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THE injuries Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim sustained during the Sri Maha Mariamman temple riots are not consistent with assault, a surgeon said.
Dr S. Anand, 46, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre, told the coroner’s court today that Adib had suffered blunt chest trauma after he observed CT scans and X-rays of the firefighter.
He said the X-rays also did not show any signs of Adib defending himself.
“It was an isolated injury. There was no evidence of self-defence wounds in this case,” he told coroner Rofiah Mohamad Mansor.
Adib was found to have suffered multiple fractures on the right ribs and a collapsed lung (lung contusion) upon his arrival at hospital.
Dr Anand that there were several ways one could sustain blunt chest trauma, such as by a crush to the ribs, a fall from a height, rapid acceleration and deceleration, and assault.
He said most of Adib’s injuries were confined to the chest area and, as such, were not consistent with assault.
“It’s impossible to be absolute, but it is evident that self-defence was not involved in this case.
“His injuries were confined to the chest area. In my experience, it is somewhat unusual to have major trauma confined to one part of the body if it is linked to assault.”
He also told the court that he believed a high-velocity impact caused Adib’s injuries.
“We can infer that it was a high-impact or high-velocity impact that caused the injuries. But I can’t say the cause (of the impact).”
Dr Anand was answering questions posed by government lawyer Zhafran Rahim Hamzah.
He was also presented with a post-mortem CT scan of Adib’s chest, which showed more broken ribs.
“There was a period of three weeks between the SJMC scan and the post-mortem scan. It’s possible with movement of the body that hairline fractures on the other ribs could have been dislodged,” Dr Anand said.
He also said that scans on the heart showed no signs of damage.
Dr Anand told the court that Adib had to be transferred to IJN as he needed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), also known as extracorporeal life support (ECLS), which the SJMC did not have.
He said he had consulted two other IJN cardiothoracic specialists and they concluded it was best for Adib to be transferred.
“The ECMO appeared to be reasonable therapy that needed to be provided. He was in a stable condition to be transferred to IJN. We collectively agreed that this was the best way forward,” he said.
He added that transferring Adib’s body from SJMC’s ICU to the IJN van was a short journey but that it had taken a long time.
“To get him from our ICU into their van took a long time because he was hooked up to machines and had tubes flowing through him, but our team managed to slowly get him transferred,” he said, adding that it was the last time he would see the firefighter alive.
Earlier in the day, Dr Nantha Kumeran, 39, who had been on call at the SJMC emergency room the day of the incident, was also questioned by the court.
He had said that Adib was found to be suffering multiple fractures on the right ribs and a collapsed lung when he arrived at hospital.
“When I touched the right side, I could hear a cracking sound; it felt like broken ribs,” he had said.
He had also he initially suspected it was pneumothorax (a collapsed lung).
Dr Nantha had also told the court that he did not see any other bruising or marks on Adib’s abdomen other than on the right side of the body.
Dr Nantha had said he then called for a chest X-ray and intubation for Adib as he was struggling to breathe.
Dr Anand also corroborated that Adib was intubated when he was called in by Dr Nantha to examine the victim.
He also told the court that Adib’s blood pressure was low and that he was unresponsive.
The inquest was ordered as there were no conclusive findings in the probe into how Adib was wounded during riots at the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya on November 27 and 28 last year.
Police investigations revealed there were two possibilities as to what caused the 24-year-old’s death: either he was beaten by a mob or run over by a fire truck.
Following the incident, Adib had been hospitalised for three weeks and, despite regaining consciousness and showing signs of recovery, died on December 17 of lung failure.
The inquest continues on Monday. – February 21, 2019.
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Comments
What happen to those who paid 150k to the gangsters to demolish the temple?
Posted 5 years ago by Chee yee ng · Reply
High-velocity impact? No other injuries on face, head, arms, etc? Not consistent with assault? What is the writer of this article smoking when he came up with this headline??
Posted 5 years ago by Francis Anthony · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Francis Anthony · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Awang Bilis · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Mahsuri Smiles · Reply
In fact it was some members of the Indian community who carried our brother the late Adib, to a waiting vehicle and then to the hospital.. These people are the true heros. Those from Balai Bomba/ERT who testified and lied at Adibs inquest will not be in peace.. Im sorry to say. In addition they also have to contend with the local authorities for lying at the inquest..
Posted 5 years ago by Kampung Boy · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Viji Rajasundram · Reply
Posted 5 years ago by Roger 5201 · Reply