Kota Kinabalu: The mother of Student A described the statement given by her daughter to the police in relation to the Zara incident as a “killer statement” that could not be simply denied.
The 62nd deponent told Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan this when counsel Shahlan Jufri asked her to clarify her claim that the WhatsApp messages sent by Zara’s mother were “forwarded” and not written by Zara’s mother herself.
She referred to the WhatsApp messages sent by Zara’s mother to her, which she alleged had requested her to issue a denial of Student A’s earlier statement, which Zara’s mother claimed had been twisted.
In her response, Student A’s mother questioned the intention of Zara’s mother in sending the messages to her, which she felt showed greater trust in other parties and, at the same time, placed her daughter at risk.
Shahlan: Can you explain?
Mother: Because my daughter’s statement, in my view, is a “killer statement” in this case, so I cannot simply deny it.
Shahlan: What do you mean by a “killer statement”?
Mother: Especially regarding Zara wanting to commit suicide, which was mentioned repeatedly and confided to (Student A).
Before Friday, July 25, Zara’s mother asked me what Student A had told her, even though at that time she did not force my daughter to explain.
She (student A) only spoke after she arrived at our place. In the same week, I was also called to the police station, but I cannot recall the exact date.
In response to Shahlan’s question on whether Student A’s mother may have misunderstood the earlier message sent by Zara’s mother which was purportedly only asking her to lodge a police report if her daughter’s statement had indeed been distorted – the issue concerned her daughter’s statement mentioning that Zara had told her she wanted to kill herself.
However, the deponent maintained that she understood the message from Zara’s mother as a request for her to deny her daughter’s statement, which she refused.
The deponent also told the coroner that Student A never accused or suspected Zara of stealing her belongings after personal items went missing in the hostel.
She concluded that the allegations, which she described as slander, were likely due to Zara being surrounded by people who stabbed her in the back, as claimed.
She added that her daughter did not suspect Zara and had never accused her of theft because they were close.
