KOTA KINABALU, Sept 3 — The Coroner’s Court heard today that Zara Qairina Mahathir had likely not fallen accidentally or been pushed from a standing position next to her hostel corridor’s concrete railing.
Dr Jessie Hiu, 58, a forensic pathologist in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Forensic Medicine Department here since 1998, who conducted the post-mortem on the teenager, said the height of the third-floor railing is 118cm, and Zara Qairina’s was 154cm tall.
“The difference between the deceased’s height and the topmost horizontal metal rail is 36cm. The height of the metal rail is more than three-quarters of the deceased’s height and is likely above her centre of gravity.
“In my opinion, it is unlikely that the deceased accidentally fell or was pushed from a standing position next to the concrete railing along the corridor,” she said while reading out her witness statement on the first day of the inquest proceedings into the death of the Form 1 student.
Based on the height and design of the railing, and considering the deceased’s height, it would have been possible for her to climb onto the concrete base, cross over the metal rails, and stand on top of the railing, she added.
The first witness also stated that the examination of the scene at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha Limauan dormitory block in Kinarut was conducted on August 2 at 12.30pm.
“I was requested to provide a professional opinion regarding the deceased’s antemortem injuries. I reviewed her medical records, including radiographs, CT and CTA scan reports,” she said.
The doctor also testified that the body was in a moderate to advanced state of decomposition, a condition consistent with how long it had been buried in soil.
“Although the body was decomposed, the tissue, except for the brain, remained fairly intact, allowing for both external and internal post-mortem examination and documentation of injuries,” Dr Hiu said, adding that the examinations revealed a sutured laceration at the back of the head, with no skull or facial bone fractures.
“The brain showed liquefactive changes due to decomposition and could not be assessed. The lower part of her left forearm, left wrist, left hand and left fifth finger were bruised with deformity of the left forearm and wrist due to underlying fracture of the left distal radius bone and dislocation of the wrist joint,” she said.
“There were bruises on the right ankle, with a comminuted fracture of the distal part of the right tibia involving the ankle joint, as well as a laceration on the left foot. There were also bruises on the left ankle and foot, with comminuted and oblique fractures of the distal part of the left tibia, a comminuted fracture of the calcaneum (heel bone), and a dislocation of the left ankle joint,” she added.
In addition, Dr Hiu listed fractures of the second to fourth lumbar vertebrae (lower back bones), psoas muscle hematoma, and a localised retroperitoneal pelvic tissue hematoma.
She explained that these injuries are consistent with those documented in the deceased’s medical records, CT scan, CTA scan and radiographs.
Dr Hiu said the deceased was brought to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in critical condition at 4.38am on July 16, unconscious and with signs of severe brain injury.
“A trauma alert was activated at 4.42am, and she was assessed and managed by multidisciplinary teams. She succumbed to the severe traumatic brain injury with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy on July 17 at 1.07pm,” she said.
The hearing before the coroner, Sessions Court judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan, resumes tomorrow.
Zara Qairina, 13, was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital here on July 17. She had been admitted after being found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory in Papar at 4am on July 16.
On August 8, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) ordered the exhumation of Zara Qairina’s remains to allow for a post-mortem examination.
On August 13, the AGC announced that an inquest would be conducted into her death after reviewing the investigation report submitted by the police.
