FIREMAN FEARED FOR HIS SAFETY

Seventh witness recounts incident where an armed mob approached FRT, EMRS vehicles

ACROWD which gathered near the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Subang Jaya on Nov 27 shouted “pukul bomba” (beat the firemen) as soon as the firefighters arrived at the scene, the coroner’s court was told yesterday.

Mohd Shahrul Anuar Kamaruddin, 27, who was the seventh witness in the inquest into the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, said a large group of people marched towards the Fire Rescue Tender (FRT) vehicle he was in.

Shahrul said when he had stepped out of the FRT vehicle in an operation to put out a blazing car near the temple site, he saw the crowd had on them various objects, including a steel rod and a weapon resembling a samurai sword.

“As soon as I was outside the (FRT) vehicle, I saw three men charging towards us.

“I was shocked and could hear the crowd around them shouting repeatedly: Jangan padam, pukul bomba (Do not put out the fire! ‘Beat the firemen!). I returned into the FRT vehicle as I feared for my safety.

“Inside the FRT vehicle, I started hearing knocking and when I look out through the windshield, I saw the Emergency Medical Response Service (EMRS) vehicle was head-tohead with the FRT vehicle.

“I saw the mob had swarmed the EMRS vehicle,” he said when answering a question by deputy public prosecutor Zafran Rahim Hamzah.

He said the FRT’s driver, Md Elliza Mohd Noor, yelled “This is too much!” before reversing the vehicle.

Shahrul then saw his supervisor, Badrul Hisham Salim @ Ali, reporting to the operations centre that they were under attack by the mob.

“He (Badrul) said we needed to go to a police station to lodge a report (over the incident). It was then that I realised that Adib was missing.

“One of our colleagues called Adib’s mobile phone and a member of the public picked up the call telling us that they were taking Adib to Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC).

“This person said Adib’s condition was ‘50-50’,” said Shahrul, who has been a fireman attached to the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue station for the past three years.

The inquest is being held before coroner Rofiah Mohamad.

It was claimed that Adib, 24, died due to severe injuries he sustained when he was allegedly assaulted by rioters at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Subang Jaya on Nov 27. He was part of an emergency response team dispatched to the scene to douse a torched vehicle.

Despite showing signs of recovery while being treated at the National Heart Institute, Adib died on Dec 17.

The inquest continues today.