Dr Chua Sze Hung, 43, a consultant forensic psychiatrist at Mesra Psychiatric Hospital in Bukit Padang, Kota Kinabalu, said the conflict was instead a predisposing or indirect factor in his psychiatric evaluation of the teenager’s death.
“The direct factor here, in my opinion, is the stressful interrogation and isolation that morning or night,” Bernama reported him as saying.
The 67th witness said this in response to questions from the conducting officer, deputy public prosecutor Dacia Jane Romanus, before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Chua said verbal interactions are not an accurate indicator, as adolescents tend to mask their distress to conform, frequently presenting a false self-image.
“In contrast, the diary is a true and genuine self-representation, free from social, psychological and interpersonal pressures and judgement. It is the raw, private, unfiltered self,” he said.
During cross-examination by Rizwandean M Borhan, counsel for Zara’s mother Noraidah Lamat, Chua agreed that today was his first time hearing 35 audio conversations recorded between Zara and Noraidah from March 6 to July 10 last year.
When Rizwandean asked if the audio clips were valuable primary data to assess their relationship, the expert maintained that verbal interactions are less material compared to the victim’s diary.
He said the verbal communications could have been influenced by the projection of a false self and various psychological defence mechanisms, although he acknowledged there could be moments of genuine affection and that child-parent conflicts are normally episodic.
Rizwandean also questioned whether Chua and his team had declined to view videos, photographs and audio offered by the mother and her lawyer during an interview session.
Chua clarified that they did not decline the materials, but decided that the available information was already sufficient, particularly considering the presence of the diaries, which were more representative.
Zara died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory at around 4am.
On Aug 8, 2025, the Attorney-General’s Chambers issued an order to exhume the girl’s body for a post-mortem, followed by an order for an inquest on Aug 13 after a review of the police investigation report.
The inquest continues tomorrow.