Partial 'shoe' print seen on fireman's ribcage, witness tells inquest
INQUEST | A dusty print in the shape of five straight lines, believed to be from a shoe, was seen on the right ribcage of a firefighter injured at the scene of the Seafield Seri Maha Mariamman temple riots last November.
Civil Defence Force trainee Narresh Rajandran said he identified the mark upon closer inspection of the firefighter's body while on the way to the hospital, on the back of a Mitsubishi Storm pickup truck.
"He is fair, but near his ribs on the right side, there was a bruise... a reddish mark...
INQUEST | A dusty print in the shape of five straight lines, believed to be from a shoe, was seen on the right ribcage of a firefighter injured at the scene of the Seafield Seri Maha Mariamman temple riots last November.
Civil Defence Force trainee Narresh Rajandran said he identified the mark upon closer inspection of the firefighter's body while on the way to the hospital, on the back of a Mitsubishi Storm pickup truck.
"He is fair, but near his ribs on the right side, there was a bruise... a reddish mark.
"Because he's fair so I could see," said Narresh, the ninth witness in the inquest to determine firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim's cause of death.
"I saw the red marks and I had his clothes on standby in case of any bleeding.
"But when I looked at his body closely, there was bits of sand and a 'shoe print' on his right rib."
Narresh had earlier narrated how he rushed off to find help after being told by a friend – the inquest's eighth witness N Suresh – that there was an injured firefighter at the scene.
'High risk'
The Civil Defence Force trainee said he wiped off the mark to check whether there was any bleeding on the body, adding that he was at the scene that night with six other friends after seeing a Facebook post on incidents at the Seafield temple site.
To questions from inquest conducting officer Hamdan Hamzah on the firefighter's condition, Naresh said he had difficulties breathing, was non-responsive, and that his pulse was unsteady.
"I checked his pulse and it was dropping... I cannot do CPR because it was high risk," he said.
Narresh said he first spotted the injured firefighter still fully dressed in an orange camouflage uniform, and surrounded by a crowd of about 10 to 15 people who were mostly taking photos and videos.
The witness added he left to find someone who could take the firefighter to a hospital, but failed the first time.
Narresh then ran back to check on the firefighter a second time, and found a larger crowd of 20 to 30 people. The firefighter, he said, was left only with his camouflage pants.
'There are people waiting for you'
At that point, Narresh said he instructed about six to seven people to lift the firefighter as he ran ahead about 200m from the scene, and eventually found the Mitsubishi Storm driver who was willing to assist him.
"He (Storm driver) came down and opened his back and helped to lift the firefighter up," he said, adding that the firefighter was placed in a lying down position with his discarded camouflage shirt and inner T-shirt rolled up into a pillow.
"All the while I kept on talking to him (the firefighter)... I told him 'there are people waiting for you, you must be strong'," he recalled, adding that he did not receive any response.
During the ride, Narresh said he also checked for the firefighter's personal items, and found a mobile phone with unread messages, including from the former's fiancée.
Narresh said the phone rang several times and he eventually picked up a call from the firefighter's colleague, telling the caller to come to Ramsay Sime Darby Subang Jaya Medical Centre, where they were headed at the time.
"I was afraid there were people who will try to sabotage, so I turned it off."
'His life could be in danger'
Upon arrival, Narresh claimed that the hospital had initially declined to admit the firefighter, as his documents were incomplete.
"The nurse came with a stretcher, took him in and asked where was his firefighter's ID, his government staff card or his medical card.
"Twice they asked me, but I told them, 'please help him, his life could be in danger'," said Narresh.
Narresh said a team of firefighters arrived at the hospital around 15 minutes later, and he stayed on until about 4.30am after handing over the firefighter's mobile phone to his older brother.
Adib's colleagues from the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department previously told the inquest how they confirmed he was missing after a roll call conducted at the USJ8 police station.
Previous witnesses in the inquest had testified that the firefighting team encountered scenes of chaos when they arrived at 1.12am, and eventually forced them to leave in less than 20 minutes towards the police station.
How could there be sand and a footprint on his bare body if Adib was initially wearing a uniform? This mysterious boot managed to get under his uniform while he was still wearing it? Naresh's testimony has too many holes in it, and it seems that he is trying to paint himself as a hero.
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