I also considered positive aspects of Zara’s diary, says forensic psychiatrist

 Dr Chua Sze Hung tells coroner that much of the entries related to the teenager’s life at school.

Zara Qairina Mahathir, 13, died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on July 17, 2025, a day after being found unconscious near a drain at her school hostel in Papar. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA:

A consultant forensic psychiatrist told the Kota Kinabalu coroner’s court today he had taken into account the positive aspects of Zara Qairina Mahathir’s diary in his evaluation.

Dr Chua Sze Hung, who was recalled as a witness, said there were several entries about Zara’s casual interactions with her friends, and that much of the diary’s contents related to Zara’s life at school.

Responding to a question by coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan, he said his evaluation was intended to identify aspects of Zara’s psychological state that constituted risk factors in relation to her death.

Chua also said numerical scoring was unhelpful in psychological and psychiatric evaluations when asked whether he had conducted a percentage analysis of the positive and negative aspects of Zara’s diary.

“It is not helpful to assign a numerical score when it comes to psychology and psychiatry because we need to understand the nuances and have a descriptive picture of a person’s psychological characteristics and context.

“She had various vulnerabilities, as I had listed in my evaluation. The trauma described and the pain portrayed were significant, particularly when they reached the point where the deceased prayed for her own death and that of others,” he said.

Amir asked if the positive aspects of Zara’s diary were mentioned in Chua’s report.

Amir: You did not include any notes or comments on the positive aspects in your report, correct?

Chua: I did include one or two sections on this, explaining her adjustment to her new environment and its dynamics, but not comprehensively.

Questioned about the possibility of bias in statements given by witnesses, Chua said his evaluation relied on as many sources as possible to assess the validity of the information provided.

He said information obtained from only one source would be identified as such.

He also said he examined the structure of the narratives provided, including their logic, admissions by witnesses that they had forgotten certain matters, and unnecessary explanations.

“It is impossible to eliminate bias completely,” he said.

Zara, 13, died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu on July 17 last year, a day after she was found unconscious at 4am near a drain at her school hostel in Papar.

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

The inquest continues. - FMT