‘Adib said he was dragged out’

Shedding light on case: Syed Shahril attending the inquest proceedings as the 18th witness at the coroner’s court at the Shah Alam court complex. — Bernama

SHAH ALAM: Fireman Muham­mad Adib Mohd Kassim said he was dragged out from his Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) van during the riots at the Seafield Sri Mariamman Temple on Nov 27 last year, a witness told the inquest into the fireman’s death.

Subang Jaya fire station chief Syed Shahril Anuar Syed Sulaiman told the coroner’s court yesterday that Muhammad Adib nodded his head when asked if he was dragged out from the vehicle.

Syed Shahril, the 18th witness for the inquest into the death of the 24-year-old fireman, said that he asked Muhammad Adib this question when he saw him on Dec 5.

“As I went in, he looked up at me, raised his left hand and gave us a thumbs up (sign),” he said, adding that Muhammad Adib was fond of making the gesture.

“I started by giving him encou­ragement, saying things such as ‘Adib you have to be strong, we are all praying for you to be well again’.

“He nodded and squeezed my hand.”

Syed Shahril said he then started asking Muhammad Adib what happened to him on the morning of Nov 27.

“I asked him if he was beaten up. He nodded. I continued, ‘is this true?’ and he nodded.

“I then asked him whether he was dragged out. He nodded. He let go of my hand and made a pulling gesture at his left shoulder,” said Syed Shahril.

He said that as Muhammad Adib’s direct superior, he prepared a list of 15 questions for the fireman to answer and brought it to him on Dec 12.

“He read the list and indicated that he wanted a pen,” said Syed Shahril.

DPP Hamdan Hamzah, who leads the three-member team from the Attorney General’s Chambers, then asked Syed Shahril to read out all 15 questions and Muhammad Adib’s answers.

Syed Shahril: Question five was ‘were you pulled out of the EMRS van?’ He ticked yes on the paper. Question six was ‘if you were pulled, was it by your shoulder, arms, or chest’. He ticked shoulder and made a pulling gesture at his shoulder.

Syed Shahril, however, said that when it came to question eight, which was; ‘when you fell, were you beaten up?’ Muhammad Adib gestured that he could not remember.

However, when it came to question 10, which was “did they beat you with any implements (peralatan)?” Muhammad Adib ticked yes.

Judge Rofiah Mohamad sits as coroner for the inquest, held at the Shah Alam Sessions Court. The inquest continues today.

Muhammad Adib, 24, was critically injured when he and his team members from the Subang Jaya fire station responded to an emergency at the Seafield Sri Mariamman Temple where riots were happening last November.

He was taken to the Subang Jaya Medical Centre before being transferred to the National Heart Insti­tute (IJN) for further treatment.

He died at IJN on Dec 17 at 9.41pm.