MELAKA: A brief commotion unfolded at the Melaka Court Complex in Ayer Keroh when a woman, believed to be a relative of an accused in an armed robbery case, attempted to block members of the media from carrying out their duties.
The incident occurred yesterday near the police counter at the courthouse lobby, where two women followed the accused, Amirul Hamry Hambalyi Azahari, 27, as he was being escorted by policemen after he was charged in the Sessions Court.
As two cameramen recorded the scene with court approval, one of the women, in her 20s, approached a senior television cameraman and placed her hand on his shoulder, requesting that he stop recording.
Another journalist and a cameraman from the Chinese media were also reportedly obstructed and verbally abused.
Earlier, the same woman was seen attempting to intercept policemen escorting the suspect, seemingly to prevent media personnel from recording footage.
Eyewitnesses claimed both women tried to escalate the situation by stating that they held official positions.
The confrontation, which lasted roughly two minutes, was quickly brought under control by cops.
Amirul Hamry had earlier appeared before judge Haderiah Siri to face charges of robbery while armed with a meat-cutting knife.
He is alleged to have taken RM202.80 in cash, three boxes of cigarettes and a barcode scanner from a convenience store in Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho 2 at 3am on July 29.
If convicted, Amirul Hamry faces up to 20 years in prison and possible whipping under Section 392 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 397.
The accused, who was unrepresented, was granted bail of RM9,000 with additional conditions, including reporting to the police fortnightly and surrendering his passport.
The court fixed Sept 9 as the next mention date.
