I saw a fireman (Adib) wearing a T-shirt and orange camouflage pants sitting on the roadside and he was in pain... one of them (a person in the crowd) said Adib had been beaten up.”
AMIRRUL ADLI M. YUSSLI, witness at inquest
FIREFIGHTER Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim was seen sitting near the roadside holding his abdomen, the Coroner’s Court was told yesterday.
Amirrul Adli M. Yussli, 26, a steward, the fourth witness in the inquest into the death of Adib, said he saw the latter sitting on the ground with several men trying to help him.
“When I was standing near the junction and watching the blazing vehicle, I saw a fire truck arriving to put out the fire.
“However, it was attacked by a rowdy crowd, forcing the driver to reverse the truck and therefore hit several vehicles parked by the roadside, including mine.
“As I arrived at the scene, while inspecting my damaged car, I saw a fireman wearing a T-shirt and orange camouflage pants sitting on the roadside and he was in pain.
“I saw several men trying to help him by carrying him in the front of my car. I approached the crowd and asked what had happened, and one of them said Adib had been beaten up.”
He said one of the men asked him to take Adib, who was unconscious, to a hospital, but he could not do so as his car door was jammed due to the earlier incident.
“The group carried Adib to the Jalan USJ16/2L junction. I do not know what happened afterwards,” he said, adding that he did not notice any bruise on Adib.
Amirrul Adli said he did not know that the fireman in question was Adib and could not identify any person in the group (which helped Adib) as the lighting was poor.
He said he knew the person was Adib only when he watched the news.
The inquest is being held before coroner Rofiah Mohamad.
It was claimed that Adib, 24, died from severe injuries after he was allegedly assaulted by rioters at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya on Nov 27.
He had been part of an emergency response team dispatched to the scene to put out a vehicle fire.
Despite showing signs of recovery at the National Heart Institute, Adib died on Dec 17.
Firefighter Badrul Hisham Salim @ Ali, 39, the fifth witness, the supervisor of the team, said he could not contact the Emergency Medical Response Service (EMRS) vehicle via walkie talkie to give his order due to a blind spot.
“I was in the Fire Rescue Tender (FRT) vehicle with six men while Adib was in EMRS vehicle with its driver Ahmad Shahril Othman, which was parked behind the FRT vehicle.
“As soon as I saw the mob marching towards us, I ordered my men to stay in the FRT vehicle.
“However, I could not deliver the message to the EMRS vehicle behind us as there was no connection in our walkie talkie channel.
“Earlier, two of my men, Azim and Anuar, had got out the vehicle, but the latter (Anuar) got back inside (the FRT vehicle) as soon as I gave the order. I do not know what happened to Azim.”
Badrul Hisham, when asked by deputy public prosecutor Hamdan Hamzah, to explain his statement in a police report where he claimed Adib was grabbed and beaten by the mob, said it was based on what happened to Ahmad Shahril.
“I believed Adib was facing the same problem as Ahmad Shahril where the mob tried to open his door and knocked the side mirror. I told the police officer that I did not see it (Adib being grabbed and beaten), but he said I could amend the statement later.”
He said he did not amend the statement as police had recorded it during their investigation.
The inquest continues tomorrow.