Inquest Zara Qairina: Four Journals Found Incomplete
KOTA KINABALU: The Coroner’s Court was told today that all four journals examined in connection with the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir were found to be incomplete, with one of them missing 64 pages.
The 77th witness, a lecturer and forensic science researcher at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Dr Wan Nur Syuhaila Mat Desa, said the journals consisted of a green journal marked as W1, a purple Simple Style Book (W2), a dark brown journal (W3) and an olive green Love And Peace journal (WK9).
Wan Nur Syuhaila, who holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Pure and Applied Chemistry from the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom, said physical examination found that W1 contained 97 pages compared to 98 pages in a new journal of the same type used as a reference, indicating that one page was missing or had been torn out.
She said W2 only contained 53 pages compared to 96 pages in the new reference journal, meaning 43 pages were missing, while W3 had 77 pages compared to 98 pages in the reference journal, making 21 pages missing.
According to her, WK9 was received in a worn and torn condition and only contained 54 pages compared to 118 pages in a new journal of the same type used as a reference, showing that 64 pages were missing.
“My conclusion based on physical examination and reconstruction is that journals W1, W2, W3 and WK9 were in an incomplete state when I conducted the examination,” she said before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan at the inquest proceedings into Zara Qairina’s death here today.
Wan Nur Syuhaila said further examination of journal WK9 also found evidence of modification and alteration, when the original front blank page was found to have been torn out with part of the original page still remaining at the top left corner.
She said the back blank page was then torn out and pasted onto the front cover of the journal, leaving traces of the original material as well as the newly pasted portion, which she said formed the basis for the conclusion that journal WK9 had undergone modification and alteration.
Wan Nur Syuhaila also told the court that she examined the journals and separate sheets of paper using the Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA) method, which is a forensic device used to detect indented writing impressions that are not visible to the naked eye.
She said indented writing impressions were successfully detected on pages 51, 53, 67 and 100 of journal W2, but no corresponding pages were found in that journal that matched the impressions.
For WK9, Wan Nur Syuhaila said indented writing impressions were found on pages 1, 4, 7, 17, 37, 50, 51 and 53, but no corresponding pages in that journal matched the impressions.
She also found indented writing impressions on the inside of the front cover of WK9, but was unable to extract or read them using the ESDA method due to technical constraints.
Wan Nur Syuhaila also explained that she did not make a comparison between the handwriting found and that of any individual to determine the writer.
Instead, she said the handwriting analysis was conducted by forensic document examiner Tay Eue Kam using materials obtained from her examination.
Zara Qairina died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory at approximately 4 am.
The inquest proceedings continue at 2.30 pm today with the same witness.
BERNAMA