The chief warden of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha told the inquest into Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death that two students implicated in the case were not involved.
Azhari Abdul Sagap, 31, said the alleged bullying by “Kak M”, mentioned in a 44-second audio clip between Zara and her mother, had occurred in May and was investigated after the recording went public. “The Kak M incident happened in May,” he said, adding that the school had passed the information to the police.
He stressed that neither Zara nor her mother had complained to the school before the clip surfaced. “Why didn’t Zara’s mother report to the school? That’s my question. I would have paid attention. Why was there no complaint? Not from Zara, or her mother, there was none,” he said.
The audio, released in August and confirmed by Zara’s mother Noraidah Lamat, referred to “Kak M” as someone Zara “still had a problem” with and had not “forgiven”.
Azhari also told the court that another student, known online as “Tomboy”, was not even in the state during the incident on 16 July. He explained that teacher Amit Hamid had taken several students, including the girl dubbed “Tomboy”, to Perlis for a programme on the day Zara fell. “She wasn’t even there during the incident, but her name was viralled,” he said.
Azhari is the eighth witness in the inquest. Zara, 13, was found unconscious in a drain beside her hostel in the early hours of 16 July and was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She died the following day from her injuries.