Penang Meteorological Department director Loh Eng Kee confirmed during an inquest in George Town today that there was heavy rain and strong wind in the evening of June 13 which caused the lightning arrester pole at the Menara Umno building in Jalan Macalister to collapse.

He said based on the satellite images obtained from the weather monitoring stations, the wind velocity at the time was between 30 and 40 knots, which could cause trees to shake strongly.

Loh said besides from the satellie images, the wind velocity could also be  gauged from the Beaufort scale readings issued by the monitoring stations.

He said Penang had three weather monitoring stations, namely at the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas, and in Perai and Butterworth.

“At a speed of 30 to 40 knots, the strong wind could also affect buildings but this also depends on how strong a building is,” said Loh, the fourth witness in the inquest before coroner Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim.

NONE The inquest is being conducted to confirm the death of rice seller Lim Chin Aik, 44, who is believed to have been buried under the rubble at the site in Jalan Macalister in George Town when the lightning arrester pole fell onto the car he was in.

The inquest, held since yesterday and scheduled to end on Sept 6, is also to enable the National Registraton Department to issue a death certificate in Lim’s name to facilitate the insurance claim by the victim’s family.

Loh said the Penang Meteorological Department had also issued a report on the damage caused by the thunderstorm and strong wind in the state on June 14.

In the inquest today, Khairul Anuar was assisted by DPP Suhaimi Ibrahim and DPP Lim Cheah Yit, lawyer Gobind Singh Deo who represented the victim’s family, and lawyer Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor, who appeared for JKP Sdn Bhd (the owner of the Menara Umno building), who was assisted by Norliza Ali.

The incident also took the life of foreign worker Jahir Sulaiman, 46, after the lightning arrester pole also fell onto a lorry he was in together with another worker.

There was an air of sadness in the courtroom when Lim’s mother, Ang Kim Looi, 70, testified at the inquest, saying that she believed her son was killed in the incident based on the evidence obtained.

In a sad tone, she expressed her hope of getting her son’s death certificate in order to sort out certain matters.

“I hope the court can help me. When I gave birth to him (Lim), I applied for his birth certificate and now that he has died, I appeal that his death certificate can be issued,” she said.

She also told the coroner that she had not seen or heard from her son since the incident happened.

- Bernama