Zara Qairina inquest: Student says harsh scolding by seniors a common part of dorm culture

Zara Qairina inquest: Student says harsh scolding by seniors a common part of dorm culture



A witness in the inquest into the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir told the court that harsh scolding by senior students was a common and accepted part of hostel culture. — Bernama pic

Monday, 29 Sep 2025 6:46 PM MYT


KOTA KINABALU, Sept 29 — A witness in the inquest into the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir told the court that harsh scolding by senior students was a common and accepted part of hostel culture.

Lawyer Shahlan Jufri said that junior students, from Form One to Form Three, were expected to go through similar treatment from seniors because the seniors had experienced it themselves.

“The witness said such scoldings from senior students were considered a normal part of hostel life,” he said.

Words like “budu” (fermented anchovy sauce), “sial” (damned/unlucky), “p*****” (vulgar insult), “babi” (pig), and “anjing” (dog) were the examples used.


The Form 4 student also said that some of the words were commonly used among friends and occasionally heard from teachers scolding students.

Meanwhile, it was also heard that one of the group members, identified as Student E, had raised her voice and used those words on the night in question out of frustration.

“She was upset because her flag pin had gone missing and was found in Zara’s bag,” said the witness, according to lawyer Azhier Farhan Arisin.


“From what I saw and heard, Zara was not called in by them just to be humiliated or bullied. It was only about the flag pin.”

The witness also told the inquest she had never heard anyone threaten Zara with death or urge her to harm herself.

Today is the 16th day of the inquest.

Zara Qairina’s unconscious body was found at 3am on July 16 on the ground floor of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha. She suffered injuries consistent with a fall from height and succumbed to her injuries the next day.

Police initially classified the case as sudden death, but intense speculation and public outcry led to the exhumation and autopsy of her body and an inquest to look into her cause of death.

Police later found elements of bullying.

Five teenagers have been charged with bullying Zara Qairina the night before she was found.

The inquest continues tomorrow with another child eyewitness.