At the Coroner’s Court, Dr. Janefer Voo, a medical officer at the Emergency and Trauma Department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (HQE), testified that she did not contact the police when Zara Qairina Mahathir was brought to the department on 16 July.
Answering questions from the late girl’s mother’s lawyer, Rizwandean M. Borhan, Dr. Janefer explained that the priority at that time was to stabilize the patient, who arrived in critical condition, and that they had incomplete information from the ambulance. She also confirmed she did not see the presence of police or Zara Qairina’s mother in the emergency department that day.
When asked whether hospitals typically notify the police when a patient’s injuries and circumstances are unclear, Dr. Janefer said it “depends on the case,” clarifying that in Zara Qairina’s situation, police were not contacted due to the patient’s critical condition and uncertain details from the ambulance.
Rizwandean also questioned whether Dr. Janefer administered the anti-seizure medication Phenytoin to Zara Qairina during treatment. She replied that she did not. (Phenytoin was later detected in the late girl’s kidney tissue during a prior post-mortem, as explained by the first witness, Dr. Jessie Hiu.)
Dr. Janefer confirmed that she had treated patients with fall-related injuries before and noted that bruising can occur depending on which part of the body lands first. She added that, in her experience, patients who fall from a height may or may not have bruises on certain body parts, but she could not specifically recall cases with bruising on the front, back, or neck.
Overall, her testimony emphasized the focus on immediate stabilization of Zara Qairina rather than involving law enforcement at the moment of arrival.
