Coroner’s Court hears psychiatrist interviewed Zara Qairina’s parents to understand her developmental history and psychosocial background.
KOTA KINABALU: The Coroner’s Court here heard that interviewing Zara Qairina Mahathir’s parents, including her father Mahathir Hashim, was part of the process to understand the teenager’s developmental history and psychosocial background.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Wong Haw Huo said the purpose was to obtain collateral information and understand the parents, including Mahathir, in the context of Zara Qairina’s developmental history.
He said Zara Qairina was still in a developmental phase, and it was crucial to understand various aspects of her parents, including identifying the main caregivers, their backgrounds and psychological characteristics, temperament and personality traits.
“Zara was still growing up, going to be an adult and this was the developmental phase. It’s very important for us to understand who her parents are,” he said when responding to lawyer Nurul Rafeeqa Afdul Mutolip, who represented Zara Qairina’s father in the inquest proceedings, today.
Nurul Rafeeqa asked why there was a need to question the parents about their childhood and marriage if the objective of the report was also to consider the relationship between Zara Qairina and her parents, as well as her mental state prior to her death.
Dr Wong said there was a mandatory need to interview the parents, including gathering information about their lives before Zara Qairina was born to ensure a proper understanding based on developmental principles.
“It will give us a reasonable and clear picture,” he added.
Zara Qairina died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain, near her school hostel at about 4 am.
The inquest before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan continues on Aug 24.
