Court rejects bid to recall two expert witnesses in Adib inquest

INQUEST | The Coroner’s Court in Shah Alam today rejected the application to recall two expert witnesses in the ongoing inquest into the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.

The inquest coordinating officers had requested to recall the 24th witness, Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) forensic expert Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi, and the hospital’s forensic department head Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood, who was the 27th witness.

According to coroner Rofiah Mohamad, she was satisfied with the testimonies of both witnesses and as there have been no new developments, she felt there was no need to recall the duo.

She added that doing so would encourage recalling of further witnesses, which would prolong the inquest.

“The cycle (of recalling witnesses) would continue and the inquest would never reach a conclusion, whereas the coroner has a responsibility to ensure the inquest is completed within a reasonable timeframe,” she said.

Rofiah added that the inquest was not a trial and its sole purpose was to determine the cause of Adib’s death as a result of injuries sustained while on duty during the Seafield temple riot in November, last year.

Inquest coordinating officer Hamdan Hamzah (below) later appealed against the decision by coroner Rofiah Mohamad.

The coroner then set May 10 to review its decision.

Hafizam was the doctor who conducted a post-mortem on the firefighter.

Mohd Shah, along with Hafizam, had testified that Adib had, on his own volition, come out of the Fire Department's Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) van through the front left passenger side, and was hit from the back by the reversing vehicle’s open front left passenger door, which sent him hurtling forward and landing on his chest on a roadside curb.

However, the duo's theory was refuted by the 29th witness, former senior forensic and pathology consultant at Hospital Cancelor Tuanku Muhriz, Dr Shahrom Abd Wahid.

Shahrom also criticised HKL for not including a colour scale when taking photographs of the Adib's bruises during the postmortem as the lack of one made it difficult to comment on the colour of the bruising.

Inquest conducting officer Faten Hadni Khairuddin on Monday had urged the court to consider recalling the witnesses, namely Hafizam, stating that the coroner’s court has discretion under Section 425 of the Criminal Procedure Code to recall relevant witnesses to achieve a fair decision in the inquest.

This was disputed by lawyer Syazlin Mansor, representing the Housing and Local Government Ministry, the Fire Department and Adib's family members. She argued that all witnesses had been given fair and equal opportunity to testify.

Syazlin added that recalling the two expert witnesses would then necessitate the recalling of Shahrom to defend the latter’s theory, making the process “endless”. - Mkini