KOTA KINABALU, Oct 7 — Chemist Nor Aidora Saedon today confirmed that blood traces found on several pieces of paper and several items recovered from the Papar school dormitory where Zara Qairina Mahathir stayed belonged to the 13-year-old student who died on July 17.

The National Chemist Department staff was testifying in the inquest of Zara Qairina and affirmed that her examination of the samples that were submitted to the Coroner’s Court tested positive for blood and that the DNA profiles matched those of the schoolgirl.

The chemical report noted that several of the pieces of papers, marked as exhibits “Y8” and “Y1”, were complementary — meaning they had been torn from the same sheet, and both contained blood spots belonging to the victim.

Nor Aidora said that she only performed the blood DNA tests on the pages, believed to be among her journals, but not DNA tests for other cells.

“For the pages, I only took blood swab. I didn’t try to test for DNA cells. Blood DNA is much stronger so I focused on that. The aim was to find out whose blood was on the page, so we did not look for who touched the page,” she said.

The findings are expected to form part of the forensic evidence establishing what happened to Zara Qairina before her fatal fall.

Zara Qairina was found unconscious with injuries to her limbs and head in the early hours of July 16 on the ground floor of her dormitory building at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha and died the next day.

Her abrupt death, coupled with allegations of bullying and intense public speculation, triggered  an exhumation of her body and the inquest to find out the cause.

The inquest is now in its 18th day with the 17th witness called so far. 

There are 68 scheduled witnesses, of which 35 are minors.