have argued that expert testimony from a qualified biomechanist is essential for a thorough understanding of the physical forces involved and to explore whether Zara may have been pushed from the third floor rather than falling on her own.
Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh, also representing Zara’s mother, said the testimony of the first witness, a pathologist, was limited to post-mortem findings and lacked the biomechanical analysis needed to evaluate the physical dynamics of the fall and injuries.
On the second day of the inquest, lawyer Rizwandean M Borhan asked Queen Elizabeth Hospital pathologist Dr Jessie Hiu whether she was also a biomechanics expert, to which she replied “no.”
Biomechanics experts study how and why falls occur, focusing on the mechanical and physical principles governing balance, movement, and injury causation. In legal contexts, such experts analyse how physical forces impact the body during incidents involving trauma or death.
The inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir is chaired by Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan, acting as coroner. It commenced on 3 September and will continue over 17 days until 30 September.
The proceedings are led by Deputy Head of Prosecution II, Datuk Badius Zaman Ahmad, alongside deputy public prosecutors Nahra Dollah, Mohd Fairuz Johari, Dana Arabi Wazani, Sofia Sawayan, and Dacia Jane. - September 10, 2025
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