“Relieved, but it won’t bring Adib back”
MOHD KASSIM AND ASMA AZIZ MUHAMMAD ADIB'S PARENTS
THE death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, 24, was a result of a criminal act by more than two people, an inquest ruled nine months after his death.
Coroner Rofiah Mohamad said Adib’s blunt chest trauma was not self-inflicted or an accident, but due to the impact of a criminal act by two or more people.
As Rofiah delivered her findings, Adib’s family and fiancée Nurul Najihah Mohd Radzi, who were present, burst into tears.
Rofiah said the police’s failure to control the riot that led to the fire at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Subang Jaya on Nov 27 last year contributed to Adib’s death.
“If police and the Federal Reserve Unit had controlled the riot, a vehicle would not have been set on fire, firemen would not have to be there and Adib would not have died.”
Present was Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department head Syed Shahril Anuar Syed Sulaiman.
After 41 days, on July 24, Rofiah closed the inquest proceedings to determine the cause of Adib’s death.
Adib was reported to have been critically injured during an incident when he and a team of firemen answered a distress call about a vehicle on fire during the riot.
Accidentally left behind by his teammates, he was taken to the Subang Jaya Medical Centre and later transferred to the National Heart Institute.
Despite showing signs of recovery, he died on Dec 17.
Rofiah said the court accepted the testimony of the 29th witness, United Kingdom-based senior consultant forensic pathologist Professor Dr Shahrom Abd Wahid, who said Adib was beaten and dragged out of the Fire and Rescue Department’s Emergency Services Assistance Unit van.
She said the court accepted the theory presented by Dr Shahrom that Adib was injured when he was pinned to the door of the van, which was forcibly kicked by rioters.
Deputy public prosecutor Faten Hadni Khairuddin acted as the coordinating officer in the inquest, while Adib’s family was represented by a panel of lawyers comprising Syazlin Mansor, Mohd Kamaruzaman Abdul Wahab, Ahmad Taufiq Baharum, Yahaya Othman and Zamri Ibrahim.
Senior federal counsel Suzana Atan and Mazlifah Ayob from the Attorney-General’s Chambers represented the Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Fire and Rescue Department.