The school’s assistant head of discipline, Nurul Syahadah Ibrahim, stated that the reports were not submitted to the authorities as they were deemed internal records.

The 54th witness testified that these inquiries were conducted on July 16 and 17 and again on Aug 4, 5, and 13, involving several students, including the five pupils identified as the last to have seen Zara.

Nurul was being questioned by deputy public prosecutor and conducting officer, Fairuz Johari, during the inquest into Zara’s death before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.

She admitted that the findings of all five internal investigations were never formally reported to the school principal, but were instead referred to the assistant principal of student affairs.

“At that time, the principal was occupied with liaising with various parties, including the district education office and state education department,” she said.

When questioned by Rizwandean M Borhan, counsel representing Zara’s mother, Nurul testified that the findings were not disclosed to the deceased’s mother to prevent speculation.

“We wished to avoid giving rise to any speculation. I had no ill intent in this matter; I am also a mother myself… I disagree with the suggestion that we deliberately concealed this information from Zara’s mother,” she said.

Zara, 13, died on July 17 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious near a drain at her school hostel in Papar at 4am.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers ordered her remains exhumed for a post-mortem on Aug 8, before announcing a formal inquest into her death on Aug 13.

The inquest proceedings will resume tomorrow.