Durian seller saw concrete and arrester falling on car: GEORGE TOWN, Sept 6 — Durian seller Khor Hun Hin, 56, told the Coroners Court today that he saw the Umno building’s concrete structure and lightning arrester fall on a car and bury it at Jalan Macalister. Khor said from his stall along the road he and his friend Ah Tiong also saw the arrester on the building swaying during the heavy rain and strong winds. "We ran for our lives when we saw that. Then we saw a gray car passing by and the metal arrestor falling straight down onto the front windscreen of the car and bury it. "Ah Tiong and I saw the concrete structure collapsing on the car with our own eyes," said the 16th witness in the inquest to verify the death of Lim Chin Aik, 44, who was believed to have been buried at the site of the lightning arrester collapse at Jalan Macalister. The inquest was also held to enable the National Registration Department to issue a death certificate and facilitate insurance claims by his family. Khor further confirmed that the closed-circuit camera (CCTV) recording which was shown at the proceedings today was what he had witnessed that day from the opposite side of the road where his durian stall was located. "I was also injured by some stones and my stall was damaged too," he said. Earlier, the Lebuh Pantai Fire and Rescue Department Chief Ismail Mohd Zain told the court that the technique to remove the victim who was believed to have been buried at the site differed from the one used normally. He said in such circumstances only the area surrounding the embedded concrete should be excavated to determine the depth of the structure instead of breaking it because that caused the structure to be buried deeper. "There were too many instructions at the site of the incident. There would have been a better chance of recovering the victim and the car if only the ground surrounding the concrete was dug. But the concrete was broken from the top causing it to be buried deeper," he said. Ismail added that the rescue team had used tracking dogs to detect the victim but their efforts were hampered by the ground being filled with steel and concrete. The mishap also claimed the life of foreign worker Jahir Sulaiman, 46, when the lightning arrester collapsed on the lorry he was in with another worker. Coroner Khairul Anuar is assisted by deputy public prosecutors Suhaimi Ibrahim and Lim Cheah Yit while lawyer Gobind Singh Deo is representing the victim’s family. Lawyer Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor, is appearing for JKP Sdn Bhd (the owner of the Menara Umno building) and assisted by counsel Norliza Ali. The proceedings have been postponed and will resume from October 22 to 25 with the prosecution calling in expert witness. — Bernama dlvr.it/3wL8J3
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 10:08:41 +0000
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