Adib's case: Police deny issuing statement contradicting coroner court

The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) have denied allegations of not respecting and issuing statements contradicting the decision of the coroner court over the death of fireman, Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.

Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador in a statement said there were no facts which were skewed and untrue in his media conference on Friday (July 10).

“All facts presented were from investigations as well as latest findings and they were not to contradict the findings of the inquest.

“As of today, the case of Muhammad Adib is not closed, it is still going on under Section 302 of the Penal Code,” he said.

The statement was issued yesterday after the family of Muhammad Adib via his lawyers claimed that police were not respecting and were in fact contradicting the decision of the coroner court.

Abdul Hamid stressed that to date, there were no witnesses who really said he saw Muhammad Adib being beaten and all statements obtained were hearsay or opinions.

“Efforts are still being carried out to identify the criminals if there are. Several issues need to be investigated further following the decision of the inquest.

“If there was an attack as stated, based on witness opinions and experts, there would be marks of the attack and the investigation team is still studying the matter to nab the actual culprits,” he said.

In this regard, he said the investigation team was also investigating further witnesses found to be inconsistent in the three stages of statement recording before this.

“Similarly witnesses who revealed new information or explanation when giving their statements during the inquest should be investigated first.

“The issue of ‘dying declaration’ should be investigated further by the investigation team as it was presented at the inquest without being challenged or evaluated for its credibility as well as validity. Police can continue to conduct investigation through various angles and approaches to check all possibilities to solve the case.

“Arrest would be made if there were evidence or new explanation as carried out by the government in deciding for the inquest to be held,” he said.

Muhammad Adib, 24, who was a member of the emergency service of Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department was injured in a riot at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, USJ 25, Subang Jaya on Nov 27 2018 and died at the National Heart Institute, 21 days after getting treatment.

On Sept 27 last year, the Shah Alam Coroner Court decided the death of Muhammad Adib, was the result of a criminal act committed by two or three unknown people.

-- BERNAMA