KOTA KINABALU, April 1 — The latest child witness believed to be the last to have seen Zara Qairina Mahathir alive was feeling guilt and trauma from her encounter with Zara Qairina before she was found unconscious and died on July 16 last year.

The 41-year-old mother of the child witness, who only came forward recently to give her witness account, told the Coroner’s Court that her child was emotional, distressed and started sobbing whenever recounting an incident involving the late Zara Qairina. 

The woman said her daughter had mentioned the incident last year but did not go into detail about her personal encounter.

“Nearly three months later, my child finally told me in more detail what she knew about the incident,” she said while reading her witness statement before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.

According to the mother, the child witness had planned to meet a friend at Block A after prep time on July 15, 2025, but fell asleep.

She later woke up at about 1am and went to Block A. While returning to her room in Block B, she saw a female student pacing along Level 3 of Block A. 

“The child went up and tapped the student on the back. When the student turned around, she realised it was Zara Qairina.

“She told me Zara was crying and said she wanted to jump. She responded with, ‘Do you think you will go to heaven if you jump?’” she said. 

Yesterday, she testified that they spoke for a little while and then she led Zara Qairina back into her room before returning to her own dormitory.

The witness also told the court that her daughter was later questioned by a female police officer during a gathering at the school but got scared when she raised her voice and asked why she had gone to Block A at that time.

A male police officer then calmed her down, and she told him everything, but she does not know whether her statement was recorded,” she said.

“My child blames herself for not speaking to Zara, thinking that if she had done so, the incident might not have happened. At the time, she was busy with a school hockey competition and training,” she said.

The witness said her child only shared the full account months later as she had been too traumatised to speak earlier.

“Every time Zara was mentioned, she would cry and could not respond. Zara’s death had a deep impact on her as she knew her personally,” she said.

Following the incident, the mother said her child became withdrawn, appeared to blame herself and experienced severe trauma.

“When we asked about Zara, my child would only say, ‘Mum, just recite Al-Fatihah for her.’ I could see her emotions were unstable,” she said.

She added that her child had noticed the day before the incident that Zara Qairina was not her usual cheerful self, responding only with a smile when approached.

The mother later contacted a teacher at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha and informed her of the matter. Police subsequently recorded her statement.

The lawyer for Zara Qairina’s mother, Shahlan Jufri, said that the child witness was also afraid of backlash from social media and netizens who might blame her. He advised netizens to remain calm and not speculate on the case.

Zara Qairina,13, was found unconscious on the ground floor of her hostel and was pronounced dead on July 17, 2025, at Hospital Queen Elizabeth. The incident ignited nationwide attention and protests regarding the lack of transparency in how the case was handled, from allegations of bullying to claims of a cover-up at a higher level.