Expert: Broken ribs likely from CPR or violent kick
Other than injuries caused by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the broken ribs suffered by deceased taxi driver Baharuddin Ahmad may be from a violent kick, agreed a radiology expert who had examined his CT scan.
Other than injuries caused by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the broken ribs suffered by deceased taxi driver Baharuddin Ahmad (below) may be from a violent kick, agreed a radiology expert who had examined his CT scan.
"The possibility is there, but I am more prone to suggest CPR-related injuries as the broken ribs are in the front and at the upper left hest area near where the heart is," Kuala Lumpur Hospital expert radiologist Dr Mohd Helmi Mohd Nor told Coroner Zulkpli Abdullah.
He also explained that the presence of a breathing tube in the patient's airway also suggested that CPR was applied which made him lean further towards that conclusion.
Mohd Helmi was the fifteenth witness called before the inquest into the death of Baharuddin who collapsed and died during the Bersih 2.0 pro-electoral reform rally on July 9 last year.
The on-call radiology expert, who assisted the forensics department in conducting Baharuddin's CT autopsy, to assist the physical forensics autopsy, also said that he found extreme calcification in Baharuddin's arteries, denoting a 90 percent risk of heart attack.
He also found fluid at the bottom of the taxi driver's lungs which can be caused by heart arrest.
But later, when pressed by lawyers acting on behalf of the deceased’s family, he admitted that it is also possible the fluid had moved down to the bottom of the lung when his body was handled and moved by paramedics and hospital staff.
Mohd Helmi related that he also saw damage to Baharuddin's lungs which may have been caused by exposure to chemicals or carcinogens, adding that the damage is from long term and not short term exposure.
However, when pressed further by Baharuddin's family counsel, he admitted to a "slim" chance that he may have examined the CT scan data of a different person as he never saw the body physically, but expressed his belief in and reliance on hospital procedures that would have assigned proper bodies to the ID tag registered for Baharuddin and whose scanned data he had examined.
Prior to Mohd Helmi, the radiologist who performed the CT scan was called to testify.
The inquest broke for lunch after the doctor was dismissed, and is scheduled to reconvene at 3.30pm.
'Rib wounds not caused by physical blows'
