Document expert insists journal entries written by Zara

 Nurul Atiqah Noh maintains her opinion despite differing views from two other forensic document and handwriting experts.

Zara Qairina Mahathir died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory in Papar. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA:

A document examiner from the chemistry department today maintained her conclusion that handwritten entries on several pages of journals labelled “W2” and “W3”, believed to have belonged to Zara Qairina Mahathir, were written by the teenager.

Nurul Atiqah Noh, who was recalled to testify in the inquest into the 13-year-old’s death, said her conclusion remained unchanged after her first and second examinations of the materials submitted as exhibits.

She maintained her opinion despite differing views from two other forensic document and handwriting experts, Linthini Gannetion and Tay Eue Kam, who had previously testified on the handwriting evidence.

“I maintain my opinion that all the disputed handwriting was written by the specimen writer (Zara),” she was quoted by Bernama as saying in response to a question from coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.

Atiqah, who first testified in September 2025, said document examinations were conducted using comparison methods based on established international standards, although examiners might use different instruments.

She said that after comparing the disputed handwriting with Zara’s handwriting specimens, she concluded that the entries on the pages in question were written by the teenager.

In June, handwriting and document examination expert Linthini told the Kota Kinabalu coroner’s court that portions of several documents, including a journal, were not written by Zara.

She said there were indications that other people had written parts of the documents believed to be linked to the teenager.

Last month, forensic document examiner Tay also told the court that several journals contained handwritten entries by multiple individuals.

Zara, 13, died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory at about 4am.

The inquest proceedings will continue on Oct 5. - FMT