A CLINICAL forensic pathologist should have been called in to examine fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s injuries when the incident occured, said Prof Dr Shahrom Abd Wahid.

The UK-based senior forensic and pathology expert told the Coroner’s Court in Shah Alam today that they (authorities) should not have waited for a post mortem to look into the matter.

“It is not the post mortem. The investigations should have been done from the very beginning.

“When the incident occurred, they (authorities) should have called a clinical pathologist.

“How are they going to find the object (that injured Adib) when we don’t know what caused it?” Shahrom said at the Shah Alam High Court.

Shahrom, who was the 29th witness at the inquest, was explaining to deputy public prosecutor Faten Hadni Khairuddin that the clinical pathologist was crucial to the investigation.

“The reason for the (clinical pathologists) is go to the area to determine what had caused his (Adib’s) injuries.

“Weather it was the vehicle he was in or what objects that were in the vicinity. This will then give an idea to the investigating officer what to look for.”

In his testimony yesterday, Shahrom said Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) had used the wrong methodology in determining the cause of Adib’s death.

He said the experiments conducted by HKL forensics specialist Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi failed to determine the object that caused Ajib’s injuries. 

“The person who ran these experiments is inexperienced because the wrong methodology was used.

“We can’t take things lightly when we are conducting these experiments. He must know the concept and, in this case, must know which was the object that had the most contact with the deceased (and caused the victim’s chest injuries),” Shahrom said.

Shahrom was also of the opinion that a report on Adib’s cause of death submitted by Ahmad Hafizam was incomplete.

He said the incident involving the late fireman was a complicated case, and the report on the experiments conducted should have been of excellent standards. 

Lawyer representing the Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Fire and Rescue Department Suzana Atan then questioned Shahrom on whether it was a standard operating procedure (SOP) to have a clinical pathologist present.

“Is using a clinical pathologist a SOP to look for the cause (Adib’s injuries)?” she said.

Shahrom said that as for their SOP, the investigations for any case should be carried out comprehensively.

“The meaning of comprehensive is that even if it is not perfect, it must be complete.

“When I do something, I want it to be complete. If I am following the SOP, the investigations must be complete,” he said.

Adib, who was a Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue EMRS personnel, sustained serious injuries in a riot at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple site at USJ 25, Subang Jaya on November 27, 2018 and died on December 17 at the National Heart Institute. – July 4, 2019.