Zara’s mum chokes up as voice recording plays during inquest

 Court also hears recordings of Noraidah Lamat's communications with her daughter's teachers and medical staff, which she says were automatically recorded by her phone.

A total of 42 audio recordings were submitted as evidence to the Kota Kinabalu coroner’s court, including 35 conversations between Zara Qairina Mahathir and her mother.

KOTA KINABALU:

Emotions ran high in the coroner’s court here today as the cheerful voice of the late Zara Qairina Mahathir, speaking affectionately to her mother, echoed through the courtroom during the inquest into the Form 1 student’s death.

The victim’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, 46, the 81st witness in the inquest, appeared visibly emotional and choked up while listening to a recording of her conversation with her only child before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.

A total of 42 audio recordings were submitted as evidence, 35 of which captured conversations between Zara and her mother.

Throughout the recordings, Zara could be heard speaking cheerfully and affectionately as she shared various aspects of her daily life with her mother.

The conversations included her school activities, test results, life in the hostel, friends and her questions about her mother’s whereabouts.

In one of the recordings, Zara could also be heard saying: “Ma, I love you … Bye Raa …”

Noraidah told the court that the recordings reflected the way they communicated daily, whether at home or over the telephone.

“I spoke to Zara as a mother, and I was also her friend,” she said, adding that they often shared various aspects of their lives.

The court also heard recordings of Noraidah’s communications with several other parties, including her colleagues, the victim’s teachers and medical staff at the emergency ward.

Noraidah said all the telephone conversations had been automatically recorded by her mobile phone.

She said that after losing her daughter, she listened to the recordings again to identify the names of those mentioned by Zara during their conversations.

“I listened to these recordings again to identify the names Zara mentioned, and I had kept all the recordings on my laptop from the beginning,” she said.

Zara died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital here on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious near a drain at her school’s hostel in the early hours.

The inquest continues tomorrow. - FMT