Expert witness: Adib’s back rib bone injuries were not detected

SHAH ALAM, April 10 — The inquest into the death of Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim was told there was a high probability the seven left broken ribs of the fireman were not detected while he was being treated.

Former Hospital Chancellor Tuanku Muhriz (formerly known as Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) Forensic and Pathology senior consultant Prof Dr Shahrom Abd Wahid said this followed the absence of reports on the matter and it was only discovered after a post-mortem of the body on December 18 at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).

Therefore, Prof Dr Shahrom was of the opinion that no one examined the back of the victim.

“I feel no one saw the back (of the body) and I also think no one examined the back during treatment.                 

“I also feel they did not see despite turning over the patient and if they spotted it, maybe they did not report it, or were unsure whether the injuries were relevant or not,” he said when replying to a question of the inquest conducting officer Hamdan Hamzah.        

Earlier, Kuala Lumpur Hospital Forensic Medicine Department head, Datuk Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood, 59, said the injuries on left back rib bones from number one to seven which were fractured in a straight vertical line was first discovered during an autopsy on the body of the fireman on December 18.

“When the post-mortem was conducted, we found the injuries for the first time, as we were not informed before and his left back rib bones were broken from number one to seven and the injury was unique,” said Dr Mohd Shah.

Muhammad Adib who was a member of the Emergency Medical Services Unit of Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department sustained serious injuries in a riot at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in USJ 25, Subang Jaya on November 27 last year and died on December 17 at the National Heart Institute.          

Meanwhile, Prof Dr Shahrom in his statement in the morning session said he was not involved directly in the case but was invited by the lawyer for Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Fire and Rescue Department to look at the case as an expert witness.

Therefore, he said each statement and opinion presented by him in court was based on source materials, documents and reconstruction supervised by him with the assistance of Fire and Rescue Department personnel.

“I did not go to the incident location for the re-enactment or reconstruction but it was conducted at the Subang Jaya and Rawang Fire and Rescue Stations.

“An experiment on hurling helmet to break the back and side mirror of the EMR van was recorded at the Rawang Fire and Rescue Station on April 6,” he said.

The inquest proceeding before Coroner Rofiah Mohamad will continue tomorrow. — Bernama