KOTA KINABALU: The Coroner’s Court heard testimony that public telephones at two dormitory blocks of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar were closed for two days starting July 16 following the tragic incident involving the late Zara Qairina Mahathir.
School security guard Linah Mansoding @ Jaliha, aged 65, revealed this information while answering questions from lawyer Shahlan Jufri, who represents Zara Qairina’s family, during the fifth day of the inquest proceedings into the teenager’s death.
Shahlan inquired about how students contact their parents, to which Linah replied that they use public telephones and sometimes borrow her phone.
The lawyer asked whether students use coins for the telephones, with Linah clarifying that they use cards instead and must borrow the guard’s mobile phone if their card has no balance.
Shahlan questioned whether students could contact their parents during the two days following July 16, with Linah confirming the public phones were closed for two days and two nights.
The security guard explained that the phones were closed because authorities feared children would call their parents during this period.
When asked how public phones could be closed, Linah stated that the switch was turned off on orders from the chief warden.
Earlier in the proceedings, the witness testified that she found Zara Qairina lying unconscious in a drain with neck bleeding at approximately 3 am on July 16.
Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan announced that he would visit the school with the prosecution team, lawyers and pathologist Dr Jessie Hiu at 9:30 am the following day.
The coroner explicitly stated that media practitioners would not be allowed to enter the school premises during this visit.
The inquest proceedings were scheduled to resume in court after the completion of the school visit.
Zara Qairina passed away on July 17 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being admitted the previous day when found unconscious near her school hostel in Papar.
The Attorney General’s Chambers ordered the exhumation of her remains for a post-mortem on August 8 before announcing the inquest into her death on August 13. – Bernama
