No evidence to suggest Adib pulled from van - HKL forensics expert

INQUEST | The postmortem conducted on Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim's body did not reveal injuries consistent with the firefighter being pulled out of the Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) van he was in, nor did the ongoing inquest uncover any details to support the argument.

Hospital Kuala Lumpur forensics specialist Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi told the Coroner's Court in Shah Alam that this led him to deduce that Adib had exited the EMRS van on his own at the height of the Seafield Sri Mahariamman Temple riots last November.

"The postmortem findings did not find injuries consistent with the deceased being pulled," said the recalled 24th witness.

"Throughout the inquest proceedings so far, there have been no eyewitnesses whose testimonies could support the argument that the deceased (Adib) was pulled out or assaulted."

Answering questions from lawyer Syazlin Mansor, representing the Fire and Rescue Department and the Housing and Local Government Ministry, Hafizam pointed out that there is no eyewitness testimony on Adib exiting the EMRS van on his own.

"Because the postmortem findings showed there were no injuries consistent with him being pulled out, it was concluded that the deceased had exited (the EMRS van) on his own," he said.

Was it Adib's jacket?

Previously, Hafizam said he had carried out an experiment to determine the cause of Adib’s injuries and to refute the theories presented by retired pathologist Dr Shahrom Abd Wahid (photo).

Shahrom, the 29th witness, had testified that Adib was pulled out of the EMRS van and the injuries on the firefighter's chest may have been caused by the van door.

In his testimony today before Coroner Rofiah Mohamad, Hafizam said he was not confident that Adib had worn the firefighter jacket that was retrieved from the site before he was rescued by a passer-by.

Based on Shahrom's theory, he said, Adib's jacket would have been torn in the front.

"Adib's jacket was not torn... (Instead) his pants were dirty and torn," said Hafizam, adding that the pants being torn at the knee was consistent with a gash found on the firefighter's right knee.

Hafizam said, however, he was unable to comment on the fact that several buttons were missing from the jacket.

Injury caused by van's striker plate

Other points were raised by Hafizam to support his argument today, including the length of an abrasion found on Adib's chest.

"If he was dragged, the abrasion would be shorter, and if he had exited on his own, the abrasion would be longer," he said, pointing out there was no dispute that the abrasion was caused by a striker plate on the EMRS van door.

"The issue at hand here is whether Adib had exited (the van) on his own or whether he was dragged," he added.

Adib passed away on Dec 17 at 9.41pm at the National Heart Institute after succumbing to injuries sustained on the night of the riots. 

The inquest was ordered after two conflicting versions of his cause of death emerged.

One version claimed he was hit by a vehicle, while the other said he was beaten up by a mob.

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