The Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur was told today that Syed Alman Zain Syed Alwi's heart was still beating on the way to the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) before being confirmed dead.

Syed Alman was reported to have lost consciousness while receiving dental treatment at the Imperial Dental Specialist Centre.

A member of the First Paramedic Ambulance Malaysia, Zuraida Zulkalnain, 27, said she examined the victim and found his heart was still beating.

"To check the heartbeat (of the victim), I used a cardiac monitor. When compressed, there is a link to the body. His heart was still beating on arrival at the hospital," she said during the trial of an obstetrics and gynecology (O&G) doctor, Dr Ting Teck Chin, who was charged with causing the death of Syed Alman, the son-in-law of Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Zuraida who is the eighth prosecution witness, said this during cross-examination by counsel Dev Kumaraendran who represented Ting.

She said she checked the heartbeat in the ambulance on the way to UMMC from the dental centre.

Earlier, during examination by deputy public prosecutor, Izwan Ariff Ibrahim, Zuraida said on June 1, the day of the incident, she received a call informing a patient was unconscious at a dental centre and she along with two other colleagues rushed to the centre to transfer the victim to UMMC.

Upon arrival at the dental centre, the witness said the situation was quite chaotic and she saw the accused and some of the nurses trying to help the victim who had turned pale and was unconscious.

The accused was seen performing cardiopulmonary respiration (CPR) on the victim, she said.

Zuraida said there were two men, namely the accused and a Malay man known as "Datuk Faizal" who asked permission to accompany the accused in the ambulance while Ting "asked me to give the victim an oxygen mask before being taken to the ambulance".

To a question by Izwan Ariff on how the situation was in the ambulance, Zuraida said Faizal made a video call to a Malay woman, and she was crying and screamed at the patient to wake up.

Earlier, the witness agreed with counsel Dev Kumaraendran that the accused was all the time, while in the dental treatment room at the centre, when bringing down the victim to the ambulance via the lift and on the way to UMMC, was performing CPR to help save the victim.

On Aug 12, Ting, 36, a part-time anaesthetist at the Imperial Dental Specialist Centre, pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing the death of Syed Alman, 44, knowing that his actions could cause the victim’s death.

Ting who is an obstetrician/gynaecologist at Hospital Kuala Lumpur, is charged with committing the offence at the Imperial Dental Specialist Centre, Lot 62 & 64, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, between 6pm and 9.05pm on June 1.

Syed Alman, married to Zahid’s eldest daughter Nurulhidayah, 37, was reported to have lost consciousness while receiving dental treatment at the centre and was referred to UMMC before being confirmed dead.

Hearing before Judge Zaman Mohd Noor will continue on July 3.

- Bernama