‘I SAW A SHOEPRINT ON HIS ABDOMEN’
Area near Adib’s right rib was swollen, reddish, says witness
ASHOEPRINT was found on firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s right side of the abdomen, the coroner’s court was told yesterday.
R. Narresh, 30, a Civil Defence Force volunteer and technician, the ninth witness in the inquest into Adib’s death, said he saw bruises and a reddish spot near Adib’s right rib when he was taken to Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) on Nov 27.
“I was about to clean the area with his (Adib’s) shirt as I thought he was bleeding.
“When I took another look, I saw a shoeprint. I wiped it off.
“It was a straight line and I thought it was a mark from the Mitsubishi Storm (cargo) basket’s floor.
“But I do not think it was from the car as the mark was different,” he said when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Hamdan Hamzah.
He said Adib was unconscious and was choking when he was en route to SJMC and his pulse was not stable.
“He had fair skin, so I could see that the area near his right rib was swollen and reddish.
“There were scratches on his face, and his nose and ears were bleeding.”
Earlier, Narresh said he saw Adib sitting by the roadside and clutching his stomach, and was surrounded by a crowd.
“I saw my friend among the crowd and he told me that the fireman had been beaten by the mob.
“I rushed into the circle and saw Adib, wearing an orange camouflage uniform, sitting and leaning on a car’s bumper while holding his abdomen.
“Those around him were standing and taking pictures of him. They didn’t do anything to help him.
“As an APM volunteer, I knew he was in pain and that he needed to be taken to hospital,” he said, adding that he told the crowd to make space for Adib while he tried to look for transport to take Adib to hospital.
However, Narresh said, he failed to find any transport and returned to the scene to check on Adib.
He said the crowd had taken off Adib’s uniform, T-shirt, belt and shoes.
He asked several people to carry Adib to look for transport again.
“I ran about 250m before I approached a Mitsubishi Storm trying to make a U-turn.
“I told the driver, Mohd Hafizam Nordin, that a fireman was in distress and asked him if he could drive us to a hospital. He said he would.
“I jumped onto the back of the vehicle while receiving Adib from the group. I folded his uniform to support his head.”
Narresh said Adib was unconscious during the trip.
Hamdan: What did you do? Narresh: I tried to talk to him and was prodding his shoulder to wake him up. I said to him: “We are going to take you to the hospital.” I asked for his name but he didn’t respond. Hamdan: Did you do anything during the trip?
Narresh: Yes. I searched his pocket and found Adib’s handphone as it was ringing. I answered the call and told the caller that his friend was injured and we were en route to SJMC.
Narresh said once they arrived, he asked for a stretcher and told the nurses Adib was a fireman and he needed help.
“The hospital asked for his identification card and insurance card, but I did not have them.
“I told them, ‘He is a firefighter and his life is in danger, please help’.”
He said he stayed at the hospital until 4am and met Adib’s brother, Mohd Ashraf, to hand over the former’s handphone.
“I went back around 4.30am when I heard that his breathing was back to normal.”