Firefighter Adib's pulse rate was about 145 beats per minute — doctor
SHAH ALAM: An emergency doctor at a private hospital testified that the late Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim had bruises on the upper right side of his chest wall, besides having fractures on four ribs.
Dr M. Nantha Kumeran, 39, who is with the emergency department of Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) since 2013, said the X-ray reports of the fireman showed fractured second, third, fourth and fifth ribs (on the right side).
"(There were) also bruises on the upper right chest wall and when I touched it, (I could hear) cracking sound and appearing towards pneumothorax (collapsed lung).”
He said this when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Zhafran Rahim Hamzah, who is also a conducting officer of the inquest into Muhammad Adib’s death. The doctor who has been practising medicine for 10 years now, said he first saw Muhammad Adib in the resuscitation room of the SJMC in the wee hours of last Nov 27.
Zhafran: “What is your observation?”
Dr Nantha Kumeran: “He (Adib) was having difficulty to breath, was unconscious and making incomprehensible sounds. I checked his pulse (rate), it was about 145 beats per minute, his blood pressure was at 85/46…oxygen saturation around 48 per cent.” Zhafran: “What else?” Dr Nantha Kumeran: “No shirts, no shoes and no stockings. He (Adib) was wearing Bomba pants.”
The doctor said he could not communicate with Muhammad Adib at the time as he was only making (incomprehensible) sounds and his level of consciousness was low.
Dr Nantha Kumeran said he then ordered for an-X ray which was done at 1.35 am on Nov 27 at the resuscitation room.
On the X-ray report, the doctor said he could see clearly that Muhammad Adib was suffering from lung contusion.
“(I could see) broken ribs (in the X-ray) but more of (lung) contusion. The lung injuries were more than that of the ribs. Lung contusion is injury to the lungs," he said.
Zhafran: “What caused the lung contusion?” \Dr Nantha Kumeran: “Blunt trauma could cause lung injuries.”
The doctor said the X-ray report showed there were white patches all over Muhammad Adib’s lungs, which meant lung injuries or lung contusion.
He also said that prior to the Xray, intubation which is the process of inserting a tube through the mouth and then into the trachea, was done on Muhammad Adib.
He said after one hour of treating Muhammad Adib, he approached three Indian men who had brought Muhammad Adib to SJMC to ask what happened to him.
All of them stated that Muhammad Adib could have fallen from a (fire) truck or could be beaten up, he said.
Muhammad Adib, who was an Emergency Medical Rescue Services personnel from the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Station, was critically injured in the temple riot on Nov 27 last year and died on Dec 17 at the National Heart Institute (IJN).
The inquest before coroner Rofiah Mohamad continues. Bernama