INQUEST | A bystander at the scene of the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple riot in Subang Jaya last November said today that someone told him an injured firefighter was assaulted.
“I asked those passing near my car (what happened), someone said 'dia kena bantai lah, apa lagi? (he was assaulted, what more)'. I asked others, but they did not see anything,” Amirrul Adli M Yussli told the Coroner's Court in Shah Alam today.
The AirAsia trainee is the fourth witness in the inquest to determine firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim's cause of death.
Amirrul's car was among those parked along the roadside where a mob had surged towards a fire truck, which then reversed into an Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) van.
He said he also witnessed a group of men assisting the firefighter, who appeared to be in pain.
The witness said he ran towards his car to check on its condition after both the fire engine and the ambulance had reversed along Jalan Usaha USJ 16 towards a junction in order to escape the chaos.
"I tried to open my (driver's) door, but I couldn't… I then went around my car to check for other damage," the 26-year-old said to questions from deputy public prosecutor Faten Hadni Khairuddin.
When he looked up, Amirrul said he saw a crowd milling about and a firefighter sitting on the kerb with his legs stretched out and his arms on his chest.
"He appeared to be in pain and his head was down," added the witness, who recalled that the firefighter was wearing camouflage pants (part of a firefighter's uniform) and a T-shirt without a camouflage shirt or a fire jacket.
'About to faint'
Amirrul said several men then lifted the firefighter and laid him down in front of his car. "I overheard one of them say, 'He's about to faint! He's about to faint!'
"I then glanced to my side and saw that he was about to faint," he said, adding that the men asked if he could take the firefighter to the hospital, but he could not as his car door was damaged by the reversing vehicles.
Quizzed on whether he saw any physical injuries on the firefighter, Amirrul said he only noticed that he was in an almost unconscious state.
When cross-examined by lawyer Mohd Kamaruzaman A Wahab, representing Adib's family, the witness said there were four to five men who were carrying the injured firefighter.
Amirrul also clarified that it was not one of those from this group who claimed that the firefighter was assaulted.
Responding to another question, Amirrul said he could not remember the face of the person who made the claim, but was certain it was an Indian man.
Earlier, Amirrul said he arrived at the scene at around 12.35am together with a friend, on the way to another friend's house in Putra Heights after eating at a restaurant in USJ17.
As they passed through the area, he said they spotted the burning car and decided to park their car along the side of the road to see what was going on.
"But even if we had wanted to proceed on our way, we could not because the road was blocked by the crowd," he said, adding that some people in the crowd were seen drinking (minum arak).
Amirrul said he had also chatted with two people in the crowd who told him that they were there because some 100 people had gathered and "caused trouble" (buat kecoh) at the temple the previous night.
Adib, who was attached to the Subang Jaya fire station, died on Dec 17 while receiving treatment at the National Heart Institute for injuries sustained during the riot near the temple.
The dates for the inquest hearing are from Feb 11 to 28; March 1, 4, 5 and 19 to 29; and April 1 to 12. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.