Siti Syafika Amira Mohd Rasani attends the inquest into the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim at the Shah Alam High Court March 27, 2019. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

SHAH ALAM, March 27 — The nurse who accused a forensic pathologist of lying to the inquest of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim last week told the Coroner’s Court today she made the claim without facts.

Siti Syafika Amira Mohd Rasani, a nurse of six years at the National Heart Institute (IJN) who treated Adib three times, asserted that she made the social media post last Friday while distraught.

“I made the statement based on my emotion and feelings because I read about news on the witness testimony on social media.

“Prior to this, I was also informed that Adib claimed to have been assaulted,” she told Judge Rofiah Mohamad who is sitting as coroner for the inquest here.

Hospital Kuala Lumpur medical forensics department officer Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi, who conducted an autopsy on Adib, testified last week that Adib’s injuries were inconsistent with assault as alleged.

Following his testimony, a Facebook user known as “Cik Miera” who claimed to be a nurse at IJN accused him of lying in his testimony and that she knew the “truth” about his death.

Pathologist Dr Ahmad Hafizam told the inquest yesterday that he was vilified online as a result of the accusation.

Siti Syafika Amira, who took the stand as the 25th witness, explained that she also believed the claims made by her colleague, Muhammad Ashraff Baruji, who informed her that Adib indicated he was allegedly beaten.

“I apologise. I was emotional and did not know the real facts of the case before making those comments,” she added.

Muhammad Ashraff was an IJN surgical assistant officer and had testified as the 16th witness during the inquest hearing.

He had previously testified to the court that Adib told him he was beaten.

Siti Syafika Amira also revealed that she attended to Adib for a total of three times in regards to the usage of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), which Adib was attached to after he was admitted to IJN on November 28 last year. The ECMO helps the patient’s blood flow by bypassing the heart and lung functions.

Asked by government lawyer Zhafran Rahim Hamzah on why she felt so emotional prior to the posting as she had only seen Adib personally three times, she highlighted the existing circumstances surrounding Adib and his known associates during the fireman’s stay.

“While the deceased was there (at IJN) for medical treatment, I saw the condition of his family members who were crying, his fiancée, and his colleagues who spent the night outside the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) every day.

“I was moved by their togetherness,” she said.

Siti Syafika Amira then told the court that the Facebook post has since been withdrawn and her “Cik Miera” profile deactivated because she was receiving too many personal messages.

“I was also subsequently called up by IJN’s matron (head nurse) and the General Manager of the Human Resources department to explain myself,” she added.

Government lawyer Zhafran then asked Siti Syafika Amira to explain the context of her posting and what she meant by the statement that read “many things that I can’t tell here”.

“What I was referring to were the injuries on his (Adib’s) face, chest, thighs and groin area,” she said.

She later admitted that she did not know the cause of Adib’s injuries when examined by Zhafran further.

Muhammad Adib was critically injured in the early morning of November 27 after he and his team members from the Subang Jaya fire station responded to an emergency call at the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple where a riot was taking place.

The fireman was taken to Subang Jaya Medical Centre before he was transferred to IJN for further treatment, where he succumbed to his wounds on December 17.