Dr. Jessie Hiu, a pathologist who conducted the autopsy of the late 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, delivered testimony on the first day of the inquest yesterday, drawing widespread attention.
According to Dr. Jessie, Zara Qairina sustained multiple injuries:
- A laceration at the back of the head that was stitched, with no skull or facial fractures.
- Severe, critical brain damage with liquefaction due to decomposition, making assessment impossible.
- Bruising under the left arm, left wrist, left hand, and fifth left finger, along with a distal radius fracture and dislocated wrist joint.
- Bruises on the ankles, multiple fractures in the distal right tibia, a tear on the left leg, bruising on the left ankle, and multiple fractures in the left leg.
- Distal left tibia shattered and misaligned, multiple calcaneum fractures, and a dislocated left ankle joint.
- Fractures in the second to fourth lumbar vertebrae (lower spine).
- Hematoma in the left psoas muscle and limited hematoma in the retroperitoneal pelvic tissue.
- Minor abrasions on the back of the left forearm and left elbow, without underlying tissue, muscle, or bone injury.
- Presence of Phenytoin, an anti-seizure medication, in kidney tissue.
Dr. Jessie, 58, has served at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu since 1998. He holds a medical degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia (1991) and a Master’s in Pathology from Universiti Malaya (1998). He is also a member of the Malaysian Medical Association, the Malaysian Society of Forensic Medicine and Science, and the Indo-Pacific Association of Law, Medicine and Science.
