SMK Methodist Nibong Tebal disciplinary teacher Abu Salman Abdul Aziz said the footage was taken from three cameras in the corridor outside the room.

There were no cameras in the teachers’ room, he told presiding coroner Norsalha Hamzah at the High Court.

M Vasanthapiriya, 13, attempted to take her life on Jan 24 after being accused of stealing her teacher’s mobile phone.

She died after being in a coma for almost a week.

Abu Salman said Vasanthapiriya had repeatedly denied entering the teachers’ room but finally admitted to doing so and taking the phone after she was shown a snippet of the video clip.

He said the video showed Vasanthapiriya entering the room at 12.58pm and leaving about 30 seconds later.

“A colleague showed a clip of her walking into the teachers’ room. It was only then that she admitted to having taken the phone,” he said.

Abu Salman said he and his colleague conducted a re-enactment by making her walk past the corridor to ensure the girl in the video was indeed her.

“It was easy to tell it was her. She had long hair down to her waist and it moved from side to side as she walked. And when we made a re-enactment, we were sure it was her,” he said.

Later, Vasanthapiriya’s friend S Yogamalar testified that she was upset when Vasanthapiriya accused her of stealing the phone.

Yogamalar said she and her father wanted to confront her but never had the chance as Vasanthapiriya had already been sent to the hospital by the time they arrived at her house.

V Parthipan, a lawyer holding a watching brief for the teacher who lost the phone, asked Yogamalar why she had skipped school on the day of the incident.

Yogamalar and Vasanthapiriya were in the afternoon session which began at 1.10pm.

Yogamalar said she had skipped school because her one-year-old brother was warded at the Seberang Jaya Hospital that day. She also said she was in school during the morning for extracurricular activities.

Parthipan then asked why she had not gotten an authorisation letter to leave school early.

Yogamalar said she wanted to inform the school but her sister, who came to pick her up, had hurried her and she didn’t have a chance to do so.

Norsalha adjourned the case until July 13, when she will visit the school together with the inquest officers. She also set July 20 to hear the testimony of medical expert witnesses.

Inquest officers J S Kameni and Yusaini Amer Abdul questioned the witnesses today, while Parthipan and Sukhindarpal Singh held a watching brief.

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