Kota Kinabalu: Chief Warden Azhari Abd Sagap told Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan Thursday that Zara Qairina Mahathir’s mother never lodged any complaint to him over alleged bullying of her daughter.
He said he only came to know about the bullying allegation after seeing a TikTok post made by Zara’s mother.
On July 16, Azhari said, while at the emergency unit, Zara’s mother only spoke about Zara’s character in which she described her as always cheerful and fond of writing.
Azhari said this when answering questions from counsel Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah during the inquest hearing to determine the cause of Zara’s death.
Fikry: Zara’s mother never told you about any bullying incident when you met her on July 16?
Azhari: Zara’s mother did not mention anything about bullying. We only found out it after Zara’s mother made a posting on TikTok.
Fikry: Based on your answer, do you mean this bullying case was only known after Zara’s mother made the posting on TikTok?
Azhari said: Yes. In that posting, Zara’s mother mentioned, “Saya tau nama-nama yang anak saya sebut (I know the names my daughter mentioned).”
Fikry also asked about a statement by Zara’s mother, through her lawyer, which mentioned the act of “Kalau aku touch-touch kau ni, berdarah kau ni, (if I touch-touch you, you will bleed),” and whether he knew about it.
Azhari said he was not aware of the matter, but after the audio went viral on social media, his side carried out an investigation and according to him, the incident occurred around May this year.
“For your information, the story about Kak M happened around May…Why didn’t Zara’s mother report it to the school? That is my question.
“I feel affected by Zara’s loss, so I want to know everything.
“Why was there no complaint? If Zara did not make one, there should have been one from her mother, but there was none.
“I already asked in the official teachers’ group if there was any, but there was none, absolutely none,” said Azhari.
The Coroner’s Court also heard an audio recording of a phone call between Zara and her mother, which, among others, revealed an incident involving kak M.
Azhari also told the coroner that the investigation about Kak M was not related with students B, C, D and E.
Azhari, elaborating on the matter involving Kak M, said their investigation found that Zara and Student A had been called by Kak M’s younger sister, a Form Two student, over a scrap of paper which read: “Kakak Minap dia seorang yang sok orku, sengaja takutkan Form 1 padahal baru junior” and this was written by Zara and A.
“When Kak M passed the spot where Zara, Student A and her younger sister were gathered, she asked her sister what was going on. The sister told her that Zara and Student A had written something about her on the paper.
“Kak M, who was emotionally unstable at the time because her room was dirty and messy, then said, ‘Kalau aku touch-touch kau ni, berdarah kau ni (If I touch you, you’ll bleed).’ The scrap of paper, I have already handed over to the police.
“I do not know whether the audio recording that went viral is genuine, but the story did exist in the school,” Azhari told the court.
