Student A transferred to another school after Zara Qairina's incident, court told

KOTA KINABALU - The Coroner's Court here was today told that one of the five students accused in the bullying case of the late Zara Qairina Mahathir had transferred to another school just weeks after the victim was found lying in a drain on July 16.

Head Warden of the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha, Papar, Azhari Abd Sagap, 31, testified that the student, referred to as Student A, no longer attends school there, while the other four students remain enrolled there.

"Student A transferred to another school a few weeks after the July 16 incident. However, the other four students are still at this school,” he said while giving evidence as the eighth witness on the ninth day of the inquest proceedings before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.

When questioned by lawyer Shahlan Jufri, representing Zara Qairina's mother, Azhari said he did not know the reason for the transfer or how approval was given since it was not his area of ​​responsibility.

Shahlan earlier highlighted that, following Zara Qairina’s death, the Ministry of Education (MOE) had imposed a freeze on student transfers, and questioned how Student A was nevertheless able to move to another school.

Shahlan: According to my understanding, to transfer schools, we must include a reason for wanting to do so.

Azhari: Yes.

Shahlan: Do you know the reason for this student A’s transfer to another school?

Azhari: I don't know.

The witness also said that he was not sure about the transfer process and did not know the period for the application to be approved.

The inquest proceedings continue.

Zara Qairina, 13, died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory in Papar at about 4 am.

On Aug 13, the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) ordered an inquest to be held after reviewing the police investigation report.

Before that, on Aug 8, the AGC issued an order to exhume Zara Qairina’s remains to allow for a post-mortem. - BERNAMA