A closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) recording from the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) showed that concrete had fallen vertically and hit the back of a car during a thunderstorm which caused the collapse of a lightning arrester at Menara Umno in Jalan Macalister in George Town.

azlan Lebuh Pantai Fire and Rescue Department chief Ismail Mohd Zain said they watched the recording several times at normal speed and slow motion, and it clearly showed that the concrete had also buried a vehicle into the ground.

“After several viewings I immediately informed the State Fire and Rescue Department deputy director of the recording because we suspected there was a victim,” said the 15th witness in the inquest before Coroner Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim yesterday.

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 when the lightning arrester pole at the said building in Jalan Macalister, collapsed.

It is also to enable the National Registration Department to issue a death certificate and facilitate insurance claims by the victim’s family.

Ismail said he then rushed to the scene and informed the policemen on duty that they suspected a victim was involved in the incident.

“The rescue team found the front part of the car, which has the chassis number, 3.05m deep and after digging another 1.5m they found the body of the car and its tyres,” he said.

NONE Earlier, 13th witness, MPPP Traffic Planning Unit senior technician Omar Mat Kassim told the court that they thought the fallen concrete was noise on the CCTV recording caused by bad weather.

Omar, who did not suspect any victim was involved in the incident, said he did not watch the CCTV recording until a contractor came to fix the CCTV which had become faulty due to power disruption on June 15.

‘I realised it wasn’t noise on the image’

“It was then that I watched the recording again in slow motion and realised the concrete had fallen on top of a car and it wasn’t noise on the image as I had thought earlier,” he said.

The incident also claimed the life of a foreign worker, Jahir Sulaiman, 46, after the lorry he was driving with a colleague was struck by the lightning arrester pole.

In the inquest, Khairul Anuar was assisted by deputy public prosecutors Suhaimi Ibrahim and Lim Cheah Yit while lawyer Gobind Singh Deo represented the victim’s family.

Lawyer Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor, who is appearing for JKP Sdn Bhd (the owner of the Menara Umno building) is being assisted by counsel Norliza Ali.

A visit to the scene of the incident is scheduled for today. However, the court was told it would depend on the proceedings of the inquest.

- Bernama