The ongoing Covid-19 crisis has forced most court cases to be deferred but others involving remand proceedings and fresh charges still have to go on.
However, to adhere to the social distancing regulations, various parties have had to dig deep into their creative minds to overcome getting close to others to avoid possibility of being infected.
It was no exception for magistrate Roslizi Sulaiman, who decided to use his pickup truck complete with a foldable table and a chair as a temporary “courtroom” for remand proceedings.
He placed his makeshift table and chair behind his white pickup truck which turned into a judge’s stand in front of the Klang police headquarters.
Armed with hand sanitiser and a laptop, Roslizi proceeded to hear remand proceedings against those who had been arrested for flouting the Movement Control Order (MCO) last Tuesday.
It is learnt police had requested for the magistrate to hear the remand application at the police headquarters as they did not want to cramp several suspects into a lorry for the journey to the courtroom.
This was to avoid risk of infection among the detainees.
In Penang, a badminton hall was converted and used for remand applications.
“As of now, magistrates go to the police headquarters to hear the remand proceedings,” a source said when contacted today.
It is learnt that Roslizi decided to use the back of his vehicle as there was no room available for the proceedings at that time.
Similar scenes were also reported in other places, including in Penang where a badminton hall was converted to be used for remand applications.
On April 2, Chief Justice Tan Sri Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat ordered all remand proceeding to be heard at police stations instead of the courts throughout the MCO period.
This was to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19 by minimising movement of the suspects from police stations to the courts. – NST