KOTA KINABALU, Oct 6 — The Coroner’s Court was told today that the older stepsister of the late Zara Qairina Mahathir suffered emotional distress while living with Zara Qairina’s mother for about seven months during her primary school years.

Malianah Mahathir, 25, said she was 10 when she began living with her father and Zara Qairina’s mother following the couple’s marriage in 2011.

The 81st witness said she lived with them from late 2011 until June 2012, before moving out.

“Throughout the time I lived with my stepmother, she was good at putting on an act. When my father was at home, she would be kind to me. However, once my father left for work, she would change and show dislike towards me.

“During the time I lived with my stepmother, I suffered emotional distress due to her attitude and the things she said to me. At that time, I was still a primary school student,” she said while reading her witness statement before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan during the inquest into Zara Qairina’s death.

Malianah said she had to manage her own daily needs, including preparing meals, doing laundry, and getting her school supplies ready, while her stepmother often used harsh language towards her.

In June 2012, she began living in the hostel at Sekolah Kebangsaan Malaria after transferring to the school.

Around 2013, while in Year Six, she left the hostel and moved in with her biological mother in Kampung Binunuk, Beaufort, where she continued her education until Form Three.

She subsequently dropped out of school in October 2016, worked in Kota Kinabalu for about three months, and moved to Kuala Lumpur at the end of that year to live with her aunt in Rawang, Selangor.

She later resumed her education from Form Four to Form Five.

According to Malianah, Zara Qairina was born in 2013, after she had stopped living with Zara Qairina’s parents.

Zara Qairina died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, a day after the Form One student was found unconscious near the drain of her school hostel at 4am. — Bernama