SHAH ALAM: It is possible that Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim was forcibly pulled out from the Fire and Rescue Department van he was in, says a forensic expert.
The fireman's injuries could have been caused by people kicking at the door of the Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) van, as he was wedged between the door and the van, said Dr Shahrom Abd Wahid.
He added that he was able to access all the materials related to Muhammad Adib's case that were presented at the coroner's court, including photographs from the fireman's autopsy and the clothing he wore the day of the incident.
He told the coroner's court that he also conducted a reconstruction of the incident with the Fire and Rescue Department.
Dr Shahrom, who was a former forensics expert at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, said this during the inquest into the death of the fireman on Tuesday (April 9).
He was brought in by lawyer Syazlin Mansor, who is representing the Housing and Local Government Ministry, Fire and Rescue Department, and Muhammad Adib's family at the inquest, to assist with the investigation into the fireman's death.
Dr Shahrom said that Muhammad Adib's injuries were not self-inflicted, but were caused by "persons other than the fireman".
"The victim died due to critical injuries to his left and right lungs, which were caused by blunt force trauma.
"The blunt force trauma was not self-inflicted but was done by two or more persons," he told the coroner's court.
He added that the possible course of events was that Muhammad Adib was pulled out of the van, and while he was between the van and its door, someone forcefully kicked the door, and as the fireman was pulled further outwards, the door was kicked again.
He said that he made the conclusion based on the injuries to Muhammad Adib, which were scrape wounds (luka sagat) on his right chest, the back of his waist, while his ribs were broken.
"The injuries suggest that the victim was pulled out from where he was sitting (front passenger side).
"The edge of the door was then forcefully kicked (from the outside) which caused the scrape wound and broken ribs on the right side of his chest," he said, adding that the door was kicked again, causing bruises on the fireman's upper right arm.
He said that Muhammad Adib's uniform was also missing buttons number one, two, and four, which supported the theory that the fireman was forcefully pulled out from the EMRS van.
"There was also a scrape wound at the back of his waist – that would not have been there if one was to come down on his own from the van," he added.
He said that the whole incident could have taken place in a short time, from five to eight seconds.
Dr Shahrom was the 29th witness called to the inquest, which its 23rd day.
Judge Rofiah Mohamad sits as coroner for the inquest, which is being held at the Shah Alam Sessions Court.
Muhammad Adib became 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 SJMC after he was found injured, before being transferred to the National Heart Institute (IJN) for further treatment, where he died on Dec 17, at 9.41pm.
On March 22, forensics expert Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi, who conducted the autopsy on Muhammad Adib, told the coroner's court that the fireman's injuries could have been caused by him being hit by the door of the EMRS van and then falling onto a hard object on the road shoulder.
Dr Ahmad Hafizam also said that Muhammad Adib's injuries were not caused by assault.
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