However, disciplinary unit secretary Muliati Alihuddin, 42, told the inquest into Zara’s death this typically involved male students, Bernama reported.

The 56th witness in the inquest told the Kota Kinabalu coroner’s court the ragging often involved senior students forcing their juniors to perform menial tasks for them, like fetching water or ironing their clothes.

Muliati said Zara’s case was the most serious that the school had encountered, when questioned by coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.

Amir: Are there any cases of ragging between senior and junior students?

Muliati: Yes, ragging cases usually involve male students. We have never received reports of ragging among female students. It usually involves light tasks such as fetching water or ironing clothes.

Muliati also stated her personal belief that caning should be more widely implemented in schools, adding that only the senior assistant for student affairs was allowed to cane students currently.

“I think it is appropriate. There should be a devolution of power … the softer approach is not effective. It wasn’t like this in the past,” she said.

Zara died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory in Papar.

The inquest continues.