Ram Singh, the counsel for one of the teenagers charged with bullying Zara, said the witness confirmed that the meeting took place on July 15 at about 10.20pm, the night before the Form One student was found unconscious at the hostel grounds.

He said the witness claimed to have overheard a conversation between Zara and a senior student concerning the allegations, but it was not clear because of their distance.

“The witness also said she saw four more senior students enter the room. After that, she heard someone speaking in a loud tone, as if scolding Zara, but the witness was unsure who was speaking at that time.

“Around 11pm, Zara left the room crying. This was the last time the witness saw her that evening,” Bernama reported Ram as saying.

He said the witness also confirmed that she did not hear any altercation between 11pm and 3am.

Last Friday, the court heard that a senior student had shouted at Zara just hours before she was found unconscious in a drain at her school’s hostel.

According to lawyer Shahlan Jufri, who represents Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, the fourth child witness testified that the senior said, “Aku injak la kepala ko ni Zara” (“I’ll step on your head, Zara”).

The witness said the outburst was loud enough to be heard throughout the dormitory, and occurred at about 10pm.

Zara, 14, was found unconscious at about 4am on July 16. She was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she died the following day, and was buried the same day in Sipitang.

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

The inquest continues.