SHAH ALAM: A senior investigating officer said that Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim was not the firefighter who was between a Fire Rescue Tender (FRT) vehicle and the Emergency Medical Rescue Service (EMRS) Unit van during the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple riots in Subang Jaya on Nov 27 last year.
This was confirmed by ASP Lew Keng Joe, of the Subang Jaya District Police Headquarters, who said that the firefighter seen in the video, which went viral, was Adib’s colleague, Mohd Hazim Mohd Rahimi, 31.
He said that Hazim confirmed this when he (Lew) recorded the firefighter’s statement.
“According to the recording of Hazim’s statement, he (Hazim) was between the (FRT) vehicle and (EMRS) van,” Lew said at the inquest to determine the cause of Adib’s death here today
He told deputy public prosecutor Faten Hadni Khairuddin, who is conducting the inquest, this after watching a new 22-second video clip shown in court today.
The video showed the situation when the FRT vehicle and EMRS van arrived at the scene of the incident before reversing when attacked by a group of people.
Faten: There is an allegation that it (the firefighter at the back of the FRT) was Adib and that he was the one trapped. Is it true?
Lew: From the results of the investigation, that fact is not true ... because from the statement I recorded, the one between the FRT vehicle and EMRS van was Hazim.
Faten: Where was the victim at that time?
Lew: From the statement recorded, all the (affected) firefighters said that Adib was a member of the EMRS van and Adib did not wear any fire jacket and helmet and only had his fireman’s camouflage shirt on.
In today’s proceedings, seven videos on the incident were aired, including the one of Adib being carried to a vehicle.
Six witnesses, who had given their statements earlier, also watched all the seven video recordings. They included five firefighters, namely FRT vehicle driver Md Elliza Mohd Noor (second witness); medical officer Ahmad Shahril Othman (third witness); senior operations officer II Badrul Hisyam Salim@Ali (fifth witness); Mohd Hazim (sixth witness); Mohd Sharol Anuar Kamaruddin (seventh witness); as well a member of the public R. Narresh (ninth witness).
Meanwhile, Lew said that the re-enactment showing the cause of injury to Adib was made based on the post-mortem report.
He also said that he had investigated the case under Section 307 of the Penal Code (for attempted murder) after getting instructions from the Selangor Police Headquarters and Bukit Aman.
“The Selangor Police Headquarters and Bukit Aman explained that they would try to trace the suspect at the scene of the incident, which occurred in the early morning of Nov 27 2018,” he said.
He said police reclassified the case under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder after Adib died on Dec 17.
Adib, 24, who was a member of the EMRS at the Subang Jaya Fire & Rescue Station, was seriously injured in the riots.
He succumbed to his injuries on Dec 17 at the National Heart Institute (IJN).
The proceedings before Coroner Rofiah Mohamad will continue on April 9, with two new expert witnesses taking the stand. — Bernama
