Expert: Adib likely hit by van

SHAH ALAM: Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s injuries were likely caused by him being hit by the door of a vehicle and then falling onto a hard object on the road shoulder, said a forensics expert during the inquest into the death of the 24-year-old fireman.

Hospital Kuala Lumpur forensics expert Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi, the 24th witness in the inquest, was the forensic doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination on Muhammad Adib.

Dr Ahmad Hafizam told the coroner’s court that he came to the conclusion based on the post-mortem on Dec 18 last year, as well as the information gained from a reconstruction of the incident.

“I was informed by the investigating officer that the driver of the Fire and Rescue Dep­artment’s Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) van, who was with the deceased in the van, said he (Muhammad Adib) was not inside the van after the fire truck suddenly reversed, which had caused the rear of the truck to hit the front of the van.

“Based on that information, I am of the opinion that the most probable event that happened – if indeed the deceased was outside of the EMRS van – was that the deceased was standing and facing the rear of the van with his back towards the fire truck (when the fire truck reversed into the EMRS van).

“The (upper back) left side of the deceased’s body received the full impact of the edge of the left front passenger door of the EMRS van and this led to his back ribs – ribs number one to seven – to break.

“The impact from the door frame also caused the deceased to lurch forward and fall with his limbs outstretched, facing forward.

“The right side of his torso collided with a hard surface that was raised, such as the curb at the road shoulder or any other hard structures around the area, with force and this caused injuries on the deceased’s right thorax,” he said.

He added that scratches on Muhammad Adib’s right knee and left elbow were also consistent with him falling forward due to the impact.

All this, he told the coroner’s court, happened within 10 seconds.

Dr Ahmad Hafizam also said Muhammad Adib’s injuries were inconsistent with being beaten up.

“The pattern of injuries on the deceased’s thorax was inconsistent with that of being kicked or punched.

“Apart from that, there were no injuries on the face, head, abdomen, upper limbs and lower limbs that would match injuries sustained after being hit or while defending one’s self that could be found on the deceased,” he said.

However, he did not rule out the possibility that the fireman’s injuries were caused by him being sandwiched between two vehicles.

Dr Ahmad Hafizam said that during the post-mortem, it was found that Muhammad Adib’s second, third, fourth and fifth ribs on the front right of his body were broken, with the third rib broken in three places and the fourth rib in two places.

He also said the broken fourth and fifth ribs had pierced Muhammad Adib’s right lung, causing the lung injuries that ultimately led to his death.

Judge Rofiah Mohamad sits as coroner for the inquest.

The inquest, held at the Shah Alam Sessions Court, was on its 15th day yesterday and will continue on Tuesday.

Muhammad Adib was critically injured in the early morning of Nov 27 after he and his team members from the Subang Jaya fire station responded to an emergency call at the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, where a riot was taking place.

The fireman was taken to Subang Jaya Medical Centre before being transferred to the National Heart Institute for further treatment.

He died at the hospital on Dec 17 at 9.41pm.