A FORENSIC pathologist testified that her post-mortem findings in the Zara Qairina Mahathir case were based exclusively on medical evidence.
Dr Jessie Hiu, who has served with the Department of Forensic Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital since 1998, stated she was unaware of any VVIP or third-party involvement.
The 58-year-old medical expert responded to questions from lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, who represents one of the minors charged with bullying the deceased.
Ram Singh asked whether her conclusions were based solely on medical evidence and her expertise as a forensic pathologist.
Dr Hiu confirmed that her findings were indeed based entirely on medical evidence and professional expertise, reported Bernama.
She further clarified that her testimony would not be influenced by allegations of VVIP or third-party involvement.
The pathologist stated she had no knowledge of any VVIP or third party being involved in the case.
When asked if there was any possibility that a few people carried the teenager and threw her down to the ground floor while unconscious, Dr Hiu said, “Yes, but the persons carrying her would have to position the body with the feet pointing downwards and stretch it out from the ledge to the spot where she landed, which was quite a distance.
However, she added that she did not know how many people would have had to carry her.
Ram: Supposing Zara Qairina had been hit by a blunt object, causing the laceration at the back of her head, would that blow have caused her to faint or become unconscious?
Dr Hiu: In this case, it was not only the laceration, but also the underlying bleeding — subdural and subarachnoid haemorrhage — which rendered her unconscious.
Ram: Am I correct to say that when a person is unconscious, it would be difficult to carry and position the body so that it lands feet first at the spot where she allegedly landed?
Dr Hiu: It would be difficult to hold the body (stretched out so that it would) land feet-first, at the spot (where) she allegedly landed.
Ram: In short, Zara Qairina would have been conscious, standing upright before the fall, not unconscious?
Dr Hiu: Yes, likely.
Meanwhile, when asked by lawyer Rizwandean M. Borhan, who is representing the deceased’s mother, whether the teenager would have screamed in pain if she had fallen from the three-storey building, landed on her feet, and suffered the injuries, the witness replied: I would not know, as I only examined her after death.
Rizwandean: If the deceased had fallen from the three-storey building, am I correct to say that it is more likely she would have suffered more severe injuries?
Dr Hiu: The fractures sustained by the deceased were severe. The fractures to the tibia and calcaneum were consistent with a fall from height. However, I am unable to determine the exact distance of the fall.
Dr Hiu, the inquest’s first witness, concluded her testimony today. The proceedings before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan will resume tomorrow.
Zara Qairina died on July 17 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious in a drain near her school hostel in Papar at 4 am.
On Aug 8, the Attorney General’s Chambers ordered her remains to be exhumed for a post-mortem, before announcing an inquest into her death on Aug 13. – September 11, 2025
