Zara would have been in permanent coma had she survived, says dad

 Mahathir Hashim testifies that a physician told him this when he visited his daughter at the emergency unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital last year.

Zara Qairina Mahathir, 13, died on July 17 last year at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, after being found unconscious near a drain at her school’s hostel in Sabah. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Mahathir Hashim, the father of Zara Qairina, told the Kota Kinabalu coroner’s court today she would have remained in a permanent coma had she survived.

Mahathir, 45, testified that a female physician told him this when he visited his daughter, who was being treated at the emergency unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu on July 16 last year.

He said he was also informed that Zara’s condition at the time was critical, with serious injuries including cerebral haemorrhage and a fractured leg, as well as damage to her lungs and kidneys.

“While I was at Zara’s bedside with the doctors, I noticed that the pillow under her head was soaked with blood.

“I held her head and kissed her forehead. When I touched the back of her head, I could feel that the upper portion of her neck was soft and appeared to have a depression.

“I saw that Zara’s left leg was wrapped in a bandage from her thigh down to her foot,” he said while reading his witness statement before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.

Mahathir testified that he arrived at the hospital’s emergency unit between 1pm and 3pm on July 16, after being informed that Zara had been hospitalised.

Upon arrival, he saw the girl’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, outside the emergency unit and immediately asked where his daughter was.

He said he then proceeded to his daughter’s bedside after obtaining permission from a nurse at the unit. He observed two female doctors dressed in dark blue uniforms attending to her.

However, he could not recall the doctors’ names, nor did he know their positions or ranks.

Mahathir also said his consent was never sought for a post-mortem examination to be conducted on Zara.

He said he was present at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, when a doctor pronounced Zara dead.

He remained at the hospital from July 16 to 17 and slept in the premises while waiting for updates on Zara’s condition.

He said he had met several female teachers outside the emergency unit and asked them what had happened to Zara and whether they were hostel wardens.

“However, they only introduced themselves as her History teacher and Bahasa Melayu teacher,” he said.

Asked by Amir Shah whether he wished to say anything further, Mahathir said he no longer wanted Zara’s name to be associated with any falsehoods, and expressed his hope that the inquest could be concluded fairly.

Zara, 13, died on July 17 last year at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious at 4am near a drain at her school’s hostel in Papar.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers ordered her remains exhumed for a post-mortem on Aug 8, before announcing a formal inquest into her death on Aug 13.

The proceedings will resume on Wednesday. - FMT