Forensic pathology expert rules out Zara being push or any accidental fall

KOTA KINABALU - A senior forensic pathology expert told the Coroner’s Court today that Zara Qairina Mahathir most likely came down on her own will, ruling out the possibility of an accidental fall or being pushed based on forensic findings.

Datuk Seri Dr Bhupinder Singh Jeswant Singh said there was no medical or forensic evidence to suggest any form of struggle or external force involved in the incident.

"I would rule out any accidental fall or the fall of somebody being pushed…and it would be most likely, as I said, the person would have come down on her own will,” he told the inquest’s conducting officer, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Fairuz Johari, before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.

The 74-year-old expert, who is an Associate Professor at the Department of Forensic and Legal Medicine at RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus (RUMC) Penang, said his conclusions were based on injury patterns, scene reconstruction videos and medical evidence.

When Mohd Fairuz asked to provide the expert final opinion on the manner of the fall, taking into account the injuries, scene findings and medical evidence, Dr Bhupinder said there was no indication of any struggle or evidence that anyone had held or thrown the victim across, adding that the most likely scenario was that the deceased had crossed over the railings.

Dr Bhupinder, who is the 68th witness called by the legal team led by Datuk Ram Singh, explained that fractures to the calcaneus bone, a strong bone in the heel, are typically associated with high-impact vertical falls, supporting the conclusion that the victim came down feet-first.

He added that the force of impact was transmitted upwards through the body, causing multiple fractures before the victim fell backwards.

"Based on the experience I have on falls from height and from the findings in this particular case, my findings are forensically in the sense that she fell onto her feet and hands and then fell backwards and hit her head against the edge of the drain. I have no doubt in my mind that if there were no head injury, we wouldn't be sitting here today,” he said.

Dr Bhupinder, who served at Penang Hospital from 1992 to 2018 as Consultant Forensic Pathologist, said he had handled numerous fall-from-height cases over nearly three decades.

He also agreed with the opinion of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) forensic pathology Dr Jessie Hiu, who previously testified that the nature of the injuries was consistent with a fall from height.

Meanwhile, when questioned by the legal team representing Zara’s mother, led by Datuk Rizwandean M. Borhan, the expert acknowledged the existence of a specialised field known as fall biomechanics, which studies the forces, movements and bodily responses involved in a fall using principles of physics and engineering.

He agreed that while such a field exists, he is not an expert in fall biomechanics, adding that his conclusions were based on forensic pathology findings, including injury patterns and medical evidence.

Further questioned by Zara’s father’s lawyer, Nurul Rafiqah Afdul Mutolip, on the role of clothing in the investigation, Dr Bhupinder said clothing is generally an integral part of forensic analysis as it can provide indicators of impact, tears or possible signs of struggle.

He explained that clothing can help correlate injuries with the surface of impact, including abrasions or bruises, as well as determine whether any external force or altercation had occurred prior to the incident.

However, he said the absence of clothing in this case did not affect his overall findings, as the injuries were supported by medical imaging, post-mortem examination and other available evidence, although he acknowledged that clothing would have been helpful as supplementary information.

Zara Qairina, 13, died on July 17 at 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 4 am.

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 resumes tomorrow. - BERNAMA