PUTRAJAYA: The hearing of three matters before the Court of Appeal relating to Save Seafield Mariamman Temple Task Force’s bid to hold a watching brief at the inquest of deceased firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, has been rescheduled to April 15.
A three-member panel led by Justice Datuk Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid fixed the new hearing date after allowing the temple task force’s counsel M. Visvanathan’s application for adjournment of the hearing.
Visvanathan told the court that he wanted to file an affidavit-in-reply to the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ affidavit which was served to him yesterday.
Deputy public prosecutor Hamdan Hamzah did not object to the adjournment request.
The two other judges presiding on the panel were Datuk Stephen Chung Hian Guan and Datuk Lau Bee Lan.
The three matters are the temple task force’s application to stay the inquest pending hearing of its (the temple task force’s) appeal against the High Court’s decision on Feb 8 in upholding the Coroner’s Court’s dismissal of temple task force’s application to hold a watching brief at the inquest; an application by the Attorney-General seeking to strike out the temple task force’s appeal; and the task force’s appeal against the High Court’s decision in upholding the Coroner’s Court’s dismissal of its application to hold a watching brief at the inquest.
On Jan 31, Coroner Rofiah Mohamad refused the application by temple’s task force as an interested party in the inquest on the grounds that it has no clear, substantive and reasonable interests.
Muhammad Adib, 24, who was a member of the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Station Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS), was seriously injured during a riot in the vicinity of the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in USJ 25, Subang Jaya, on Nov 27 last year. He died at the National Heart Institute on Dec 17.
Responding to the media’s question on whether the appeal would become academic as the inquest is almost over, Visvanathan said the task force could apply for revision, in the event the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of them and allow them to be an interested party in the inquest.
— BERNAMA
