SHAH ALAM: The death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim was a result of a criminal act by more than two people, an inquest ruled nine months after his death.
Coroner Rofiah Mohamad said the blunt chest trauma on Adib, 24, was not self-inflicted or an accident but a criminal act by two or more unidentified people.
As Rofiah delivered her findings, Adib’s family and fiancé Nurul Najihah Mohd Radzi, who were sitting among the crowd in the packed courtroom, burst into tears.
In her finding, Rofiah also said the police’s failure to control the riot that led to the fire that occurred at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya contributed to Adib’s death.
"If the police and the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) controlled the riot, a vehicle would not have been set on fire, and the firemen would not have to be there and Adib would not have met his death," she said.
Also present in court was Subang Jaya fire and rescue station head, Syed Shahril Anuar Syed Sulaiman.
After 41 days, on July 24, Rofiah closed the inquest proceedings to determine the cause of Muhammad Adib’s death.
Adib was reported to have been critically injured during an incident when he and a team of firemen answered a distress call about a vehicle on fire during a riot outside the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya on Nov 27, last year.
Accidentally left behind by his teammates, Adib was taken to Subang Jaya Medical Centre and later transferred to the National Heart Institute. Despite showing signs of recovery, he died on Dec 17.