Forensic expert recalled in inquest rebuts theory that Adib was pulled out of van

Forensic expert Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi leaves the Shah Alam court after testifying today.

SHAH ALAM: The Coroner’s Court holding an inquest into the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim today recalled forensic expert Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi to the stand where he sought to rebut the theory put forward by former forensic doctor Shahrom Abd Wahid.

Shahrom previously told the inquest that Adib could have been pulled out of the front seat of the vehicle and kicked, based on the injuries he had sustained.

He also dismissed the possibility of Adib sustaining the fractures to his front right ribs in a fall on the road curb.

Hafizam, of Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), told the court he was only aware of Shahrom’s theory when the latter took the stand in court.

“I then told the court that the theory was not consistent with the injuries because of the huge structure of the door, which did not match the size of injury on Adib’s chest.

“I only knew of the suggestion of a specific structure on the door causing injuries to Adib’s chest during Shahrom’s presentation in court (on April 11),” he said.

As a result of the new theory, he said, he and HKL Forensic Medicine Department head Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood were taken to inspect the vehicle and to undertake an experiment with a specific focus on the left door of the van.

This took place from 10am to 1pm on April 12 at the fire and rescue station in Subang Jaya.

“Based on the re-examination of the vehicle and the experiment, Shah and I disagreed that the injuries to Adib’s right chest were caused by a specific structure on the left door of the emergency medical retrieval service (EMRS) van,” he said while rebutting Shahrom’s theory through several presentation slides.

He noted, among others, Shahrom’s claim that the impact from the van could not have resulted in the injuries on the left back rib bones from number one to seven, which were fractured in a straight, vertical line.

Shahrom had said that a force of 3,300 Newton would have been needed to cause these injuries, which did not materialise.

While agreeing with the formula used by Shahrom in ascertaining the impact (force = mass x acceleration), Hafizam said he found the former’s calculations inaccurate.

He presented two calculations based on differing speeds at which the van was reversing, both of which revealed that the force was strong enough to cause the fractures.

“Shahrom argued that the impact was not strong enough to cause the fractures. He is wrong. He did not factor in the mass (weight) of the van.

“In this case, the van was reversing. The left front door was opened and it hit the back of the victim,” he said.

To conducting officer Faten Hadni Khairuddin who asked why the weight of the van mattered in this case, Hafizam said the force or impact relates to the weight and acceleration of the object in question.

He added that the van, too, needed to be taken into account, not Adib’s weight alone.

He suggested that the court call in an expert in physics if it wished to affirm this.

“The formula is the right one. It is used in cases of falling from high places.

“It’s a basic formula that is taught in Form 4. (But) it needs to be calculated correctly, as an incorrect calculation can confuse the court,” he said.

Hafizam also challenged Shahrom’s previous argument regarding an injury Adib sustained on his chest.

He said the size of the injury measured 15x12cm, which was not a match to the length of the door structure said to have hit him, which measured 28cm.

“The structure has an indentation. There is also a rubber knob. There was no triangle shape whatsoever on the door as suggested by Shahrom,” he said.

He also disagreed with Shahrom that a separate triangular bruise just below Adib’s upper arm had been caused by the same door.

“There was no triangle shape on this structure. As I said, it was an indentation structure.

“How could two injuries (one on the chest, one on the upper arm) with different patterns have come from the same structure?”

Hafizam said the scene had been reconstructed twice, neither of which were a match to Shahrom’s interpretation of the post-mortem report.

He also disagreed with Shahrom’s theory that Adib had been pulled out of the vehicle.

“His body would have slanted at a 45-degree angle. Even then, we failed to detect any triangular-shaped injury on his chest.

“Also, on both counts, the injuries slanted and extended to the abdomen. This differs from the injuries he actually sustained, which were to the right chest, just above the nipple.

“If the victim had really been stuck between the door and the door frame, the injuries would have extended from the armpit to the abdomen,” he said, adding that the clinical examination as well as the post-mortem would have detected far more severe injuries.

The inquest will resume before coroner Rofiah Mohamad from May 14 to 17.

Adib, a member of the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department’s EMRS unit, was seriously injured during a riot at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in USJ 25 on Nov, 27 last year.

He died on Dec 17 at the National Heart Institute. - FMT