PETALING JAYA: The Kota Kinabalu coroner’s court heard today that the officer investigating Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death only knew of two internal investigations conducted by the school’s disciplinary unit, following earlier testimony that the unit conducted five without informing the police.
Wong Yew Zhung told coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan that he only knew of the internal investigations conducted on July 17 and 18, 2025.
"I know this because I was given five statements from senior students," he was quoted as saying by Borneo Post.
On Nov 27 last year, assistant chief discipline teacher Nurul Syahadah Ibrahim testified that five internal probes were conducted on July 16, July 17, Aug 4, Aug 5 and Aug 13.
She said the students’ written statements were not given to the police, who only received statements from the five students accused of verbally abusing Zara.
Nurul said the school’s disciplinary unit continued its internal investigations for record-keeping purposes after police took over the investigation on July 16.
Zara died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious near a drain at her school dormitory in the early morning.
Her remains were exhumed on Aug 9, and a post-mortem examination was conducted at the hospital’s forensic medicine department on Aug 10.
On Aug 20, five minors, given the pseudonyms Students A, B, C, D and E, were charged in the Kota Kinabalu children's court with verbally abusing Zara.