Forensic expert laments humiliation in court

SHAH ALAM: A forensic expert witness expressed his sorrow after being ‘humiliated’ in court when testifying in the inquest into the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.

Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) forensic pathologist Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi said his only intention was to assist the court in measuring the force of impact in relation to the injuries sustained by Muhammad Adib.

The 24th witness who was recalled to testify insisted several times that he is not a physicist and urged the court to refer to an expert in the field, for any confirmation regarding impact force determinations.

“I have always emphasised that I am not a physicist ... I might have misunderstood (about the request to calculate the impact force). When asked by the lawyer, I thought I have explained it to the coroner.

“This is not a trial and I should not have been humiliated in court over the calculation,” he said at the 36th day of the proceedings at the Coroner’s Court here yesterday.

Earlier, the witness had a heated argument with counsel Syazlin Mansor representing the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia as well as the Housing and Local Government Ministry when Syazlin claimed his explanation on the force of impact calculation was confusing.

Syazlin: The calculation on the force of gravity you presented in court is wrong, let an expert talk about this. You do not have to confuse the court further.

Dr Ahmad Hafizam: I am not making it confusing for the court. Yesterday I thought I was told to do the calculation, so I came up with a new calculation. I should not be humiliated over this calculation. Syazlin: Earlier you said the calculation by Prof Shahrom was wrong, but when you showed a new calculation on gravitational force I see that it is incorrect. So, I am saying that you are wrong and confusing the court, I am not trying to embarass you.

In reply to another question from Syazlin, Dr Ahmad Hafizam said the bruises found on Muhammad Adib’s abdomen were not due to impact pressure but was likely to have occured when the victim was treated at the National Heart Institute (IJN).

“In this case, the victim died after 21 days of receiving treatment and within the course of the treatment there were certain movements such as being moved to the left or right, when he was unconscious. Based on the post-mortem, the bruises were not due to the victim being pulled,” he said.