Inspector Wong Yew Zhung, the 83rd witness at the Zara Qairina inquest, told the Coroner’s Court his investigation found no suspicious elements in her death.
KOTA KINABALU: The investigating officer (IO) in Zara Qairina Mahathir’s case told the Coroner’s Court today that his investigation found no suspicious elements surrounding the incident that led to the student’s death.
Inspector Wong Yew Zhung, the 83rd witness in the inquest, said this conclusion was based on investigations at the scene, a review of the student’s diary and medical examination findings.
He said the findings showed that Zara Qairina had no injuries other than those consistent with a fall from a height.
“In my opinion, at the conclusion of my investigation, there were no suspicious circumstances,” he said in response to questions from lawyer Shahlan Jufri, who represents Zara Qairina’s mother, during proceedings before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan here.
Earlier, Shahlan asked whether a post-mortem examination should have been conducted if the death was considered suspicious, given the circumstances in which Zara Qairina was found unconscious on the ground floor of the dormitory before she died.
Shahlan also highlighted reports that Zara Qairina had been crying after meeting a senior student in a dormitory room, as well as the fact that no students or witnesses had seen how she fell before she was found on the ground floor.
Wong explained that a post-mortem examination was necessary in suspicious death cases to determine the cause of death.
However, he said the examination in Zara Qairina’s case also found no injuries other than those consistent with a fall from a height.
“Even after the post-mortem process, the conclusion (regarding the cause of death) remained the same,” he said.
Wong also said he had received instructions regarding the need to conduct a post-mortem to determine the cause of death, but the relevant forms were not issued at the time because the family had refused to consent to the procedure.
During yesterday’s proceedings, Wong told the court that Zara Qairina’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, had declined to allow a post-mortem examination, despite being informed and given explanations about the procedure on two occasions.
Zara Qairina died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious near a drain at her school hostel in the early hours of July 16.