‘ADIB INDICATED HE WAS BEATEN UP’
Fireman nodded when asked about this by IJN assistant surgical officer
FIREFIGHTER Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim had told a National Heart Institute (IJN) medical worker that he was beaten up in the temple riot in Seafield, Subang Jaya, which occurred in November last year.
IJN assistant surgical officer Muhammad Ashraff Baruji, 27, told the coroner’s court that he became close to Adib during the course of the fireman’s stay in IJN.
He said it was during this time that Adib told him how he sustained his injuries.
Ashraff, the 16th witness in the inquest to determine the cause of Adib’s death, was part of the medical team that handled the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine that supported his lungs.
His role included changing the dressing at the tube’s insertion point, assisting nurses to position Adib, cleaning his wounds and assisting with Adib’s physiotherapy and exercise regimes.
He said he offered Adib encouragement and volunteered to help with the physiotherapy beyond his working hours.
“Several times, Adib asked ICU (intensive care unit) nurses to call me to his bedside to tell me something.
“Usually, it was to ask me to call his parents, who were waiting outside the ICU.”
Fielding questions from deputy public prosecutor Hamdan Hamzah, Ashraff said he communicated with Adib via signs and a whiteboard.
Hamdan asked Ashraff to tell the court how Adib disclosed the source of his injuries as Adib had
Hamdan: One night, you asked Adib about his injuries, is that right?
Ashraff: Yes.
Hamdan: Can you tell the court about it?
Ashraff: That night, after physiotherapy and after I cleaned him up to prepare him for bed, I asked him if he was ready to tell me what happened. At first, he shook his head. Then I said, “Adib, when you are ready to tell me, you can tell me”.
When I turned to leave (his bedside), he tugged on my left sleeve. He nodded his head and motioned that he wanted to write something.
I gave him the whiteboard. I asked if he was pulled (by someone). He did this (Ashraff made a gesture of putting his left hand on his left shoulder and pulling it away).
Hamdan: What else did you ask Adib? Ashraff: I asked if he fell, but he shook his head. I asked Adib if he was beaten, and he nodded. Then I asked him, “Are you aware of where you are now?” Adib gestured with his finger by pointing downward (to the floor).
He began to move his legs and hands, so I told him, “It’s okay, we can continue tomorrow. Adib, you rest now”. Then I left.
Ashraff said he related his communication with Adib to IJN senior cardiothoracic surgeon Datuk Dr Mohamed Ezani Md Taib either on Christmas or Christmas Eve, about a week after he died.
Ashraff said he took a long time to inform his superior as he initially regarded the exchange with Adib as being bound by patienthealthcare provider confidentiality.
Ashraff, who was overcome with emotion several times, said he visited Adib’s grave.
He met Adib’s parents at the latter’s family home in Kedah after the burial.
On Adib’s condition, he said there were moments when the firefighter displayed cheerfulness, such as while watching a football match on television.
“I wasn’t sure which teams were playing. But one team was Malaysia, and when it scored, Adib raised his left hand.
“I joked with him that it looked like he could do more physiotherapy after this.”
Adib, he said, often wrote the names of his parents, brother and fiancee, as well as a friend, whom he wanted to meet on the whiteboard.
“What I regret most is that he once wrote that he wanted fruit juice.
“At that time, I told him, ‘I will be the first person who will buy you that once you recover’.”