PETALING JAYA: Attorney-General (AG) Idrus Harun should make a stand whether he intends to file charges against anyone for causing the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim three years ago, a lawyer said.
SN Nair said Idrus should have evaluated the evidence after police resubmitted their investigation papers following a 2019 coroner’s verdict into Adib’s cause of death.
“The AG has to make a decision based on police investigations whether to charge anyone or otherwise.
“As the guardian of public interest, he should stop sweeping the matter under the carpet,” the lawyer, who was once a police officer, told FMT.
He said police merely investigate and it is the AG, as the public prosecutor, who is the final authority to declare whether there is a case to be brought to court.
Nair said this in response to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who yesterday called for the probe into Adib’s death to be continued amid reports that it had been closed temporarily.
Zahid said the investigation must be continued until the truth comes to light as the case was of public interest.
Plantation industries and commodities minister Zuraida Kamaruddin was reported to have said last Saturday that Adib’s case would be closed for now.
Zuraida was the housing and local government minister in the Pakatan Harapan administration at the time of the incident and held the same portfolio in the subsequent Perikatan Nasional-led government.
Adib, 24, a member of the emergency medical rescue services unit from the Subang Jaya fire and rescue station, sustained serious injuries during a riot at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in USJ 25, Subang Jaya, on Nov 27, 2018.
He died on Dec 17, 21 days after he was admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) in a critical condition.
On Sept 19, 2019, coroner Rofiah Mohamad ruled that “more than two unidentified persons” had killed the fireman, who succumbed to injuries he sustained when he was sent to the scene.
She said it was now up to the police and the AG to bring charges.
On July 13 last year, former inspector-general of police Abdul Hamid Bador said that no reliable eyewitness had been found to the attack that resulted in the fireman’s death.
“However, efforts are still ongoing to identify the criminals, if any,” he had said.
Last December, home minister Hamzah Zainudin was reported as saying that the investigation was in the final stages and the results of the investigation would be submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
On Feb 15, Malaysiakini reported Idrus calling for patience over the much-anticipated announcement on further action in Adib’s death.
“Please wait patiently, we will make a decision later. We will issue a statement at a later date,” Idrus told the news portal.