KUALA Lumpur Hospital pathologists discovered Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim had seven broken ribs only after the first post-mortem was conducted, a doctor told an inquest into the cause of the firefighter’s death.

The team of doctors performing the autopsy were not told about the injuries on the ribs prior to Adib’s death, said National Forensic Institute director Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood.

“Only when the post-mortem was conducted did we find out that Adib sustained seven broken ribs on the left part of his back.

“The injuries were so unique. It was straight and we believed it was caused by a hard impact from a solid object,” the doctor said.

The first post-mortem was conducted on December 18 last year, a day after Adib died.

According to Dr Shah, who conducted a clinical examination on Adib on November 30, days after he was admitted to hospital, doctors did not find any indication of broken ribs then.

“So, when we discovered the broken ribs during the post-mortem, I instructed the investigation officer to look for any X-rays that have might have been conducted when he was treated at Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC),” he told the inquest.

Last week, pathologist Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi told the inquest that Adib’s ribs may have snapped when he was treated at SJMC and later, the National Heart Institute (IJN).

Hafizam said a CT scan undertaken by SJMC showed that his first two left ribs were broken.

However, during the autopsy, he found that Adib’s third to seventh ribs were “shattered completely”.

Speaking further, Dr Shah said today that during reconstruction of the incident, he synchronised the pattern of injuries sustained by Adib with the condition of the emergency medical rescue service (EMRS) van the fireman had been in during the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple riots.

“Only when I could inspect the vehicle could I match the pattern of his injuries with the condition of the van. The injuries on the body was caused by a thin solid material, likely the door of the van, and happened as the van was moving backwards.

“I came to the conclusion that there were three phases to the incident.

“First, when the bottom tip of the door hit the right chest, causing a long scratch mark on the right abdomen. This happened in a frantic situation while the van was reversing.

“Secondly, in a moment of chaos, the door, which was open, in addition with the momentum of the van moving backwards, slammed the left part of Adib’s back, causing him to lose his balance and fall. The door is thin and solid; it matches the injuries found on the back of the body.”

He said the third phase was when Adib fell and hit a hard and flat surface. 

“All this happened very quickly and the force was very strong,” Dr Shah said.

“Adib was not trapped between the doors. It is not possible,” he added.  

Adib had been part of a response team sent from the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department station on November 27, 2018, to the temple area after a call was received that cars had been set on fire.

He suffered injuries during the incident and died at IJN on December 17. – March 29, 2019.