KOTA KINABALU: Four journals examined in connection with the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir were incomplete at the time they were examined, the Coroner's Court heard today.
Forensic Science lecturer and researcher Dr Wan Nur Syuhaila Mat Desa said the finding was made following a physical examination and reconstruction of the four journals, namely W1, W2, W3 and WK9.
The 76th witness said the examination also involved 15 loose torn pages marked Y1 to Y15, the majority of which could be grouped into two text blocks — Group 1 comprising Y1 to Y9 and Group 2 comprising Y12 to Y15.
The four journals were a green-cover 'NOTES' journal (W1), a pastel purple 'Simple Style Book' journal (W2), a dark brown 'DIAMOND' journal (W3) and an olive-green 'Love and Peace' journal (WK9).
Wan said the physical examination and reconstruction of the questioned journals and pages were carried out to assess whether they were complete and, where they were not, to establish the likely original page order.
"My conclusion on the physical examination and reconstruction reveal that journals W1, W2, W3 and WK9 were incomplete at the time I examined them.
The majority of the loose pages Y1 to Y15 can be grouped into Group 1 text block (Y1-Y9) and Group 2 (Y12-Y15)," she said when reading her witness statement before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan on the 84th day of inquest.
Apart from the physical examination and reconstruction of the journals and pages, the witness also used the Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA).
She said ESDA was used to detect and visualise indented impressions, which are faint marks left on a page by the pressure of writing on a page that previously sat above it.
She added that ESDA is a non-destructive forensic tool capable of revealing such impressions when they are not visible to the naked eye, without damaging or altering the document being examined.
On the ESDA findings, Wan said she recovered indented impressions from several pages of the purple 'Simple Style Book' journal (W2) and the 'Love and Peace' journal (WK9), but no matching pages in the respective journals corresponded with the impressions.
"This suggests that pages which used to contain this content are no longer in the journal," she said, adding that she did not perform ESDA on W1 and W3.
Indented impressions were also found on the inner front cover page of WK9, but Wan said she was unable to extract or read them using ESDA due to technical limitations.
Wan also recovered an indented impression from the back of loose page Y11, which appeared to contain multiple entries, including partial entries from Y12.
She was jointly instructed with forensic document examiner Tay Eue Kam and forensic science lecturer and researcher Dr Dzulkiflee Ismail by the legal team representing Zara Qairina's mother to examine journals, exercise books and loose sheets of paper connected with the teenager and report on their findings for the purposes of the inquest.
The witness said the on-site examination of the original documents was carried out at the Kota Kinabalu High Court over two sessions, from Sept 24 to 26 and on Oct 10 and 13 to 15, 2025.
Zara Qairina, 13, was found unconscious on the ground floor of her school hostel on July 16, 2025, and was pronounced dead the following day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Her death prompted widespread public calls for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The inquest into Zara Qairina's death began on Sept 3, 2025. - NST
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