Tearful Student A’s mum claims harassed by Zara’s mother on WhatsApp

KOTA KINABALU (Feb 2): The mother of Student A, who was the late Zara Qairina Mahathir’s dormmate, has testified in the Coroner’s Court here that she was harassed after asking her daughter to tell the truth.

The 42-year-old witness, who wept in the dock when testifying before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan, claimed that Zara’s mother Noraidah Lamat allegedly harassed her on WhatsApp on July 25, 2025.

The witness, who is 62nd deponent, claimed that among others, the alleged harassment included demanding they retract Student A’s statement to a DSP Roziah.

She further claimed in her witness statement that Zara’s mother allegedly made accusations against her via WhatsApp on the same day, such as the statement by Student A had been manipulated, police were conspiring with the principal, the handwriting in diaries was not Zara’s, the school was coming up with fake evidence, Student A was following instructions from the school, and swear words used about Noraidah were not written by Zara.

Student A is one of five child offenders charged in the Juvenile Court on Aug 20, 2025 with using insulting words against Zara, with the court case ongoing.

The other child offenders have been given the pseudonyms Student B, C, D, and E.

Zara, 13, who was also Student A’s classmate, was found unconscious under her dormitory building on July 16, 2025 and died the next day in hospital.

Noraidah was represented by counsels Shahlan Jufri, Rizwandean Bukhari M Borhan, Mohd Luqman Syazwan Zabidi Md Zain, Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh, Farrah Nasser, and Elhanan James.

Counsel Datuk Ram Singh, Joan Goh, and Prem Elmer Ganasan acted for Student A.