Conflicting testimony arose at the inquest into the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir after a forensic doctor said he had advised her mother to consent to a post-mortem, a claim her lawyers denied.
Seventh witness Dr Logaraj Ratha told the Coroner’s Court that he explained the importance of the procedure to Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, on July 17, a day after the teenager’s death.
Dr Logaraj said he repeated his advice several times before, during and after Noraidah signed a declaration form refusing the procedure.
“I told her clearly that without a post-mortem, the family would not have access to a full forensic report, which might be important for insurance or legal purposes in the future.
But she insisted she did not want one.
At the time, she looked calm. I explained in simple language, gave her time to think, and she was able to answer my questions coherently. She was oriented to time, place and person,” he testified.
However, Noraidah’s lawyer, Rizwandean M. Borhan, later told the media that his client stood by her claim she was never advised.
“I asked the doctor in court, as instructed by my client, whether she was ever informed of the need for a post-mortem.
Our client has consistently said she was never told about the requirement for an autopsy when her daughter died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17.
But the doctor (Logaraj) disagreed,” he said.
Dr Logaraj, 33, said Noraidah’s sister-in-law, Nurshira Abdullah, was present during the explanation and signed as a witness.
Police had already decided against a medico-legal autopsy, with investigating officer Insp Wong Yew Zhung informing Dr Logaraj that Zara’s cause of death had been certified as severe traumatic brain injury with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy.
Asked why Noraidah refused, Dr Logaraj said he was unsure, but noted that refusals were sometimes due to cultural or religious reasons. He added that only police could order a post-mortem, and he had no authority to do so.
The court also heard that Zara was last seen crying and shouting that she had not stolen, after being accused of theft by peers at her school. She was initially accused of taking RM300 belonging to a dormitory resident.
Head warden Azhari Abd Sagap, 31, testified that students confronted Zara on July 15 after a dormitory leader’s Malaysia flag pin was found in her bag.
Written confessions from students revealed that she was asked to swear she had not stolen, which she did, before harsh words were exchanged. Zara then left the room in tears, screaming: “Saya tidak mencuri bah, bodoh” (“I did not steal, stupid”).
Azhari told the court the missing purse was eventually found within the school compound, but the money was gone.
At about 3am on July 16, Azhari said he received calls from a security guard and found Zara unconscious by a drain near the girls’ hostel.
He said he moved her about 20 metres to a flat, sheltered walkway instead of the nearby sick bay, which had been converted into the student leaders’ room, as he did not want to traumatise other students there.
“At first, I did not see any injuries. It was only after moving her that I noticed blood at the edge of the drain and a broken ankle. She was breathing heavily, as if snoring,” he said.
Azhari called the emergency hotline at 3.17am and again at 3.47am. He also tried calling Zara’s parents, but received no response.
An ambulance arrived shortly before 4am and took her to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, about 40km from Papar.
The inquest has so far heard from eight of 68 witnesses, about half of whom are students. Hearings are scheduled until the end of the month, but lawyers have indicated proceedings may extend beyond September.