The Malaysian Insight

ATTORNEY-General Tommy Thomas’ appeal against contempt proceedings filed by dead fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s family will be heard by the Shah Alam High Court on December 12.

Thomas had filed the appeal against a coroner court ruling which allowed contempt proceedings by Mohd Kassim Abdul Hamid, Adib’s father.

Judicial Commissioner Meor Hashimi this morning also dismissed Kassim’s application to strike out the attorney-general’s appeal.

The judge told both parties to file their submissions by December 9.

Kassim filed for committal order proceedings against Thomas on July 17 for allegedly insulting the court by instructing the Housing and Local Government Ministry on May 3 to drop private lawyer Syazlin Mansor as its counsel in the inquest into Adib’s death.

“We do not see this as a setback because the only issue is whether the attorney-general is allowed to appeal at this stage,” said Kassim’s lawyer Aidil Khalid.

“In any event, the court will still hear the substantive issues on the appeal on December 12. Whether or not the appeal itself has merits has yet to be decided.”

Senior lawyers Zainur Zakaria and Ambiga Sreenivasan are representing Tommy Thomas. Zainur was present at court today.

Adib, 24, died at the National Heart Institute on December 17, 2018.

Shah Alam Coroner Rofiah Mohamad ruled on September 27 that Adib died after succumbing to injuries caused by more than two unidentified persons when he was on duty at the scene of a riot outside the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple, Subang Jaya, in November last year.

She said the blunt force trauma to his chest was not caused by an accident but by two or three persons who had dragged him out of an emergency medical rescue service vehicle. – November 25, 2019.