The 15th witness in the inquest at the Kota Kinabalu coroner’s court testified that the incident took place on the night of July 15, when the senior students entered the room where Zara was.
According to lawyer Joan Goh, who represented one of the child witnesses, the witness saw a senior student speaking to Zara before another four seniors arrived.
“The witness said that at around 10.20pm that day, Zara came to the room and asked for permission to enter. The witness saw a senior talking to her and overheard parts of the conversation.
“Then, four seniors came into the room. One of them scolded Zara loudly and shouted at her, while another only gave her a warning,” Goh said after today’s proceedings, Berita Harian reported.
Goh said during the incident, the child witness also heard a senior hurl the insult “sial”.
The witness further explained that when Zara entered the room, her roommate had checked her cupboard and found a flag belonging to a senior, which was said to be the reason for the seniors’ anger that night.
Apart from that, the witness said they had never seen Zara being harassed by other students and did not know if she had ever broken hostel rules.
In the testimony, the witness admitted knowing Zara but not closely, as they were in different classes.
“The witness described Zara as cheerful, but could not say whether she had ever been bullied, abused, or beaten at school or in the dormitory,” Goh added.
Yesterday, the sixth child witness told the court that she did not see anyone touching or hurting Zara during a dormitory meeting convened over allegations of theft.
Ram Singh, the counsel for one of the teenagers charged with bullying Zara, said the witness claimed to have overheard a conversation between Zara and a senior student concerning the allegations, but she could not hear clearly as they were quite far from her.
The witness said Zara left the room crying at about 11pm, and that was the last time the teen was seen. The witness also confirmed that she did not hear any altercation between 11pm and 3am that night.