50 SECONDS
Several firemen, witnesses brief them on what happened on night of incident
THE second day of an inquest into the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim saw the coroner visiting the site where a mob attacked two Fire and Rescue Department vehicles on Nov 27, which left Adib seriously injured.
Coroner Rofiah Mohamad arrived at the location, adjacent to the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, which was cordoned off by police at 11.20am.
Rofiah was accompanied by deputy public prosecutors Hamdan Hamzah, Faten Hadni Khairuddin and Zhafran Rahim Hamzah. Present were lawyers representing Adib’s family, the Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Bar Council.
The group visited several areas where key incidents occurred on the night of the riot.
They visited Jalan Usaha, where the Fire Rescue Tender (FRT) vehicle and Emergency Medical Response Service (EMRS) van, which Adib was in, collided in an attempt to escape the mob.
Rofiah was briefed on what transpired by several firemen and witnesses.
The inquest’s second witness, FRT vehicle driver Md Elliza Mohd Noor, who is from the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department, was seen explaining to the coroner and other officials at the spot where a car was torched during the riot.
The group then moved on to the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department in USJ here to obtain a clearer picture on what happened to the EMRS van.
They spent an hour at the station gathering information and left at 12.50pm.
About 50 reporters and photographers were at the scene.
On the first day of the inquest on Monday, Elliza, 36, who was the second witness to testify, said his unit was attacked as soon as they arrived at the scene to fight the vehicle fire.
He said hard objects, including a steel pole, crash helmets and bricks, were thrown at them.
The third witness, Ahmad Shahril Othman, who was the driver of the EMRS van, told the court that Adib was with him when the FRT vehicle reversed to escape the crowd and collided with the van.
He said Adib, who was in the front passenger seat, was shocked by the collision and held fast to the dashboard.
Adib, 24, died of severe injuries after allegedly being assaulted by rioters outside the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple.
Despite showing signs of recovery while receiving treatment at the National Heart Institute, he died on Dec 17.