‘I need to know the truth’: Zara Qairina’s grave to be exhumed as grieving mother seeks first autopsy in daughter’s death
By Malay Mail
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — The grave of a 13-year-old Sabah schoolgirl is set to be exhumed for a post-mortem, two weeks after she died following a fall from a third-floor school hostel — a move initiated by her mother, who says she was never advised to request an autopsy at the time of burial.
Zara Qairina Mahathir, a Form One student at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, Sabah, died on July 17 after being found critically injured beneath her boarding school dormitory in the early hours of the previous day. She was buried that night without a post-mortem.
Now, her mother, Noraidah Lamat, 45, says she has instructed two lawyers to initiate legal steps to exhume her daughter’s grave so that an autopsy can be conducted — the first since her death.
“I want the questions that have been circling in my mind for the past 14 days about the real cause of Zara Qairina’s death to be answered,” she told Berita Harian.
“So I have taken steps to have her grave reopened in order to carry out a post-mortem.”
Noraidah said she was in deep shock when her daughter died and agreed to proceed with the burial, unaware that an autopsy could or should have been requested.
“No one advised me to ask for one,” she said, adding that her grief clouded her ability to think clearly at the time.
The decision comes amid allegations of bullying at the school.
Noraidah said her daughter had previously reported being sexually harassed by a fellow student — a claim she said was addressed by school counsellors — and denied knowing whether bullying played a role in Zara’s death.
“There are many stories being spread about what happened to my daughter. They are painful to hear and not from me,” she told Berita Harian.
“I want everyone to stop speculating.”
Sabah Police Commissioner Jauteh Dikun said the case is still under investigation and nearing completion, with about 60 witnesses, including students, staff and parents, having had their statements recorded.
Zara was discovered around 3am on July 16 in critical condition beneath the hostel block. She was taken to Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, where she died the next day. Initial reports suggested she had fallen from the third floor.
Noraidah said she and her husband rushed to the hospital after being informed of the fall by a school warden.
“At the emergency ward lobby, I was shocked to see so many officials — police, school administrators,” she recalled.
She described Zara’s face as uninjured when she saw her.
“The doctor and counsellor told me even if she survived, she would never be the same. Her brain was already damaged. I couldn’t fully grasp what they were saying,” she was quoted as saying.
Police have not ruled out foul play and say the case has been referred to federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman for further analysis.
Whatever the outcome of the post-mortem and investigation, Noraidah said, she is prepared to accept it — as long as it brings clarity.
“The pain will never go away,” she said.
“But I need to know the truth.”
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