On Dec 17th, Malaysia’s Fire and Rescue Department lost a hero as fireman Mohd Adib Mohd Kassim passed away after sustaining critical injuries. The fireman was assaulted by rioters at the Seafield temple last November and was said to have suffered from a broken rib and a punctured lung.
According to NST, more information has been uncovered last Monday (Feb 18th) as two witnesses that followed Adib to the hospital shared their final moments with the firefighter.
Source: Berita Harian
Source: FMT
R. Narresh, 30, is a volunteer of the Malaysia Civil Defense Force (APM) and was one of the few people who had helped the fireman during the riot. Narresh said that he noticed Adib sitting by the roadside, clearly in pain as he was clutching his stomach. He said,
“The crowd was just standing and taking pictures of the fireman without doing anything to help him. As an APM volunteer, I knew that the person was suffering and that I needed to take him to the hospital as soon as possible.”
“I ran about 250 metres before I approached a Mitsubishi Storm. I told the driver, Mohd Hafizan Nordin, that a fireman was in distress and asked him if he could drive to the nearest hospital.”
“After that, I jumped on the back of the vehicle while receiving Adib from the group. I then folded his uniform to support his head.”
“I tried to wake him up and said, ‘We are going to take you to the hospital soon.’ I also asked for his name but he was not responding.”
Narresh also told the court that when he was attending to Adib’s wounds, he saw a shoe print on the right side of his abdomen. He also described the brutal injuries sustained by the unconscious firefighter, saying,
“I was about to clean the area with his shirt as I thought he was bleeding at that time. When I took another look, I saw marks of a foot print.”
“He had fair skin so I could see clearly that his right ribs were swollen and reddish. There were also scratches on his face while his nose and ears were bleeding,” he added.
As they arrived at the hospital, Narresh immediately asked for a stretcher as he told the nurses that the fireman needed help. Narresh stayed in the hospital until 4am and said that Adib’s condition was getting better at that point.
Source: Geng Sembang
NST also reported that the driver of the vehicle, Mohd Hafizan Nordin testified in court about what had happened that day. He said,
“When I was about 100 metres from the temple, I heard someone shouting for help. I wound down the car window and saw a group of men carrying a man. When I was about to get down from the car, an Indian woman approached me. She said, ‘Sir, don’t go inside. You’ll get beaten up.’”
“But because I already saw the injured firefighter, I got out and helped the group of men to load the victim onto my vehicle. He was shirtless and only wearing his uniform pants.”
Although Hafizan did not see the footprint on the firefighter’s body, he confirmed that Adib was severely injured and believed it was caused by blunt objects. He added,
“I saw blue and red bruises under his armpit, until his right ribs. I checked his pulse, his heart rate was low.”
“He was unconscious. I told him ‘Sir, sir, open your eyes’, but he was not responding.”
“One of the men followed me to SJMC. When I asked him how the firefighter was injured, he told me, ‘I tried to stop them but they continued hitting the firefighter. They were inhumane’.”
We want to once again wish our deepest condolences to Adib’s loved ones. We hope that his friends and family have been strong during this difficult period and will continue doing so. RIP Mohd Adib Mohd Kassim.
Also read: Siti Hasmah Dedicates Stunning Violin Performance to Adib
