The management of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha prioritised saving student Zara Qairina Mahathir before contacting her mother, the Coroner’s Court was told.
Former principal Shaharoom Hashim testified that in any emergency, the school’s first priority was to seek immediate medical assistance before informing the victim’s family.
“After we sent Zara to the hospital, we then tried to contact her next of kin,” she said, adding that the security guard who found Zara unconscious had to obtain her mother’s contact number from teachers.
Shaharoom, the recalled 47th witness, was questioned by lawyer Datuk Ram Singh on why the school only sought Zara Qairina’s family contact details about 30 minutes after the student was found on the ground floor of the school on July 16 last year. Ram was referring to a chronological report earlier presented to the court, which had been prepared by the school’s then chief warden, Azhari Abd Sagap.
Ram, who represents one of the five students linked to the alleged bullying of Zara Qairina, also questioned a claim that a student affairs teacher had relayed a message from a Papar investigating officer advising Zara’s mother not to allow the case to go viral.
“I never issued any instruction not to make the case go viral. At that time, the matter was already widely circulated on social media,” Shaharoom told the court.
Apart from the chronological report, Shaharoom said she had also received an immediate preliminary report on the incident via WhatsApp, prepared by the school’s student affairs secretary.
When Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan asked whether any minister or assistant minister had visited the school, Shaharoom said she only encountered a minister at the hospital’s forensic unit. She added that officials who visited the school were from the Islamic Education Division of the Sabah Education Department.
Proceedings were later adjourned after the eighth witness, Azhari, presented additional evidence in the form of a written note. He told the court the note referred to Zara Qairina’s interest in becoming a “badar” (prefect).
Earlier in her testimony, Shaharoom said she was unaware of the written statements given by five students regarding events that took place on July 15, a day before Zara was found unconscious at the hostel.
She said the school conducted two internal investigations on July 16 and 17. “For the July 16 investigation, I was verbally informed on July 17. I was told the investigation took place at the musolla, where students were interviewed. However, the disciplinary unit never informed me about any written statements,” she said.
On Nov 25 last year, an Arabic language teacher testified that documents containing students’ accounts of the incident were kept by the school’s disciplinary unit and were not disclosed to authorities, including the police.
Shaharoom told the court she only became aware of the written statements during the inquest, which began on Sept 3 last year. Lawyer Shahlan Jufri, who represents Zara Qairina’s mother, Norlidah Lamat, conducted the examination.
The witness said she was transferred to the Sabah Education Department three weeks after Zara was found unconscious. During that period, she said she did not have the opportunity to read the statements as she was occupied with hospital matters, forensic procedures and official visits.
She testified that she verbally informed Sabah Education Department representatives of Zara Qairina’s death when officers visited the school on July 18. She also said she received scanned copies of Zara’s diaries via WhatsApp and had met the girl’s mother twice.
When questioned why she did not inform Zara’s mother of what she knew, Shaharoom said the information provided to her was related to the chronology of the case, which the mother was already aware of.
The inquest resumes today.
