Thirteen-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir was found unconscious on July 16, 2025, in her dormitory at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha and pronounced dead the next day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Sabah [1, 2, 3, 4]. Zara had just entered Form One at the boarding school.
Zara was described by family members as cheerful, friendly, and well-loved, especially by her mother Noraidah Lamat. Her uncle said she often called her mother at night and seemed happy living with her [1, 5, 4]. However, Zara had reported to her aunt Nur Shira Abdullah issues of bullying, theft of money, and dormitory disturbances at school [2, 5]. She mentioned feeling uncomfortable around a tomboy student in the dorm but did not display fear or serious distress [2, 5].
Despite her outward demeanor, forensic psychiatrist Dr Chua Sze Hung testified that Zara’s diaries revealed deep psychological pain. He said, "The diary is the most genuine self-representation, free of social and interpersonal pressure... It has to be highlighted that in the diaries, it was not mere frustration or anger. It was pain to the point where she expressed the wish not to live and the wish for her mother not to live" [6, 7].
Zara’s academic performance was poor. Teachers noted she often slept during class and struggled to stay awake [8, 9]. She was also disappointed after failing to become a badar (prefect), a setback that affected her mental health alongside chronic insufficient sleep [8, 10, 9].
Crucially, psychiatric evidence identified an interrogation Zara faced on the night of July 15, 2025, by senior students in the dormitory as a key factor precipitating her suicide. Dr Chua said, "The deceased had multiple predisposing suicide risk factors. It was inadequate for a suicide to occur without direct factors such as the interrogation in (dormitory room) A-3-6" [10].
Zara also showed self-inflicted ‘barcode’ injuries, signs of emotional distress [11]. Family members struggled to accept her death as suicide, citing a lack of obvious distress signs [11]. After the death, Zara’s aunt expressed frustration about the school’s failure to apologize or explain and criticized harsh social media comments targeting the family [3].
There was a disagreement during the inquest over who refused the post-mortem. Zara’s mother said she opposed it to avoid hurting Zara, while some teachers claimed the aunt and grandfather refused it. The aunt denied these claims, citing language barriers [12].
The inquest hearings took place in May 2026 at the Coroner’s Court, drawing testimony from family, school staff, and medical experts [1, 2, 3, 12, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 10, 9, 4]. The court continues to review evidence and testimony related to Zara’s death.
