Zara inquest: 74th witness says can't contradict another expert's findings

 

The 74th witness in the inquest into the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir told the court she could not contradict another document examination expert’s findings. NSTP FILE PIC

KOTA KINABALU: The 74th witness in the inquest into the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir told the court she could not contradict another document examination expert's findings.

Handwriting expert and document examiner Dr Linthini Gannetion was examined by lawyer Azhier Farhan Arisin on findings made by Chemistry Department document examiner Nurul Atiqah Mohd Noh.

The government examiner, who has 21 years of service, testified in September last year as the second witness in the teen's inquest.

Azhier: Nurul Atiqah examined the same exhibits not for any interested party, but as the government examiner, correct?

Linthini: I'm not the person to answer this.

Azhier: The only positive expert conclusion on the authorship of those entries is the government examiner's, which concluded that the deceased (Zara Qairina) wrote them, and you cannot contradict it, correct?

Linthini: Not really, only if I am provided samples. I cannot contradict... I cannot form any conclusion against Nurul Atiqah.

Azhier represents four of the five children charged in a court case related to Zara Qairina.

Linthini, who has eight years of experience and was hired by Messrs JPKeruak to provide two reports for the inquest, testified on the 77th day of the proceedings before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan. (https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/06/1470431/pages-removed-zara-l…)

The 34-year-old had examined documents marked Y1 to Y15 to determine whether there were signs of unauthorised alteration or interference with their contents.

Her observations found the removal of pages, differences in ink types in certain parts, the presence of obliterated writings, and differences in the dating patterns on certain pages, leading to a conclusion that elements of tampering in Y1 to Y15 could not be conclusively ruled out.

On the third day of testifying today, she said that there were indications of tampering, but not enough evidence to prove it.

Azhier: So, it would not be a fair account of your evidence to say that the entries about the deceased's state of mind were "not written by Zara", correct?

Linthini: Indeterminate.

The inquest will resume tomorrow. - NST