Firefighter pinned between EMRS van and car, says witness

INQUEST | A firefighter was pinned between an Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) van and a car during the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple riots last November, a witness told the Coroner's Court in Shah Alam this afternoon.

Air conditioning technician Budd Mohsin, who is a Pakistani national, was testifying on the 13th day of the inquest into the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.

Mohsin, the inquest's 20th witness, said that in the early morning of Nov 28, the EMRS van moved backwards when the FRT (Fire Rescue Tender) lorry in front of it reversed to avoid a mob.

Speaking in Punjabi through an interpreter, Mohsin said the firefighter was standing somewhere near the rear left tyre of the EMRS van when the fire truck reversed, sandwiching him between the van and a car parked at the side of the road.

"When the (FRT) lorry hit the EMRS (van), the victim was standing facing the main road (near the van)," he said.

"When the FRT kept reversing and hit the EMRS (van), the EMRS van squeezed the victim against a car parked there.

"Then the victim fell (to the ground), face up and his legs pointing towards a (nearby) Caltex (petrol station). I was standing near there, hence I saw it".

To a question from court coordinator Hamdan Hamzah, Mohsin said he could not ascertain the identity of the firefighter.

"I could not really identify him," he said.

At the scene

Mohsin earlier told the inquest that on the night of the temple riot, he was with his friend and security guard Hardeep Singh at a nearby guard post when he saw the FRT lorry and EMRS van arrive at the scene.

He said that he then witnessed three firefighters emerge from the two vehicles, with one emerging from the lorry's passenger side, and two from either side of the van.

Mohsin recalled that one of the firefighters who exited the van was the one who was later pinned between the van and the car.

He said that when an angry mob approached the vehicles, one of the firefighters quickly reentered the FRT lorry, while the other ran back into the EMRS van, leaving the third firefighter near the left rear side of the van.

He said that after the van had pinned the firefighter, it continued to reverse, hitting three or four parked cars at the side of the road, before it made a U-turn and left the scene. 

It was chased for a short while by the mob who threw mineral water bottles in its direction.

When Hamdan showed Mohsin an exhibit of a dark blue T-shirt with the Fire and Rescue Department logo, the witness said it looked similar to what was worn by the firefighter pinned between the van and the car.

The witness said that after the two vehicles left, he saw a group of people come to the firefighter's aid.

"There were several people who helped the firefighter at the scene of the incident. A few people carried him in the direction of the Caltex (at USJ17)," he recalled.

Later in the proceedings, several video clips recorded at the scene of the riot were played in court, with one of the recordings coming from a smartphone belonging to Hardeep.

The clip showed a burning car, with an FRT lorry and EMRS van reversing while being chased by a crowd, with one mineral water bottle thrown in the direction of both vehicles.

The inquest before coroner Rofiah Mohamad continues into its 14th day tomorrow. - Mkini