SHAH ALAM: A witness told the Coroner’s Court here yesterday that he was informed by several people who were at the scene during the chaos at Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, USJ 25, Subang Jaya, last year that a firefighter was assaulted.
Amirrul Adli M Yussli, 26, a trainee steward with AirAsia, said he also saw the firefighter, who was in camouflage uniform, sitting with his legs straight.
The fourth witness said he asked a few people present there on the condition of the firefighter and one of them responded by saying, “he was assaulted, what else?”
Amirrul Adli said after realising that a fire-engine had crashed into his car, which was parked by the road shoulder, he and his friends rushed to check on the vehicle.
“When I was checking the car, from a distance of 40 metres, I saw a firefighter in a sitting position with his legs straight forward and he was cuddling himself like he was in pain,” he told the inquest proceeding to determine the cause of fire fighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s death.
Muhammad Adib, 24, who was a member of the Emergency Medical Rescue Service (EMRS) of the Subang Jaya Fire & Rescue Station, was seriously injured during the riots at the temple on Nov 27 last year.
He was alleged to have been assaulted by several rioters. He succumbed to his injuries on Dec 17 last year at the National Heart Institute (IJN).
Amirrul Adli was responding to questions from deputy public prosecutor Faten Hadni Khairuddin, who is the coordinating officer for the inquest, on the third day of the proceeding.
Faten: What did you see?
Amirrul: I saw a firefighter sitting with his legs straight on the left road shoulder. He was in camouflage T-shirt and pants.
Faten: How was he sitting?
Amirrul: With legs straight and cuddling himself.
Faten: What about his hands?
Amirrul: Cuddling himself in pain.
The witness also said he then saw some people putting the firefighter at an empty space in front of his (Amirrul) car and heard a few of them saying that the firefighter was fainting.
“I looked at him for a while and saw that he was going to faint,” he added.
Asked why he was at the location, Amirrul said he and his friends were on their way to a friend’s house in Putra Heights and the time then was about 12.30am on Nov 27 (last year).
He said his friend, who was driving the car, stopped on the left road shoulder after seeing a car on fire.
A few minutes later, a Fire Rescue Tender (FRT) vehicle and a van from the Emergency Management Response System (EMRS) unit arrived to douse the flame, he added.
Amirrul said he also saw the FRT vehicle being attacked by a group of people who were throwing bottles at its glass screen.
The proceeding before Coroner Rofiah Mohamad continues this afternoon. – Bernama
