A senior citizen, who found himself in the midst of the Seafield Seri Mahariamman temple riot last November, told an inquest today that he was left feeling “dazed and afraid” after his Proton Exora taxi spun 180 degrees when hit by a reversing fire truck.
Taxi driver K Arumugam, 66, said he ended up at the scene that night as the road along Jalan Usaha in USJ16 route was the closest route to his home and he did not have to pay a toll.
Previous witnesses in the inquest to determine firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s cause of death had narrated a scene of chaos before and after the arrival of the fire truck and EMRS van at 1.12am, but Arumugam today insisted he could not recall any detail surrounding the incident.
“I saw a fire truck had (reversed and) hit a fire van (EMRS).
“Moments later the fire truck hit my car,” said Arumugam, the inquest’s 11th witness, who spoke through a court interpreter.
The inquest previously heard how the EMRS had trailed the fire truck and there was a taxi behind it.
Witnesses from the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department had testified how both vehicles were forced to reverse to escape a surging mob, and in the chaos knocked into the taxi, as well as scraping several other cars parked along the road.
“I did not see because I felt dizzy at the time.
“I don’t recall anything else after that. I only remembered I was helped by bystanders to get out of the car,” Arumugam said to questions from inquest conducting officer Zhafran Rahim Hamzah on whether he noticed what happened to the EMRS van and fire truck after the crash.
He insisted he could not recall whether there was a mob that had attacked the fire truck and EMRS van.
Arumugam, who described the scene using toy models, said his taxi was hit from the front and spun around 180 degrees – causing damages all around – and ended up in a back-to-back position with the fire truck.
Following the crash, Arumugam said he remained in his taxi for about 20 minutes until a crowd of bystanders helped him to open his damaged car door.
“After that (his door was opened), because I still could not think properly and was in a panicked state, I sat back in my car.
“After about 30 minutes, I managed to calm myself down. At that time, I was approached by a tow-truck driver because my car was in the middle of the road,” he said.
Arumugam said he ended up following the tow-truck driver to lodge a police report at the USJ8 police station and later took a Grab car home.
Quizzed by Coroner Rofiah Mohamad on whether he sustained any injuries, Arumugam said he was not physically hurt, but left feeling shocked.
The inquest continues on Thursday with its 12th witness expected to take the stand. – Malaysiakini
Earlier reports:
Feb 18, Adib Inquest: Partial “Shoe” Print on Fireman’s Ribcage
Feb 15, Adib Inquest: Fireman Unconscious by the Road
Feb 15, Adib Inquest: Group Helped Injured Fireman
Feb 12, Chaos, Danger When Mob Attacked Fire Truck, EMRS Van