KOTA KINABALU, Sept 10 — A mannequin was brought to the inquest proceedings at the Coroner's Court here today after it was used to simulate the alleged fall experienced by the late Zara Qairina Mahathir from the third floor of her school dormitory building.
The dummy parts, wrapped in two brown packages, were presented by Crime Scene Investigation officer Inspector Maidon Bernadus from the Sabah Police Contingent Headquarters before the Coroner, Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan, on the fifth day of the inquest proceedings into the teenager's death.
The fifth witness showed how the mannequin had been damaged after being dropped from the third floor on August 3 — both its left and right legs were broken and its head had dislodged.
Yesterday, the witness told the court that he and his team had conducted two simulations — the first by dropping the dummy vertically without any forward push, while the second, with a small push.
He said that overall, the result of the first simulation was the closest to the position of the victim when she was discovered, based on the initial investigation.
When questioned by lawyer Shahlan Jufri, representing Zara Qairina's family, Maidon said the simulation was made on the third floor following a briefing by the case's investigating officer, Inspector Wong Yew Zhung.
“According to Inspector Wong’s initial investigation, the victim’s last known position (according to the witness) was believed to be in the (third-floor) toilet, facing the corridor,” he said.
Maidon told the court that the lower half of the dummy used in the simulation was wrapped with bricks secured with adhesive tape marked with a forensic label, adding that the bricks were selected because they were considered suitable to replicate the physical weight of the deceased, which was 53 kilogrammes.
In his witness statement, Maidon said that the original weight of the mannequin was 10 kilogrammes, but additional weight was added using bricks to closely match the victim’s body weight.
When asked by Sahlan why a 180-centimetre-tall mannequin was used when Zara Qairina's actual height was 153 centimetres, the witness said it was because he could not find one with the same height as the victim.
To another question by Sahlan on how the height difference could affect the centre of gravity and the distance of the fall, Maidon replied, “I am not sure”.
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