Fire truck driver testifies he was 'fearful' of mob attack at temple riot

INQUEST | The driver of a fire truck deployed to the riots near the Seafield Sri Mahamariamman temple in Subang Jaya last November told an inquest today that he had reversed the vehicle in a state of panic after being chased away by a mob of civilians.

Md Eliza Mohd Noor, the second witness in the inquest to determine firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim's cause of death, said the mob chanted "Bomba pergi balik, jangan padam! (Fire Department go home, don't put the fire out)" and subsequently hit his front mirror with bricks and helmets.

"They shouted it many times, and made the ‘shooing' hand signal asking us to leave.

"After the windscreen cracked, I was scared. I immediately reversed the vehicle," he to questions from the inquest coordinating officer, deputy public prosecutor Hamdan Hamzah.

Eliza told the Shah Alam Coroners Court that he saw a man breaking away from the mob of about 50 people to knock the front mirror of the truck with a white pole, before bricks, helmets, and other unidentified objects were hurled towards it seconds later.

He said his team, comprising a supervising officer and five other personnel deployed from the Subang Jaya fire station to put out a burning car, arrived on site at 1.12am on Nov 27.

They were accompanied by the Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) van that medical officer Adib was travelling in.

Read more: Adib still in EMRS van during temple riots, inquest told

When reversing the fire truck, Eliza said he was aware of the EMRS van's position at its tail, and two other vehicles, including a Proton Exora taxi.

After backing up about 30m, he said he noticed through one his functioning mirrors a crowd who appeared to be shaking an object, which he assumed was the EMRS van.

"I saw around four or five people (behind the fire truck) who seemed to be shaking something.

"I continued to reverse until I saw that the back of the EMRS on my left side was slightly further ahead than the front of my truck."

He added that the truck was about 80m away from its initial location, and that they left the scene shortly after reaching a junction.

Outnumbered by the crowd

To questions from lawyer Syazlin Mansor, Eliza reiterated that he felt threatened by the crowd and decided to make an escape.

"I felt that if I did not run, I wouldn't be here (anymore)," he said.

The inquest's first witness, Mohd Nasir Rahman, earlier testified that his team was stationed to control traffic at a traffic light opposite the temple.

With a clear view of up to 100m, Nasir estimated that the crowd gathered at the temple grounds numbered between 3,000 and 5,000.

"At the time, together with my officer, I had instructed for the road in front of the temple to be closed, and diverted all traffic from Shah Alam to Puchong into the USJ toll.

"And from the other direction, we directed traffic to do a U-turn into the LDP," he said.

Nasir also told the inquest that while he saw a crowd attacking the fire truck, his team was outnumbered, and due to safety considerations, he decided that they should remain on traffic control.

The inquest continues into its second day tomorrow with a site visit to the temple grounds, led by Coroner Rofiah Mohamad and the legal team.

No cover-ups, just the truth, Adib's father hopes ahead of inquest

Adib inquest: Temple's task force files for judicial review

Adib inquest: Bid to include 'save temple' members, devotees fails

Shah Alam Coroner Court to hear inquest into Adib's death