Mother challenges police classification of daughter's fatal hostel fall

In a Coroner's Court session in Kota Kinabalu, Noraidah Lamat, mother of Zara Qairina Mahathir, asserted she does not accept the police's decision to file the case as a Sudden Death Report. Represented by Datuk Ram Singh, she told the court that Zara was a lively, strong child who would not have deliberately jumped from the third-floor hostel. Noraidah highlighted that she received information about the absence of eyewitnesses from Ustaz Azhari, not from the police, and she lacks clear details about any possible push or provocation.

Zara was found unconscious on the ground floor of her school hostel on 16 July 2025, died the next day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and was later exhumed for a forensic examination. Five students, identified only by pseudonyms, have been charged with insulting Zara, all denying the allegations. The inquest remains ongoing as the family seeks a different legal determination.