SHAH ALAM, March 27 — The nurse who accused a forensic pathologist of lying about the cause of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s injuries did not have the expertise to make her own conclusion, the Coroner’s Court heard today.
National Heart Institute (IJN) intensive care unit director Datuk Dr Suneta Sulaiman, who was called in again to testify, said Siti Syafika Amira Mohd Rasani was not qualified to determine if the deceased’s wounds were from being assaulted or otherwise.
“As a nurse and an operating theatre nurse, it’s not her expertise.
“Even for an intensive care personnel like me, it’s not for me to conclude whether it was done by violence or not,” she told Judge Rofiah Mohamad who is sitting as coroner.
Earlier, Siti Syafika Amira testified that she made the accusatory social media post last Friday while distraught, and subsequently apologised to the court after admitting she did not know for a fact if Adib had been assaulted.
Her since-deleted post had referred to Hospital Kuala Lumpur medical forensics department officer Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi who conducted an autopsy on Adib.
He had testified last week that Adib’s injuries were inconsistent with assault as alleged.
Following his testimony, a Facebook user known as “Cik Miera” who claimed to be a nurse at IJN accused him of lying in his testimony and that she knew the “truth” about his death.
Yesterday, the pathologist told the inquest he was vilified online as a result of the accusation.
Dr Suneta added she was aware that Siti Syafika Amira had participated in several medical procedures for Adib, and lawyers representing IJN had forwarded her the accusatory Facebook posting made by the nurse.
She said that a less experienced nurse like Siti Syafika Amira may be disturbed by the sight of Adib’s condition at the time.
Among others, he said the fireman had severe swelling on his head and neck as well as bruises that spanned from his neck to groin area.
“For someone less experienced (like Syafika), seeing a patient like Adib must be ghastly because of the swellings he had when he first admitted to IJN,” she explained.
Muhammad Adib was critically injured in the early morning of November 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 after he was found injured, before being transferred to IJN for further treatment, where he succumbed to his wounds on December 17.
